The Energya- another trike concept

[AZEqualizer]

Only in the rendered stage at this point, Canada's Higgins-Aubé, a self-described start-up that is designing and plans to manufacture "recreational vehicles and products in niche markets for a discerning and demanding clientele," has unveiled a new three-wheeler concept, the Energya (I'm guessing this mean "expensive").

The company says it will start out with a motorcycle engine (that's if any get built for sale) but could become an electric vehicle if the necessary development funds show up.

The open-cabin, open frame two-seater uses lots of aluminum and weighs in at a mere 770- pounds, according to information on the website of co-founder and designer Martin Aubé's other company, The Creative Unit.

http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/assets_c/2008/09/zz5686b477-thumb-295x221.png (http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/zz5686b477.png)http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/assets_c/2008/09/zz2db79a18-thumb-295x221.png (http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/zz2db79a18.png)

It would probably be quite fuel efficient with a standard motorcycle engine, but oh, so clean and torque-y with an electric powerplant.

To check 'em out, click here (http://www.creativeunit.com/) for the company's home page, then select "projects" at the bottom of the page and "Higgins-aubé" from the projects list that shows up.

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autobloggreen.com/media/2008/09/energya_render.jpg

More pictures here (http://www.autobloggreen.com/photos/higgins-aub-energya/1044033/) of the the "motomobile' Energya. (be aware of the digitally inserted real photos)


Shades of the X-bow (if it had only three wheels) or the T-Rex ... how much money is out there for these high end scoots?
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autobloggreen.com/media/2007/02/ktm_x-bow.jpg
X-Bow

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/04/trex-web.jpg
T-Rex

[danbucks]

What's up with Canada and all their open seating trike companies? They still do get snow up there, eh? Or has global warming taken over, eh? :)
In all seriousness - the t-rex has been on this and the "other" forum several times. There is also an 100% electric version of it (stealth).
Pictures don't do it justice (so I assume the Energya as well): in person, up close, it looks like one mean, lean, cornering machine.
I am guessing it's expensive like the t-rex, not because of high end parts (the t-rex is really not much more than a beefy Kawasaki 1100cc motorcycle), but because of the limited market (no volume production).

[Miracleman89]

Well the more of these that come to market the better!! Soon competition will drive down prices!!!

[Jack Willard]

These are nothing more than toys for rich folks. They surely don't place in any of the eco-green commuter vehicle niches.

Shoot, if I had the $$$ I'd build me a sandrail just like the one that I was fortunate enough to get a couple of rides in this last spring. That "rail" was a small diameter (about 1-1/4") chromemoly steel tube frame with a Suzuki 1200cc motorcycle engine in it that a local fellow had built for some pretty big bucks.

That thing was like being in a ROCKET! The power was UNBELIEVABLE! That little in comparison sandrail BLEW THE SOCKS OFF every other rail on the sand! And a number of those other rails were easily in the $100k + range.

I was so fortunate to get to ride in that thing! =y: My wife got one ride too, sitting in my lap (much slower ride), just to get her up to the top of the hill where a bunch of us were having a party. She was scared $h..tless! ypslj:kes;7( That was SO MUCH FUN just watching her reaction! cool:thu:mb1

I sure hope the guy with THAT sandrail shows up again at our next planned trip to Sand Mountain, NV next month. A whole bunch of people go together twice a year. He will certainly be invited.

Any of you other CA, NV area people want to go as well? We always throw a heck of a party! Loads of fireworks rockets (shushhh...secret), BIG bonfire... etc. It's toy haulers, motorhomes, tents, sandrails, sand bikes, quads and really great people.

Let me know if your interested. Private message me.

[Baja_Traveler]

"recreational vehicles and products in niche markets for a discerning and demanding clientele," = Code speak for "This is a vehicle the average working class guy will never get behind the wheel of"

[WarpedOne]

The company says it will start out with a motorcycle engine (that's if any get built for sale) but could become an electric vehicle if the necessary development funds show up.

Bollocks. People are making their own electric car conversions in their backyards. Developing electric vehicle is cheaper than developing ICE based one. The product might be more expenisve, but how much funds do you need to decide on the battery suplier, motor and controler vendor?

There is no need to develope you own motor, controller nor batteries. Use the "of the shelf" parts and there is not much of RD anymore.

[ppi]

Bollocks. People are making their own electric car conversions in their backyards. Developing electric vehicle is cheaper than developing ICE based one. The product might be more expenisve, but how much funds do you need to decide on the battery suplier, motor and controler vendor?

There is no need to develope you own motor, controller nor batteries. Use the "of the shelf" parts and there is not much of RD anymore.True That! we are getting ready to lay down our Frame work and build all for less than 10k off the shelf, the kicker is 600-1000 mile range all on ev power, going to release some stuff from my DOD days 2thumb:up

[Derwin]

True That! we are getting ready to lay down our Frame work and build all for less than 10k off the shelf, the kicker is 600-1000 mile range all on ev power, going to release some stuff from my DOD days 2thumb:up

ppi,

I glad you decided to join our club! wel:l)

The project you mentioned sounds exciting, and I look forward to hearing more about it. Please start a NEW THREAD about your EV project, and post pictures of your progress. I think we would all like to keep updated on what you are doing.

Thanks again, and welcome!

Derwin

[ppi]

i will do what i can, did not want to cause flames here but i do feel it's time to move ahead an show it does not take mega dollars for progress.

[Derwin]

ppi,


Don't worry about causing flames. As long as you start a new thread, and share your project with us, there should be no problems. Most of us are very interested in new projects, and yours sounds like something that we would all like to know more about. 2thumb:up

Derwin

[RAN]

ppi,
Don't worry about causing flames. As long as you start a new thread, and share your project with us, there should be no problems. Most of us are very interested in new projects, and yours sounds like something that we would all like to know more about. 2thumb:up

Derwin

I know I would. thu:mbs:up:22

[dhiggins]

It's funny, but the press release version that you guys relied on was an early version that was sent once. This quote you mention was taken out for the simple reason that we did not want to give that impression that it would necessarily be expensive. It is true that in the beginning, we thought we had no choice, because of limited production. However, the response from people is so positive that I'm steering the project to be much more cost concious and design accordingly (neither myself nor my friends could afford such a vehicle if it were to sell at 60000 $). I set a retail price objective that is much lower than what we had in mind earlier (question for you guys: how does 30 000$ sound to you for this vehicle?), assuming that if the vehicle sells at a reasonable price, it would sell in higher numbers.

So keep your fingers crossed that we can secure financing that will allow us to reach our objective to make this vehicle affordable and fun for Mr. Average Joe.

And if you have a rich uncle interested in investing, let us know. We would not mind moving south. ;-)

Danny

[westonlgray]

I think that 30,000 is in the price range for a lot of us, but a key aspect for me is that it has to get reasonably good mileage (45 + for something this size), and at this point in my life, it would have to be enclosed and offer heat so that I could get some use out of it for more than a few months a year.

I would sacrifice performance for efficiency (to a degree).

If you could efficiently offer a vehicle like this with maybe 2 ICEs to start with, a sports version, and maybe a version with a small diesel 4 cylinder, that would probably hit the widest audience for you. A hybrid would be nice and essential in the long run, but there are quite a few people that would buy a fun vehicle like this with a diesel that got 80 mpg and was still fairly sporty.

[dhiggins]

We have had many people asking if we would make an electric version. I certainly wish we could, but from what I can see of the present technology, batteries are so expensive, that we would practically double the price of the vehicle, putting it back in the 60 000$ range. Hopefully battery technology will evolve rapidly.

[westonlgray]

I understand the price of the batteries, and for me an all electric version would not be useful as I am sure I would want to take this vehicle on long trips, but if I am cruising down the road at 70 MPH, I would expect to get good gas mileage. Do you have any idea what engine you would put in it? Would you be able to put a small car engine in it? The reason I ask is that they are typically more efficient than motorcycle engines.

There are a host of companies working on small hybrid vehicles, but if those electrical control systems prove to be unreliable in the short term, maybe having an efficient ICE would be a big boost to sales and customer base.

[dhiggins]

As a first step, we were targeting the high-performance market. So a large displacement motorcycle engine is intended to be used. However, it would be easy to fit a smaller displacement engine (600cc engine) which would most likely be more energy efficient. I prefer using motorcycle engines since they are lighter and are made to drive a single wheel. I have no idea at this time of the milleage we could get from the vehicle, but I would expect it to be slightly more than the motorcycle from which the engine is sourced (more drag, more friction). This being said, I would not be surprised to be in the 35+ mpg range. Obviously, the driver's right foot as a large incidence on fuel consumption...

[AZEqualizer]

I think that 30,000 is in the price range for a lot of us, but a key aspect for me is that it has to get reasonably good mileage (45 + for something this size), and at this point in my life, it would have to be enclosed and offer heat so that I could get some use out of it for more than a few months a year.

I would sacrifice performance for efficiency (to a degree).

I'm with Westonlgray on this except at 30k I would need electric AC and a enclosed cockpit to entice me. If it was 20K or less then with the other criteria I would give up being totally enclosed but the AC better have some good fans or a there better be a cooled jump suit and helmet other wise I will stick to two wheel Motorcycles.