We heard rumblings of the electric three-wheeled Aptera over a year ago but now the company has opened up an annoying and overwrought website soliciting "reservations," meaning you can plunk down $500 and get the right to buy either the all-electric or plug-in diesel hybrid model. The good news is, there's a working prototype with specs that are jaw-dropping.

How's 230mpg while driving at 55mph? Yes, that's short of the 330mpg first promised last year, but that's a real world number demonstrated as the company rolled out the first working prototype of this diesel-electric car in March. Part of the secret to that great mpg number is its drag coefficient of 0.11, extremely slippery. The company's also claiming a 0-60 time of 10 seconds.

It looks way-cool, too. We especially like the view from the rear of this car—it looks like a flying saucer, and the view from the side? Why, it's a banana on wheels, and we mean that in the nicest way.

And the pricing? The company insists all this tech will cost around $20K, and say the first Apteras will be delivered in "approximately 12 months." That's a long time to lend someone $500 interest-free, but hey, this is an extraordinary design so maybe we'll give 'em a pass this time. [Aptera]

Contact information for this author is not available.