Passive safety
From Apterawiki
Contrary to many NEVs, trikes, and small cars, which sacrifice safety for production cost, Aptera strives to keep safety a top priority. In addition to active safety features and numerous design features to enhance stability, there are many passive safety features in the vehicle.
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[edit] Frame
Aptera uses a "safety cell" inspired by Formula One cars, using curved beams to distribute force evenly around the occupants. Aluminum is used for less sensitive elements, while the primary load transfer beams are steel. Door and roof crush strengths are double the NTSB standard, as measured by a crush rig.
[edit] Skin
Aptera uses a composite skin which, from videos, appears to be foam-cored fiberglass with a carbon fiber mesh reinforcement. Composites are, pound for pound, several times stronger than steel when it comes to resisting damage. Their failure mode is to crack or shatter rather than bend. This limits their use to providing the vehicle's shell. On the upside, cracking or shattering composites tend to constrain their damage to the panel in question and not transfer stresses, as does metal.
One downside of composites is that damage can go unseen. Car owners with plastic panels are familiar with this, in that components beneath the panel can be damaged in an impact, with the panel bouncing back into place and appearing as though there was no damage. In the case of composites, there is no bending or bouncing back; it is the panel itself that can suffer invisible damage. Damage can be detected in a number of ways in the shop.
At this point, it is unknown how panels on the Aptera are attached to the frame and/or one another, and thus what will be involved in repair.
[edit] Windows/Windshield
All of the glass in the Aptera is automotive-grade safety glass, even the glass covering the solar cells.[1]
[edit] Crumple/Deflection design
The Aptera has a 45 inch crumple/deflection zone[2], quite long for a car its size. This is not only designed to decelerate the vehicle, but to deflect it upwards in an accident by having the top half of the nose collapse slower than the lower half. This extends the deceleration time.
[edit] Airbags
The Aptera comes with in-seatbelt airbags.[3] These are found on some small aircraft and are starting to make their way into luxury cars. These are mounted in the seatbelt over the passenger's lap rather than in the dash. In an accident, they explode upwards, between you and the dash, rather than toward you, and shield your whole body. A video of an in-seatbelt airbag being tested can be found here. The passenger airbag can be switched off for when a child is in the seat.[4]
