Aptera uses our patent pending LITE structural composites technology to redefine what you expect from a car and a car company.
The efficient all-American car with an exotic flair
We'd love to claim Aptera is the first car company to build vehicles with a composite body, but we'd upset a lot of European exotic car makers.
What we can say is that we are the first to bring this ground-breaking technology to the masses. Unlike the uber exotics, we don't use high-cost raw materials. Our patent pending processes allow us to utilize materials that are more readily available (thus less expensive) while still delivering incredible strength and light weight characteristics.
When you're in an Aptera and a half-million-dollar supercar pulls alongside, you'll know your car is sporting the same advanced technology without the advanced price tag. Gloating is permissible.
Introducing the LITE structural composite system
Light weight
Impact resistant
Total cost reducing
Efficient
Lose weight, find savings
At low speeds, your vehicle's weight is among the largest enemies to energy efficiency. Think about it: The heavier something is, the harder it is to move. This is the second critical part of the Efficient Vehicle Design Formula.
The more your car weighs, the more money you’ll spend filling up the gas tank. At Aptera, we use our patent pending LITE structural composites to make our vehicles lighter--about 30% lighter in fact--so you need less energy, and no gas, to get going.
Sounds simple, but most haven't caught on quite yet.
Swing...batter, batter
How many times has an auto company invited you to pick up a baseball bat and take a swing at their car? The answer is: the same as the number of companies that have the impact resistance of Aptera's LITE structural composites.
Our unique LITE structural composites create a rigid shell that acts like an infinite number of small I-beams on the surface of the vehicle. The result is a body surface that resists a full-force strike from a baseball bat or a 5-lb. sledge hammer without so much as a dent left as evidence.
Minimal metal forming
Aptera has minimized the need for costly metal forming and welding operations that often drive upfront costs in an automotive assembly plant. ($250-million to $500-million.) Our bodies are formed under low pressures and temperatures. This means our process is less expensive, our product is lighter weight and we are releasing far fewer greenhouse gasses in the process of making our vehicle bodies than the steel (or aluminum) body manufacturers.
The “Brite-er” side of Aptera
Our vehicles are finished with our patent pending Brite Coat™ Automotive Finishing System. We call it Brite because, when compared to automotive paints, our body colors are smoother and glossier with matching durability. And they don't release environmentally damaging Volatile Organic Compounds.
Additionally, since our Brite Coat is applied in the body molding process, we can avoid the more than $250-million-dollar bill that comes with normal automotive paint processes.
Efficiency begets efficiency
The material properties of our LITE structural composites support vehicle efficiency by providing the light weight and strength that are essential to the Efficient Vehicle Design Formula. The minimal weight of the vehicle means we require less energy storage and horsepower to deliver the same or better range and performance as our competitors.
The low cost structure of our LITE composites process allows Aptera to invest less money to create better vehicles at comparable volumes and prices. That's a different kind of efficiency. That's capital efficiency...and that's a formula for a sustainable industry as well as sustainable products.