Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield shared on December 8 that she was one of the reservation holders for an Aptera. It must have been really special to her, then, to have the very first press ride-along opportunity with the electric trike. She rode in Noir, one of the three Aptera alpha prototypes built so far. Chris Anthony, Aptera’s CEO, said the company would soon have beta prototypes running, which makes this ride even more special.
Nikki drove hundreds of miles to check the car and see how it drives. She made sure to warn her audience that Aptera is a work in progress but that it is also genuine. Anthony did not refrain from showing her how fast Noir can accelerate as one of the first things driving her around the parking lot of Aptera’s new headquarters in San Diego.
The video presenter also warned about some knocks and noises the prototype could produce precisely because it is still in development. The warning did not seem necessary to us: we did not hear much coming from the suspension.
Anthony repeated that the beta prototypes would present a sway bar. Even without one, Nikki felt the Aptera was pretty stable, and that is not a surprise. The Aptera is a very broad vehicle, with 88 inches (2.24 meters). That makes it wider than a Hummer H1, which was 86.5 in (2.20 m) wide.
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As Nikki stated, it is a much larger vehicle than she expected. She was also impressed with how much luggage it can carry. We’re not sure the Aptera is this wide and long due to its goal of being extremely efficient and safe, or if it was just conceived like that. Our impression is that form follows function in this car, but we’ll confirm that with Anthony when we can.
After she finished her ride-along in the Aptera, Nikki promised another exclusive that will require her to drive 500 miles more. We’ll soon learn about that. If you think you know what she’s up to, leave your hunch in the comments below.
Source: Transport Evolved