An aviation-inspired design and astonishing efficiency claims are the hallmarks of U.S. company Aptera’s groundbreaking Typ-1 prototype electric vehicle. Featuring an unconventional three-wheeled layout and highly aerodynamic styling, the Typ-1 promises to usher in an era of affordable, clean and efficient motoring - and it’s set to begin production by December.

The Typ-1 will be available in both electric and hybrid form, with the all-electric car headed to production first. Powered by a 10kWh battery pack and an as-yet undisclosed electric motor, the car is capable of travelling at a similar pace to an econo-hatch but will be fully chargable at home. The hybrid variant will be able to extend the car's range considerably, using a smaller battery pack in combination with a small-displacement petrol engine and a 12kW starter/generator.

Though the company has not made any announcements of intent to bring the car to Australia, and the first models will only be available in California, because of its three-wheeled configuration the Typ-1 is technically classed as a motorcycle under many governmental regulations. This will allow it to circumvent some of the more expensive and rigorous certification requirements.

Production ready, waiting on capital
In March, Aptera announced it had done all the development necessary to head to production, and that all it needed was to acquire the right equipment and workforce to do so. Now the company has revealed that a new infusion of $24 million in cash is moving the process along. If everything goes according to plan, Aptera will begin production of the Typ-1 electric vehicle in December.

Safety ratings for the vehicle are forthcoming, but the company is confident its high-strength yet lightweight carbon-fibre intensive structure will prove more than a match for official testing. Roll-over and door strength are designed to exceed U.S. federal requirements, while a full complement of airbags helps improve occupant safety in a crash. The canopy-like passenger structure itself is the result of extensive computer-simulated crash tests and live testing is expected to begin soon now that more funding has been secured.

The car will only be available in California upon launch. Priced at a mere $28,000 the Typ-1 is rated at 192km per charge, figures that no production EV has yet managed to combine. A full charge will cost about $3, according to the company, though that will depend on where the electricity is purchased. That equates to better than 1.47L/100km on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

Hybrid variant to follow in 2010
About a year after the Typ-1 EV goes into production, meaning December 2009 - if all goes according to plan - the Typ-1 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) will become the second Aptera model. Deliveries would start in early 2010 according to the schedule.

It is designed with a 64km electric-only range, beyond which it relies on a range-extending engine as a generator for the batteries. It therefore can provide identical fuel economy to the EV model for trips up to 40mi, but as trips go beyond that mark, fuel efficiency diminishes until at about 560-640km it has fallen to the equivalent of about 1.8L/100km.

All of this will depend on the production and development process going perfectly to plan, however - something nearly unheard of in the electric and hybrid automotive business, as Tesla’s rocky Roadster development has proven.

Aptera Typ-1 gallery

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• Chrysler looking to expand range with more hybrids

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