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Welcome to the Factory Five Alternative Universe Alternative Energy FFR Cars Making Waves
It's no surprise that Factory Five cars and chassis' are being used by many companies as the platform for building alternative powered vehicles. The Factory Five chassis is well engineered and the styling is second to none. While the traditional automotive industry is having a hard time changing gears from traditional fossil fuels, it shouldn't be a surprise that small companies and creative customers are busily filling the void. Here are a few early FFR salvos in the alternative energy vehicle wars. |
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Amp=D Electric Powered Hot Rod to Debut at SEMA 2009 American Hot Rodding Style Goes Green at SEMA 2009 as Factory Five Racing, along with corporate partners Solidworks and Amp’D introduce an all-electric powered 33 Hot Rod… and it aint no concept car!
The sustainable-energy driven car is a 100% functional/driving, all-electric version of the iconic 33 Ford Hot Rod. It is powered by the latest UQM technologies electric drive and A123 Systems high-power lithium-ion batteries.
The electric drive system can deliver an estimated range of more than 100 miles between charges and acceleration of 0-60 in less than five seconds!
The car was designed by Factory Five Racing, Inc. in conjunction with Amp=D, using the latest version of SolidWorks CAD software. The vehicle and its electric drive system were assembled by the Team at Amp=D, a Northern California sustainable energy vehicle lab, headed by Mike North.
The batteries come from A123 Systems, Inc. [NASDAQ: AONE]. A123 develops and manufactures advanced lithium ion batteries and battery systems for the transportation, electric grid services and consumer markets. Headquartered in Massachusetts and founded in 2001
The electric motor drive for the vehicle is by UQM Technologies. UQM is a technology leader in the development and manufacture of high-performance, power-dense and energy-efficient electric motors, generators and related power electronics.
The changes to the Factory Five '33 chassis were made using SolidWorks CAD/CAM software. SolidWorks is the world’s leading 3D mechanical CAD (MCAD) software located in Concord, MA.
The entire project was filmed and is the subject of a cable TV premier. The car will be featured in the Factory Five booth at SEMA # 22763 in front of Ford Racing in the Hot Rod and Performance Building.
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Turbine-Electric GTM
A senior
development VP at Electronic Arts in California began working on an
electric drive GTM with a turbine electric charge system over a year
ago. The car's batteries are recharged using a Capstone
Turbine Corporation C30 (30kW) turbine generator. The car
caught the attention of the President of Capstone and the company is
actively engaged in a feasibility study aimed at going to
manufacture small volume electric GTM vehicles. The car is
slated for display at the L.A. Autoshow and FFR President Dave Smith
is meeting with Capstone CEO and Business Development Director at
SEMA 2009.
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Local Motors Behind the scenes at Factory Five, we have been investing in a new company headed by Harvard MBA Jay Rogers called Local Motors. Local Motors is an exciting new venture whereby vehicles are custom designed by an internet community, and manufactured using the latest computer integration manufacturing technologies. |
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The company is well capitalized and is unveiling their first model, the "Rally Fighter" at the 2009 SEMA Show. The car is a five passenger off-road capable light-weight SUV using bio-diesel fuel and powered by the new generation BMW 6-cylinder turbo diesel engine. Local Motors has been featured in AutoWeek Magazine and locally here in The Boston Globe. Click here to visit Local Motors website for more details. |
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Progressive Automotive X-Prize Entry - West Philly Hybrid X-Team While Local Motors represents a small business solution to fun-green transportation, the students at The Automotive Academy at West Philadelphia Academy best showcase the grassroots customer and enthusiast efforts. Simon Hauger from the West Philly Hybrid X-Team is leading one of forty-three registered teams for the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize Contest. The X-Prize is a $10 million international competition where teams are challenged to develop a 100+ MPG vehicle in close to production ready form. The students are modifying a Factory Five GTM with alternative electric drive and were profiled on The Today Show on NBC. The team was also profiles in the New York Times and Scientific American Magazine Check out the links below: |
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