Building an Aptera

[LeRoy Coverdale]

Building your own Aptera, would that be a viable solution to production ,like a component vehicle?

[Ray Holan]

Intriguing idea, LeRoy. That would be quite a shift in the business model. I know one can order a build-it-yourself helicopter. Technically, I suppose the Aptera subassemblies could be shipped to an intrepid DIYer. Huge hurdles though. Safety certification, licensing, insurance, liability questions, after sales support.

I’m reminded of the old King Midget which was sold as kit in the late 40’s for $270. It was an Ohio company. This was pre-seatbelt and pre-SUV days!

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[Russell Fauver]

Interesting!

[Riley ________________________________]

I would be more interested in a full conversation kit for a gas powered car. If aptera or another company has the hub motors battery and all the required electronics to build your own electric vehicle for a reasonable price (15,000). I would buy the kit and convert a classic car to run on hub motors.

[Ray Holan]

Riley, there’s a company in England that sells a full EV conversion kit for Land Rover defenders. However, they only sell it to professional installation companies, not end users. Of course, that’s not a hub motor thing, nor a lightweight or aerodynamic thing;)

[Chris Lemme]

I don’t know what the price is but Ford is going to sell their electric drive train as a “crate motor” type setup.

[George Hughes]

This is already a ‘thing’ among hub motor mfgs – Protean comes to mind.

I haven’t seen the ‘hybrid kit’ I’m interested in. It might even involve one hub motor if such a configuration might be adequate for its purpose. Alternately, a two-hub setup that adds all-wheel drive to a pickup or small SUV. The kit would include the hub which might offer as little as 25 HP per axle but enough to maintain a modest highway speed for 30-50 miles (10kw battery).

The needed innovation is the ability to operate as a pure EV, pure ICE or hybrid and an installed cost of about $7500 or maybe $10,000. The trick to its operation is the Electric dial … a simple knob that the driver adjusts to balance electric input from 0-100 percent. As the vehicle remains primarily ICE powered, the apparent advantage would be reflected in the MPG dial that rises when you increase electric power application and reduces when it drops.

Most charging would come from gas powered regen at a small degree of drag (like half-that drag of a small trailer) and a plug-in, as well as more extensive power sharing appliances could be included.

The point is with 1.4 billion vehicles in operation, even with a severe reduction in the number, we will need to retro-fit. How we do that best is a challenge. The idea of parts in component packaging is one that will no doubt play a role.

[Patrick Liebknecht]

I’ve built 3 VW based kit cars

Bradley GT 2 gullwing

Invader GT

And a full bodied dune buggy

They were fun and I had an extensive knowledge of VW mechanicals

I’m not 100% I’d want to risk cooking myself with a x amount of amp batter pack.

[Ray Holan]

You’re right to be concerned about the 400 volts and X amount of amps in the Aptera battery pack being wrenched by a DIYer. Serious consequences if you touch the wrong wire.

[Patrick Liebknecht]

I watched a tv show where they pulled the body off a Tesla and pulled the battery packs out etc to electrify another car. They brought a tech in from Tesla who couldn’t stress enough and he kept saying over and over. Don’t touch anything orange

Remember. Voltage doesn’t kill you. Amps do

[Dennis Swaney]

Average resistance of a human body: Dry 10,000 ohms (high side) Wet 1,000 ohms

400 Volts / 10,000 ohms = 0.04 Amperes 400/1000 = 0.4 Amp

Minimum average lethal amperage: 0.1 – 0.2 Amp

The Law of Averages is against you.