I Can't Stop Watching Aptera's Solar EV Take On The Drag Strip

Electric cars may not be the most common thing to find at a drag race, but then the Aptera is no ordinary electric car. Resurrected in 2019, the solar powered BEV is currently sitting pretty on more than 7,000 reservations, though as a recent trip to the race track demonstrates there's still plenty of work to be done before the two-seater is ready for production.

Even if that takes a while longer, it's a fair bet to say that there'll be little on the road that looks like the Aptera does. The teardrop profile, upward-swinging doors, and fared-in three wheel configuration are all in the name of maximum aerodynamic efficiency, and the company insists that it pays off.

Indeed, the promise is up to 1,000 miles of range and – courtesy of that slipperiness and some optional solar panels – the potential to never actually have to charge the Aptera up. With a solar roof, hood, and rear hatch in place, the automaker claims, there's the potential for up to 40 miles worth of driving to be added from sunshine alone. Of course, that's assuming you're in a location where you get sufficient sun hours; Altera will offer 250 to 1,000 mile battery configurations with more standard charging.

That's the plan, anyway, but first the car has to go through all of the relevant testing. Aptera has shared a video of a recent trip to the test track, where it looked at the EV's durability, performance, and speed, as well as its ability to hold up to aggressive braking and maneuvers. The company even had some time to go head-to-head with a Chevrolet Bolt EV in a drag race, though it hasn't shared any specific numbers.

It's clear that it's still fairly early days for the Aptera. The good news is that that custom in-wheel electric motors also deliver plenty of regenerative braking power, according to Aptera co-founder Chris Anthony. The suspension tuning process is still only at the beginning, however, and the EV still needs to have a sway bar installed.

A few "moose test" runs – basically designed to see how the EV performs with rapid evasive maneuvers, such as those you might carry out if a large animal stepped into the road ahead of you – seemed to hold up well, at least from what Aptera is showing us. It definitely looks like fun, anyway. Still, there's also some squirm visible during aggressive braking, and there's plenty of work to be done to convince three-wheeler skeptics that this design is sufficiently stable.

Aptera Motors isn't alone in pushing that three-wheel configuration, of course. ElectraMeccanica's Solo EV is even smaller, designed for a single occupant, and also aims to upend traditional transportation albeit by cutting down on trips where big vehicles are being used by just one person. Arcimoto is also planning an electric three-wheeler, and one which tilts, too.

It's hard to imagine any of them making it mainstream, but having stumbled once Aptera seems confident that it'll be able to deliver second time around to its audience of EV early-adopters. For the moment it's entertaining enough to see the car out in the wild where it looks positively spacecraft-like. If all goes to plan, Aptera Motors says it wants to have its very earliest production kick off sometime this year, which is certainly on the bold side.