Kinda weird. Ugly as sin but for the price (Under $20K) and to fill up your car once in a blue moon with gas, it could be the best thing since sliced bread. http://pesn.com/2006/01/21/9600227_Accelerated_Composits_330MPG_car/ 330 MPG Uber Hybrid? The Aptera prototype, which is halfway to completion, will go for up to 330 miles on a gallon of gas thanks to an aerodynamic design and the lightweight composites that make up the chassis. Compiled by Sterling D. Allan The Aptera©, by Accelerated Composites, LLC CARLSBAD, CA, USA -- Imagine driving across the United States on just one tank of gas. That is what Accelerated Composites, formed by three San-Diego engineers purport to be developing. They plan to sell a revolutionary hybrid two-seater car that they say can get up to 330 miles per gallon, and will sell for under $20,000. They say that the lightweight composite car will post this fuel efficiency in normal city and highway driving and demonstrate acceleration and handling similar to that of a Honda Insight. Dubbed the Aptera©, the vehicle achieves these remarkable numbers through the use of cutting-edge materials, manufacturing methods, and a maverick design that resembles a dolphin. Aerodynamics Unique, optimized aerodynamics gives the Aptera© a drag form factor that will be lower than any mass produced car in the world. "It looks like nothing you've ever seen," says Accelerated Composites founder and CEO Steve Fambro. "What we've done is changed the way cars are thought of and designed. Rather than designing to a styling aesthetic, like the big auto makers do, we hew to an efficiency and safety aesthetic. When you do that, math and physics mostly dictate the shape of the car, and in this case, math and physics look awesome." Weight Aerodynamics is only half of the equation. The other half is weight. The Aptera© is made almost entirely of lightweight composites, making it one of the lightest cars on the road. Yet the company says that this savings does not come at the cost of safety. The construction of the car is based on the driver-protection "crash box" found in Formula One race cars. "Composites are enormously strong and lightweight," says Fambro. "That's why all the aircraft manufacturers are switching to them." Manufacturing So why aren't the auto makers switching? "Cost" says Fambro. "They haven't figured out cost-effective manufacturing processes for composites. But we have." The Aptera© utilizes proprietary composite construction that significantly lowers manufacturing cost when compared to most other composite construction methods, including steel. Many small companies are still building fiberglass and carbon-fiber vehicle parts by hand, using squeegees to force resin into the fiber layers inside a vacuum bag to ensure that air bubbles are completely extracted. This is time-consuming as well as labor-intensive. The company's patent-pending "Panelized Automated Composite Construction", or PAC2©, lends itself to parallel assembly and has a very low initial capitalization. Additionally, AC's patent-pending hybrid technology allows off-the-shelf engines and electric motors to be seamlessly integrated for a very low cost. Another reason the big automakers aren't jumping to composites is corporate inertia. "They have many billions of dollars invested in factories and infrastructure for making cars the old-fashioned way. They couldn't walk away from that if they wanted to. This is something that only a new company can do, and that's where we come in". "We've got a perfectly-timed, market-busting product. We have a great team of world class engineers and designers, high-powered marketing and sales experience, and a solid business plan". About Accelerated Composites Accelerated Composites, LLC, is a Carlsbad-based startup that is disrupting the car design status quo by developing a low cost, 330 MPG hybrid car to be manufactured in Southern California. Founder Steve Fambro said he built robots that made DNA before turning his attention to the automotive market. (Ref.)
Who wouldn't want this non-hybrid? Mercedes F700 Stuns Luxury Car World with 44 MPG http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4221610.html FRANKFURT — Mercedes-Benz pointed the way toward future designs of its S-Class luxury sedan—and showed off a completely new kind of internal combustion engine—with a concept it calls the F700. The ultra-low, wavy and sleek body of the F700 falls in behind a huge horizontal grille reminiscent of the one on Mercedes’s Ocean Drive concept, but the rest of the body is a completely new, 21st-Century rendering of the S-Class, called Aqua Dynamic. It’s shorter overall than the current S-Class, but it has a much longer wheelbase and a roomier interior because the seats are so compact. The headlamps are comprised of three rows of white LEDs, and the rear doors are rear-hinged (a.k.a suicide doors). The F700 comes with Pre-Scan, a laser-powered, forward-looking, road-analyzing hydraulic active suspension that changes continuously depending on what the lasers see on the road ahead. A pair of lasers mounted in the headlamps directs the hydraulic suspension units at the four corners of the car. The driver’s side has another laser built into the mirror, stopping the door from opening if it finds any obstructions. Inside, Mercedes offers another new concept, dubbed Servo-HMI—a simplified human-machine interface with fewer buttons and menu options that includes a female avatar to “discuss” navigation options with the driver. For instance, the avatar can access online databases from the vehicle, add items to the driver’s appointments book or read important e-mails aloud. All of the usual information displays are projected to a point just below the base of the windshield, which Mercedes-Benz says make the information easier to see and absorb. The F700 also features a reversing right-rear seat, an idea that combines Chrysler’s Swivel’N’Go van seats and the rear seat luxury of the Maybach 62 limousine. Another new feature is a 20-in. 3-D video monitor with surround sound. More important than the outrageous look and interior of the F700 is what’s under the hood. It’s the DiesOtto engine that we first showed you here recently—a 1.8-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine that produces 238 hp and 295 lb.-ft. of torque (about the same as the current Mercedes 3.5-liter V6 or 3.0-liter diesel). The direct gasoline injection engine uses an eccentric crankshaft that can vary compression ratio between 7:1 and 14:1l, depending on speed and load conditions. It uses variable valve timing as well as controlled auto ignition—like a diesel—and is dual-turbocharged. But it burns gasoline, not diesel fuel, and uses conventional spark ignition part of the time. It’s assisted by a hybrid module built onto the seven-speed transmission that switches on for startup acceleration and uses regenerative braking to charge the battery. The engine shuts off automatically whenever the car comes to a stop. Mercedes-Benz says the F700 will go from 0-62 mph in only 7.5 seconds, while getting 44 miles per gallon and generating only 127 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer.
Yeah I wouldn't wanna drive that and get killed with the kinda bad drivers we have in this town. Looks like you get into an accident with that and you're gone. The mpg is enticing tho..
What is that a tricycle??? Ugly pod cars never make it to the mainstream. I rather drive this 3-wheeler.
That is a beautiful car. Sleek and Shiny. And the right color. I don't see a "suggested MFG price" in the article though.. so it must be outrageous.
