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Third seat options
Had an interesting discussion on the aptera third seat today.
Aptera announced there will be a third seat option and i wonder if thats for adults or for childs-only.
I also wonder if aptera will make changes to the bottom structure for this option. For example, the difference between 25kwh and 100kwh will be significant in terms of space usage. The smallest option could leave for mors bottom space for a third chair.
Thoughts?
- This discussion was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by
bbelcamino.
- This discussion was modified 11 months, 3 weeks ago by
- 32 Replies
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Third seat options
updated 1 month ago 23 Members · 32 Replies -
I got the impression that was a “somewhere, sometime down the road” thing. I wouldn’t expect it in the near term.
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Third seat is the smartest thing they can do. Changes your target drastically. It would be nice though for it to still folds for a flat floor for camping.
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My understanding
Possible for future iteration…
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CA mentioned that the third seat would be an option on the base (250 mile version with the smaller battery) vehicle. So sense that model will not be available with in a year they will have time to work on making the third seat.
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Some adults are rather small. But certainly a child after the age of mandatory car-seats, and up to 100 pounds can fit on a redesigned front seat(s). I had a ford ranger that had “bucket seats” that included a fold up arm rest in the middle and sitting area with seat belt in the middle. Total width fits in the Aptera.
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Can the 3rd seat simply be in the form of a bridge between the 2 front seats?
Maybe a bit indented to the back if needed?
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The armrest in the Aptera is removable. Take it out and put a cushion down on top of the tunnel. There is your third seat. Install a seat belt and you can even be legal. If you want to get fancy, design and build, or find an aftermarket seat that incorporates a fold down arm rest like in the picture above. I have seen some on the internet. You don’t have to wait for Aptera to build a custom front seat arrangement. Also CA’s “basic model” he mentioned when asked about a third seat, is the Aptera. Other models he talked about are future models with four wheels, van, suv, etc. The third seat option will fit in all mileage ranges.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by
Francis Giroux.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by
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The height in gamma above the deck behind the seats as measured by me at Fully Charged is 21.5 inches. That doesn’t leave enough space for a standard infant car seat which is commonly 26 inches inside height. They will have to carve out some of that back deck to make room for a seat. There was a large bump hidden under the center back in the beta where the back wheel suspension was. That will make it very hard to add a seat if it is still there. TLDR; THERE IS CURRENTLY NOT ENOUGH VERTICAL SPACE TO PUT ANY KIND OF SEAT BACK THERE WITHOUT CARVING OUT THE DECK.
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We really would love the option for a third seat to enable safe and legal transportation for a child in a car seat; we’re trying to start a family and really want to hold our reservation, but if it’s only for future iterations we’ll have to wait. Who wants to wait even longer?! Yuck!
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What are the child seat requirements for 3-wheel motorcycles and autocycles?
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@Dennis Swaney There don’t seem to be any Federal safety standards for carrying children, infants or babies on motorcycles or autocycles… https://www.nhtsa.gov/document/summary-vehicle-occupant-protection-and-motorcycle-laws-fourteenth-edition
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I don’t think there is a Federal definition of an autocycle, they are just motorcycles. Many states distinguish autocycles from motorcycles, not mine unfortunately, and they may have rules regarding children in autocycles. You would have to check your state’s laws to get and answer as to whether a child is allowed to ride in an autocycle.
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I was just curious because laws on carrying children being different in every state. IIRC, just about all require them to be in the rear seat of a car or truck until they reach a certain age, weight, height, or all of them. I Have a Miata and after my nephew was born in 1994 it was a few years before I took him for a ride in it and even then I just drove around the block in his neighborhood. I don’t have to worry about being in that situation but since most states seem to mandate rear seat carry, it sounds illegal to carry children in a two seat vehicle, be it a Miata or Aptera. However, it would be interesting to see what state laws say.
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CA has exceptions when it’s acceptable for a properly restrained baby or child to ride in the front seat are: There is no back seat in the vehicle, like in a truck or two-seater car.
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From the delta video, it appears that the central tunnel is no longer part of the structure.
In previous forum discussions, one of the third-seat proposals is to replace the existing two seats with a three-person bench-seat. It’s not possible for gamma because of the central tunnel, which is said to be necessary for structural integrity. I am wondering whether the CDC and body-on-frame design of delta makes the bench-seat a possibility for after-market mod.
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Could you please link that Delta video you are referring to?
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This video:
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That is the same video that was on YouTube about 10 – 11 days ago. Nowhere in it do they show the interior, rather all that is shown are the outside body panels (sans solar) and the wheels.
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That vodeo doesn’t show the inner tub. The tunnel is still there in this video:
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For all those clamoring for a third seat, here’s the final Delta production intent design – perhaps this render will make it obvious just how much space (or lack thereof) there is for any kind of third seat. That center armrest is at most about 6″ wide – any kind of center tunnel is not an issue; lack of space is.
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Fair point. I do not know how the interior width of Aptera compares with other compact cars (Honda Fit, VW Golf, etc). I image the backseat of these compact cars be a good approximate of how a three-person bench seat would look like in an Apetra.
Honda Fit (note that it has a fairly narrow central tray):
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They should add a wide shallow lockable shelf behind the seats, like the old Honda CRX Si. Super useful feature… even if not as a seat!
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How’s this option looking for the launch edition for a future upgrade/modification?
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From some of the most recent interviews I understand the 3rd seat is still not an early model option for the Aptera. But it does sounds like some, if not all engineering has been sorted out to make this work, in the future.
If there are any outstanding questions, could we open source / community source making interior modular changes for future Aptera configurations?
I understand Aptera desires it’s owners be able to upgrade various technological components of their platform, over time. But I’ve not seen much discussion about interior modularity, or upgrades.
I personally like having the driver center and closer to the front of the vehicle. With the passengers slightly behind the driver on either side. But I understand you give up quite a bit of cargo space, when you compare the current configuration to this.
A more natural third seat would probably be positioned slightly behind the two current seats. With the center console gone, legroom for the third seat might be achieved. This would probably also cut into the current rear storage deck, and might require a cutout. Or require the third seatback to also be able to pivot in a way that becomes flat, when not in use. Or be removed entirely when not in use.
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What is the make & model for any existing production MOTORCYCLE in which jurisdiction where carrying 3 people is explicitly legal?
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Ergonomically the best 3 seat layout would be a forward center/driver’s seat with two passenger seats mounted slightly behind and to each side of the center seat. If you need a visualization of what I mean look up the McLaren F1 interior. Unfortunately that would require a massive redesign of the interior space.
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N o third seat planned, engineered, or included in production inventory or installation. If more seats are wanted or needed, wait for the 4-5 passenger Aptera which is planned.
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Hello, first of all, love the project, love the product. Thank you for doing what you are doing. I am waiting for a 3 seat variant and can imagine it will still take a while, which is okay.
My friend and I travel in our cars throughout Europe. Going to seminars, workshops, or for business. I also know many people who travel for business in Europe. Having the big storage compartment where you can sleep in, really helps for on the road for the non-stop action. (at the moment, we basically sleep with seats down.)
Maybe this is already implemented, but if not, then it will be amazing to have storage under the seats, in the 3-seater variant. Having doors under the seat that you can open from the side with the doors open, or from the cabin. This is because when you are traveling with 2 people (or maybe sometimes 3), then there will not be enough room in the back for all your belongings (although I could build some shelves at least). Regardless if you want to sleep in the car or not, it is always good to have extra room for the stuff that you carry, perhaps that you don’t use so often.
Being able to save money with your investment is a really big thing and so using this car as a sleeper space between traveling, is great. I believe there is no reason not to have extra storage space under the 3-seater variant, unless it compromises structural integrity by a lot. But if at all possible, it will be great.
Thank you for reading and I wish you a good day for the rest!
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There is NO space below the seats since that is where the battery pack resides.
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There is no three seat variant for an Aptera. There is no space for storage between the bottom of the seat and the floor of the cabin. There is copious storage behind the seats! If you are driving by yourself and absolutely need more storage, you can take out the passenger seat. Remember, the recommended weight capacity of an Aptera is 500lbs to include cargo and drive and passenger.
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Milkman-Ferende I too would have preferred a 3 seater. Imagine the marketability of such a vehicle. The reality is if APTERA started with such a vehicle they would not have had to change the steering yoke for any market. Unfortunately I am 99.9% this will not happen as once APTERA enters the market it would not make any sense to just add another seat. 4 or 5 seater would make more sense along with possibly a configuration used for transporting packages, maybe a pickup or an enclosed transport vehicle. We already know that APTERA is looking at a future beyond a 2 seater.
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Chris Anthony said, “The platform now is kind of supportive of 3 seats, but probably not 4 or 5 seats…” in video released earlier today by My Tesla Weekend on YouTube in part 2 of the interview.
