This thing is called the Aptera Typ-1e.

It’s been bouncing around various geek, gadget and green sites for the past 9 months or so (or near as I can remember at the moment) and, if it works (and that’s always a big if with vehicles of this nature) it is capable of getting 300 miles to the gallon.

300.

Essentially, it’s a pure hybrid. There’s a diesel motor that drives a generator that charges a bunch of batteries that are used to power electric motors; sort of like the electrical plant on a ship. I knew a guy who was a shipboard electrician and worked on these kind of things, and they can be monstrously efficient, so there’s no reason a smaller version shouldn’t work in an auto (or truck) application. If you work it right, you get the best of both worlds: you can run it off of batteries only for short range (particularly inner-city driving) yet if you have to drive it a long distance, you can stop and fill it up at any gas station, and fill it up quickly.

Anyway, someone finally got a chance to drive one on the street and write about it. Continue Reading…