Stability

From Apterawiki

The Aptera is a three-wheeled "tadpole" trike -- that is, two wheels in the front, one in the rear. This contrasts with the more conventional "delta" trike, which has two in the rear, one in the front, and has very different handling..

Contents 1 Road and Track Report 2 Wheelbase 3 Other 4 See Also

[edit] Road and Track Report

A May 1982 report by Road and Track magazine compared delta trikes, tadpole trikes, and four wheelers on the track.[1] The report found that delta trikes tend to produce significant oversteer (the more you turn, the more it wants to turn, increasing risk of rollover and spin), and no amount of tuning could change this. Tadpole trikes and four wheelers both produced understeer. The tadpole trikes in general handled like four wheel cars, except due to their lower moment of inertia, they tended to have faster yaw response times.

[edit] Wheelbase

The exact dimensions have not been revealed. Study of the photos suggests that the car is roughly 7' wide, 4'4" tall, and 13'1" long.[2]. This is quite wide -- just a little narrower than a Hummer H1 from wheel edge to wheel edge, wider than a Hummer H2 from wheel to wheel, and similar to a Hummer H2 from mirror tip to mirror tip.

[edit] Other

The center of gravity is kept low by keeping the massive batteries low in the body [3], similar to the highly stable Tango. The profile of the car is shaped like an inverted wing[4], which should provide a degree of downforce at high speeds.

[edit] See Also

• Handling
• Passive safety
• Active safety