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Tesla co-founder Ian Wright snags FedEx for new hybrid engines

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Lump

Active Member
Mar 31, 2013
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So. Cal.
Tesla co-founder Ian Wright snags FedEx for new hybrid engines - SFGate
Wrightspeed, Wright’s company in San Jose, builds a kind of advanced hybrid powertrain for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. And the business has just landed its biggest deal to date: an order of 25 powertrains from global delivery giant FedEx. The company has already tried out Wrightspeed’s technology in two of its trucks and liked it enough to commission more.
 
Congrats to Wrightspeed! I hope this pans out for them. I browse their web site every once in a while to see if they ever do anything with the X1.

I blame Ian Wright for me having an Ariel Atom in the garage. Years ago when I was looking at the DIY plug-in hybrid conversions, I ran across the Wrightspeed X1, eventually heard it was built using an Atom chassis, eventually got a passenger ride in an Atom on a race track and "had to have one". :) If I ever had engine trouble with the Atom, I'd love to replace the drive train with an electric one.
 
If it weren't for Ian's giving X1 "proof of concept rides" in the early days of Tesla, they might not have gotten the funding need to get where they are today.
After riding in the X1, there was no question that EVs can be high performance.
It has an AC propulsion AC150 drivetrain, so someone else could go that route to convert their Aeriel Atom.
Not sure about his battery... Maybe Kokam pouch cells? Also, he has some nice display readouts that go beyond what you could get from ACP.