DUSTY; Lightning Hybrids, Loveland, Co.

I just came across this start-up niche car company located in Loveland. 240HP, 0-60 in 5.8 sec, 100mpg (biodiesel). They are supposed to have a finished car on display at the Denver car show in April.
http://www.lightninghybrids.com

I would love for things like this and the Aptera to work out, but the likelihood of success is small. Such innovation is exciting, when it works. If it does, I can see a whole new world of auto enthusiasm cranking up. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Very interesting...

And then there is this...

http://www.globalmotors.net/worlds-cheapest-car-tata-nano-officially-launched-in-mumbai/

There have been a lot of writeups in the local paper but I have not been able to locate them yet and have not seen the cars. i am most eager to see them and will definitely leave a report when I dol\
Dusty

The pictures are definitly CG, so I doubt that they have anything more than a rolling chassis so far. They make a lot of claims. I hope they're for real.

I have been following the Aptera story for a while, and they do look legitimate. Road & Track did a quick road test of one of their cars, and came away impressed. I like the innovation, but I'm not sure how well a 3-wheeler will be received by the market. Fingers crossed. Such cars seem to be pointing to a new "less is more" ethos that I've always liked. Colin Chapman said it best - "Simplify, and add lightness."

Here's the link to the Aptera website: http://www.aptera.com/index.php

It's actually a good website, but they seem to have removed the mention of the planned hybrid version. All I found this time was on the full electric. regardless, I'd love to drive one. Something that light is probably pretty responsive even on skinny tires.

Found some details here
http://www.lightninghybrids.com/images/Colorado%20green%20tech.pdf

I wonder how they intend to make the thing crash-safe. Not much to the structure for energy absorption.

I have seen pictures of a fellow sledgehammering on a Aptera body. Nothing happened. No cracks or fractures. Maybe a carbon fiber material? That could be bad - I'd want my auto body to absorb some (lots) energy before the force of a crash actually got doewn to my rather fragile body. They are very serious though, and possibly in better financial shape than Tesla right now. Lousy market for a new introduction.

Carbon fiber structures are strong in ways that are beneficial to driving dynamics, but they will bust up in a collision. They do absorb a lot of collision energy, but in a sacrificial way. I think the Carrera GT is a good example of a high-tech structure that is difficult to repair after heavy damage.