The Aptera was designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle, and later as an extended range electric vehicle. After building the proof-of-concept Mk-0, [they] hired the automotive design firm, 'eleven', to help further develop the concept vehicle. The 'eleven' team ... made great strides in the development of the Aptera's body styling, interior design, and structural engineering. [They] refined the Aptera's shape to maximize efficiency using Computational Fluid Dynamics, developed and built advanced suspension and drivetrain components, and integrated a strong yet lightweight composite shell.

Another change that came in with a rush upon the discovery of a battery with insignificant weight, compact form, and great capacity, was the substitution of electricity for animal power for the movement of all vehicles. This, of necessity brought in good roads, the results obtainable on such being so much greater than on bad ones that a universal demand for them arose. This was in a sense cumulative, since the better the streets and roads became, the greater the inducement to have an electric carriage. (Read more about John Jacob Astor's electric phaetons)