All about Gamma

[Fran]

I can’t believe it took me so long to notice and I hope I’m wrong, but on the Gama video and maybe also on the Gama renders, the A pillar looks about twice a wide as the A pillar on the Alphas, 6″ versus 3″. Somebody please tell me I am wrong. I’m not thrill about the bright white interior color on the A pillar of Gama versus the dark or black interior of the A pillar on the Alphas. It seems like it will detract from what’s going on outside.

[joshua-caldwell]

Something that stood out to me was how nearly every persons foot got caught when exiting the vehicle.

[kerbe2705]

@Joshua Caldwell Did you notice that most of them sat first and then swiveled their legs into the vehicle – but then didn’t think to reverse that process when exiting? Almost invariably they put one foot on the ground and tried to stand while dragging the other foot out of the vehicle behind them.

[Greek]

If you visited Super Charge…you have the best views and latest knowledge.

Vehicle was painted….LOOKED AWSOME

We weren’t allowed to touch vehicle until 2pm…I had privilege to be the first to sit in it, interior front visors, unfortunately we were not allowed to adjust the seat, it was set all he way back(I’m 5,7”. The screen is huge it dominates the whole cabin (my opinion is for a smaller screen so as not to dominate the interior. The side view mirrors did look stealthy and may even add to the appearance. The YOKE didn’t look as bad as I originally thought and actually blended well with the interior (didn’t appear so cartoonish).

Charging format not decided

1wiper Blade

We will definitely have vehicle wrap. So please wrap your minds around that…pun intended.

PLEASE IF YOU ATTENDED Add or critique.

[993cc]

I’ve been watching the various Gamma and factory tour reports on YouTube, and thought it might be useful to have a single thread where people can leave their observations about what has been learned in the reveal.

Here’s what I saw:

Cargo capacity is now 28 cubic feet.

Battery sizes 23, 45, 66, and 99 kWh.

It’s a wrap!

Still planning a hitch, but lower priority.

Third seat will be a thing. This will please many potential customers.

Seats are NOT height adjustable.

Stalk control for lights. Door release buttons, Hazard flashers, and interior lights are the only other buttons, everything else is controlled by the screen.

Ventilation through the centre screen, will also have foot level and defrost vents.

Finally has a wiper, seatbelts.

Gamma has a Tesla plug, but cagey about if that will make it to production.

Chevron solar cells are now on the hatch.

Still no info about Bags of Air, or the specifics of the steering system.

What did I miss?

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Bob Kirchner.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Bob Kirchner.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by  Gabriel Kemeny.

[993cc]

A thread to note what we’ve learned from last weekend’s Gamma reveal, factory tour videos, etc.

Here’s what I have:

Cargo space is now 28 cubic feet.

Elaphe motors no longer need seal replacements.

Batteries are 23, 45, 66, and 99 kWh.

Third seat will be a thing. Seats are NOT height adjustable.

It will be wrapped.

The knob-like thing at the back serves as a charge port light, plate light and reverse light.

Hatch is knock to open, like the doors.

It has a functioning wiper and seat belts.

It has functioning solar panels.

Ventilation is through the screen surround. There will also be foot level and defrost vents.

Lights are controlled by a stalk on the left of the steering column. Buttons control the door release, interior lights and hazard flashers. Everything else is controlled from the screen.

They are proud of the specs of the center headlight, but I don’t remember those specs or know how to compare them to other vehicles.

They are still planning a hitch, but that’s on the back burner for now.

Still no word on Bags of Air, or the exact functioning of the steering system.

What did I miss?

[jesthorbjorn]

That’s a pretty good list.

Add that the Plus & Minus pedals are up-cycled skateboard deck material (maple plywood). Seems a bit gimmicky there.

And the little circular objects on the front edge of the wheel pants are ultrasonic sensors. Pretty sure that’s what I heard Chris say.

Looked like there were two similar circular objects on the back of the keel also. One a camera, the other another ultrasonic sensor maybe?

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Joel Smith.
• This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by  Gabriel Kemeny.

[joshua-rosen]

I assume that the battery sizes listed are gross not available. My reading of this is that the 250,400 and 600 mile versions are all going to meet the range promises. For the smallest version they are going to beat the efficiency number by a lot, 12-12.5 Miles/KWh instead of 10. That makes sense because the car will be so light. The 45KWh and 66KWh will come in around the promised 10 miles/KWh, the extra 5 and 6 KWHs are the buffers to protect the battery. The version that’s not going to meet it range promise is the 99KWh, it’s going to be 900 miles not 1000, still a ridiculously long range but not the eye catching number it was. I presume that the reason it’s 99KWh and not 110KWh is that they ran out of room, they simply couldn’t stuff any more batteries into the car. It’s going to be a long time before they build the 1000 mile version, they might wait until they can get a 10% better battery which would allow them to hit the original range objective. However if they want a round number they could still advertise the 66KWh variant as 1000 kilometers, that should be good enough.

[paul-kirchner]

The internet was all in a twist about sun visors so now we can all calm down. Yes! Sun Visors!

[david-marlow]

The 3rd seat option will only be available on the 200 mile version as the smaller battery pack will allow room for it.

[OZ.]

Your extrapolating a whole lot from a single sentence. We should probably wait for a better explanation from Aptera.

[david-marlow]

This Gamma is the first implication of there solar and without having an announced solar cell supplier and the somewhat crude application on the roof, we should expect improvements to it. Also it was said to have only been installed days before the show. They have also said they found that they are pioneering this tech on vehicles, resulting in the large effort and extra time they are putting into this.

Hopefully to assure actual production by early 2023 they will have to pick a supplier of solar cells soon to have them made in quantity to their specifications. They did announced that they will be assembling the panels at there facility near there assembly building.

[993cc]

I think, though I am often wrong, that the cell supplier was chosen long ago. The name escapes me now.

[alain-chuzel]

The solar cell supplier may have been “chosen” long ago but Aptera hasn’t “officially” announced who it is. The name that “escapes” you is Maxeon/SunPower.

[patrick-troutman]

I learned they need to still do some work on those cup holders in the center console….

[993cc]

Long and slightly chaotic Q&A Here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvdmVFu4HgE

Slow speed cooling provided by small internal rad supplied with fresh air from back edge of the hood.

Third seat again described as aspirational.

Seats are not heated at this time.

“dog mode” a future upgrade.

[norman-roberts]

There were Air bags front driver and passenger .

Gray areas on wheel pants and rear wheel covers were only representations and not actual foam material that will be used.

2 cameras on rear, 1 for back up the other for rearview mirror

[Russell]

Headlight. I thought I heard them mention it cast a 150 degree wide beam. I don’t know how that compares to the standard headlight but they did seem proud of it. I like the looks of it.

[jerry-molnar]

I’m not happy about a wrap, out in the sun it will be lucky to last 5years, I know Chris said it’s more environmentally friendly and cheaper but I can see these looking ratty after a short time and that won’t be good PR for a car that is supposed to be generational. Just my 2cents

[loren-gilbert]

Things I saw that I have not seen before:

Third break light at the top of the rear hatch cover.

No solar panels on the nose. Also it appears that the only functional solar panels are those on the roof as they are the only ones with the copper connections.

Small hatch cover of unknown purpose at bottom of the inside B pillar.

Huge block at the rear of the inside compartment for the hatch latch loop.

[Elzo]

The skin cooling system is operational…..

[greg-mirich]

The life of wraps can be extended by periodically applying a ceramic coating, this will also make it easier to keep clean and make the surface slicker.

[Jeff]

“Ventilation is through the screen surround. There will also be foot level and defrost vents.”

Can someone point to where this is discussed? e.g., a video link and a timestamp, if possible. Thanks!

[paul-kirchner]

At the 13:51 mark here

[tim-dean]

Chris did say that Gamma is only 80% of Delta and that the “Delta pencil in was almost complete”. Still, we should expect that ongoing testing will cause small (component level) changes such as larger sun-visors. I did see a photo of a “fronk” some time ago, but no idea if it remains but it would be a convenient charger & tool storage. The bonnet must open anyway to add windshield & brake fluids and possibly change the cabin air filter. Still a ways to go.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Tim Dean.

[bryan-hendricks]

I liked the lenses on the rear lights. I was surprised to see how smoothly the solar cells lay on the hood panel. The Elaphe motors were smaller than I expected. The fabric surface on the center console did not lay as uniformly as I expected. The rear of the trunk was narrower than I expected (but I should have expected that). The rear hatch sets into a trough in the body, but I didn’t see a way for water to get out of the trough. I didn’t see anything to scare me away. In fact, I’m more excited about it than when I boarded a plane to San Diego that morning.

[joseph-wall]

In the factory reveal videos, you can see the Gamma drive in and turn very slightly, as it drives to where it parks for the presentation. When it turns, the wheel pant on the inside of the turn dives backwards, as in it tilts towards the ground at the back, and the one on the outside tilts forwards. The tilt is rather dramatic, the type of thing that could prevent you from reversing out of your driveway if there’s a 1 inch bump at the end and you have to turn while you’re reversing, which is a common situation. It makes me wonder if they’ll change the shape of the wheel pant at this point to be more sloped in the back like it is in the front so it doesn’t hit the ground, or if this is an anomaly with the Gamma suspension and that’s what’s causing the orientation of the wheel pants to tilt forwards and backwards. Either way, this definitely has to change for the production vehicle, or I guess the off road kit will be a requirement for me, because I literally can’t reverse out of my driveway with that level of clearance at the rear of the wheel pant while turning.

[Riley]

This is my only concern with the gamma reveal with them strengthening the wheel pants going over a speed bump while turning may couse damage. Hopefully the wheel pants have some kind of give but that won’t help if it catches a ridge while reversing. Aptera must already know about this and will make adjustments.

[norman-roberts]

I spoke with Aptera person at show and the wheel pants on production vehicles will have more clearance

[david-marlow]

Interesting, I did not notice that, however they did mention that the wheel motors on the gamma were not the final version. Also the front and rear of the wheel pants are designed to take some rubbing as some pot holes are deeper than the few inches of ground clearance on the Gamma. We will see in the testing of the Delta’s, if more people will want to order the off road kit to get a few more inches.

[Fran]

Also on the factory tour video on the table with Elaphe motors, the green one is on the Gamma, and the silver colored one was said to be the first one produced of the production version. It also looked like it had a structural component that attaches to the suspension parts that looks like it is made out of something not metal, maybe high strength nylon.

[konijntje]

hope those lights and wipers will have a automatic mode as well…

[993cc]

Given that the wipers are controlled from the screen, they’ll have to. The lights at least have a switch on the stalk.

[bryan-hendricks]

There is a piece of metal (that appears to be aluminum) connecting the body to the front wheel. Below that is another, darker thing connecting the body to the wheel. It has a lightly textured finish and appears to be a folded piece of rigid plastic. I suspect that plastic is used to cover the tubes and the lower connector in a way that is more aerodynamic.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Bryan Hendricks.

[harry-parker]

I saw in show videos with employee interviews at the show that the bottom connector holds the cables and cooling lines. Also the lower cover will be different — probably with a snapped on cover piece more like the top piece. Only about 80% of the what you see in Gamma is production intent. Lots of little things will change based on testing.