The Aptera Width Issue (2)

[tebling]

This is my #1 concern with the Aptera, and is what’s holding me back from a LE reservation. I have a Model 3 and am nervous enough as it is parking in narrow garage spaces (in the US).

I hear a lot of positives about Aptera’s transparency, but I have yet to see anything that tackles this issue head on, e.g. a video demonstrating parking in typical or challenging situations. This seems like a no-brainer and better to get this out of the way sooner rather than waiting until customers find out the hard way.

I’d love to be proven wrong on this, but all the concerns in this thread seem completely legitimate.

[Phil]

This video from Aptera covers 4 issues, 2 of which concern its width. Myth 1 about drive thru restaurants and myth 4, public parking spaces. (myth is their word, not mine). I think this will give you a better idea about how it fits in these situations. Your concern is at the end of the video.

https://youtu.be/YNvcr9jBcTo

[tebling]

Thanks, that video is helpful. I’m not worried about the drive through case, as it seems like those lanes are sized to accommodate pretty big vehicles (think big truck with trailer).

The parking demo was good, but not great. It was just one example and of course it happened to be large-ish outdoor space. I think there was a bit of an illusion there as well with the cars on either side parked off center, closer to the Aptera which gives the impression that they are just as wide (you can see the SUV has way more room on its left side than its right). I realize this was done to show how egress is still possible in tight quarters.

I’d like to see what happens when attempting to park in an indoor garage which has narrower spaces, as well as examples of parallel and back-in parking.

[Phil]

I agree tebling. There is an indoor garage in Chicago (where I live), that I thought was narrow for my Subaru Impreza, so I know Aptera would not get in it. I think the way to approach this type of indoor garage is, if it doesn’t fit or barely fits in the garage entrance, back up and go somewhere else, of course assuming that is an option.

[jim-t]

I had figured I’d drive mine home from Carlsbad to the East Coast. When they announced that the Launch Edition would not have DC fast charging, I thought that would take over a week and so looked into whether there are car transport trailers wide enough (regular transport trailers can’t accommodate a 3 wheeler regardless). I could not find either an enclosed or open trailer with solid floor wide enough for the Aptera – can anyone confirm that they exist?? Now with DC fast charging standard, I will plan to drive mine home, but it would be helpful to know that transporting is an option, and not ridiculously more expansive than usual rates.

[Greek]

Enclosed shipping trailers are 102″ wide.

[J.D.]

A 2022 Corvette including side mirrors is 87.5″-88″ wide. A Ram 1500 with mirrors is around 96″ wide.

[Sam]

That Vettte is the best comparison I’ve seen thus far. They have the benefit of folding mirrors.

[DesertSkies]

Ai am not really worried about the width, as such, since even residential streets and secondary roads in my area (Palm Springs, California) are shockingly wide. But I *am* worried … VERY worried … about the sticky-outy front wheel assemblies and the possibility of them being sheared off by drivers in SUVs who cannot see the sticky-outy bits. Ride a motorcycle on city streets for 10 years, as I did, and you get an entirely new perspective on the inability of other drivers to make spatial judgements! I think the insurance companies are going to be very nervous about those wheel assemblies posing a high risk of major financial loss.

[charles-cammiso]

The Aptera will be sharing its foot print with other cars on the road, I bring these numbers up for road compatibility sake. Did not realize this thing sports an 88 inch wide overall width, that does not sound pleasant!!! I need more convincing. NO part of my concerns are about the stability. I 100% understand vehicle physics and know it needs to be this wide in order to compensate for its lack of length etc etc – I am pointing out road compatibility.

Aptera Wheel Geometry

wheelbase – 107 inches

“overall width” – 88 inches

curb weight – 1800 lbs

Compact Car Wheel Geometry

wheelbase – 98 inches to 110 inches or so

track width – 55 inches (chevy spark), 60 inches (Toyota Prius MK3), 62 inches (Mazda 3 MK4, Tesla Model 3)

curb weight – 4000 lbs max

Top Trim Off-road Truck Wheel Geometry

wheelbase – 116 inches

track width – 75 inches axle nut to axle nut (overall 85 inches)

curb weight – 5800 lbs

widest current production car – 2,099 mm (82.6 in) – Lamborghini Countach LPI 800

-can we fully realize the expected track width of the vehicle, from axle nut to axle nut?

-is it currently compatible with average width of a road in USA or elsewhere, especially within compact metropolis (San Francisco, NYC, Italy, etc)

-with the recent harsh media, seeing the expected turning radius is clearly lack luster for a vehicle of its functional size… what kind of changes can we expect to combat this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_automotive_superlatives

wow!!!

[len]

Actually 87.6” w

https://youtu.be/vZQ70xijCts

Reason for wide stance : Aerodynamics while added stability.

My mid size truck is 91” to outside edge of side view mirrors. I have a small two bay garage … So I will have a little more room with Aptera and will have to adjust to to the autocycle geometry, wheel stance , looking down to the reflector/light on top and down of the wheel pants etc… I heard there are proximity sensors in the nosecone too! I hope that helps.

[charles-cammiso]

If you check the spec sheet listed here, it is certainly an unknown / unsure width of 88 inches.

https://aptera.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Aptera-Product-Sheet.pdf

https://aptera.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Specs-2022.pdf

[Mike-Mars]

> I have a small two bay garage …

Small is relative – in my part of the world, the standard garage door width is 7′ (which is too narrow for many of the wider cars on the road, so people tend to use them for storage, not cars). A bit of a problem when it comes to charging since people need to park on the road instead.

• This reply was modified 4 months, 2 weeks ago by  Michael Marsden.

[ROMAD]

” Actually 87.6” w “

88-87.6 = 0.4″ (ca. 13/32″) difference. That equates to 10.16mm (1.016cm) Not enough to consider.

[charles-cammiso]

stacked tolerances matter

[Sam]

’22 GMC HUMMER EV without mirrors is 86.7 in.

[ROMAD]

Back in the 1980s when we moved from the M151A2 Jeep to the M998 HMMWV after installing the antennas for our radio pallet on both sides, the M998 was at least 7.5 feet wide which is close to 2.3 meters, though it may have been closer to 8 ft which is a tad over 2.4 m.