totse.com | 300 mpg

2007-12-23, 08:30

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The fine line between genius and madness

300 mpg

Check this out. It's a crazy little vehicle that will go into production this year in California. You need a motorcycle license to drive it, but it gets 300 mpg and you don't get bugs in the teeth.

Sure, you'll look like something out of a sci-fi movie, but who cares? You're paying 1/10 of what everyone else is spending on gas.

Popular Science web article (http://popsci.typepad.com/popsci/2007/10/300-mpg-car-ope.html)

Magazine article:

Driving Saucer
300 miles per gallon never looked so good

Five years ago, engineer Steve Fambro realized that up to 70 percent of the total energy it takes to power a vehicle goes into pushing the air in front of it out of the way. With that in mind, he stripped the car's exterior design of everything inessential and asked: What is the lowest-drag sharp that can surround two occupants side by side? His answer is the teardrop-shaped three-wheeler, which has a drag coefficient of just 0.11. (In comparison, the eco-juggernaut Toyota Prius has a relatively parachute-like coefficient of 0.26.) High-strength composites drop the weight to approximately 1,400 pounds, and an electric motor combined with a one-cylinder engine powers the package. The resulting commuter pod, the Aptera, will wring 300 miles out of a gallon of ordinary gasoline. Once production starts late this year, prospective drivers might need a motorcycle license, approximately $30,000, and a West Coast address--initially, the Aptera will be available only in California.

by Mathew Cokeley

photo inset
PULLING AWAY The Aptera goes from 0 to 60 in 10 seconds and tops out at 95 miles per hour.

photo inset
Keep ROLLIN' To protect passengers, the Aptera has a roll-cage design similar to F1 racers.