We're not going to be posting on every single infusion of cash that a green start-up gets, but this one in particular is awfully interesting. First, the specifics: $10 million in funding has been secured by Brammo Motorsports for the production of its Enertia electric motorcycle, with Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital and Best Buy Capital being the two big contributors. That's right, Best Buy. This investment obviously leads many to believe that these new-fangled electric vehicles could show up in the retailer's showrooms. There are a few techy features that seem right up the Big Box retailer's alley, namely the on-board GPS chip and WiFi port, both of which help calculate your total carbon savings over a gas-powered machine.

This round of funding is said to be sufficient to bring the Brammo Enertia to production. When that date will be, though, is still not officially decided. Documents indicate that another $5 million may be made available to the company to facilitate its production intentions.



[Source: peHUB via The Kneeslider]

If you have a fondness for super sweet electric motorcycles, are creative with a computer and harbor your own vision of what a green world looks like, then perhaps you should submit an entry into the "Creativity for a Greener World" contest being held by BOXX Technologies and sponsored by AMD. To celebrate their 10th year at SIGGRAPH 2008, the Austin-based designer and manufacturer of high-performance workstations and render nodes for digital content want you to send them a 2D, 3D or animation that represents your vision of a greener world so they can give their favorite entry a very cool limited edition Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle. A prototype of the bike will be on display at their SIGGRAPH 2008 booth this week if you're in that area and want to check it out. The winner will receive one at the very first bikes off the line once production kicks off. If this sounds like opportunity knocking to you, hurry because the contest ends on the 22nd of this month.

So what does digital art, BOXX or AMD have to do with the Brammo Enertia? The lithium-powered two-wheeler was designed using an APPEXX 4 super workstation powered by four Quad-core AMD Opteron processors and stands as an example of what can be achieved through technology to create a greener world. The zero-emissions bike is capable of more than 50 mph and has a range of about 40 miles. If you don't have the time to get creative and win one, you can always get one the old-fashioned way and buy it. You can get the aluminum-framed Enertia Standard with injection molded plastic body panels and fenders and vinyl seat for $11,995 or go whole hog, so to speak, and get one of 99 serialized Enertia Carbon Limited models with carbon fiber body panels and fenders and a stylish leather seat for $14,995. If you decide to have a go at winning one, we wish you good luck!



[Source: BOXX Technologies]

Brammo sent out an email to people who've registered at the Enertia bike website about the beta version of a greenhouse gas calculator. I assume this is the precursor to the technology that Brammo representatives told AutoblogGreen about in December whereby Enertia bikes will connect to the Internet and tell owners (and others in a social networking sort of space) how much CO₂ the rider has saved compared to other methods of transportation. In the current version, you manually input your route and then see how much you save in CO₂ emissions and fuel if you were riding an Enertia today. If you register, you can save routes and access other features. I haven't spent enough time to see if this is indeed an option, but there should certainly be a way to add all your driving for a year together to get an annual total.

While no one can buy an Enertia quite yet, we do know what it's like to take one for a spin. To find out, click on the box below:



Related:

• The Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle

[Source: Brammo]

Covering a conference like EVS23 can be a bit draining. There is so much to try and capture and post on that by the end of the event, I'm looking forwards to falling asleep in my cramped airplane seat on the way home. The last day of EVS23, though, brought with it a special treat: a chance to test out the Brammo Enertia all-electric motorcycle (see video above). With shadows still long on the parking lot pavement, Brammo's lead engineer, Aaron Bland, guided me through the bike's capabilities and gave me some riding tips. Ever since I crashed a Vespa back in high school, I have trepidations on any two-wheeled device that's not a bicycle, but this thing felt good. Not to spoil the surprise, but I'll admit right at the start that if I were to ever buy a motorcycle, the Enertia would be a serious contender for my wallet's contents.

Anyway, back to the ride. Aaron drove around the parking lot a few times. Of all the people at Brammo (and, indeed, the planet), he said, he's the guy who has put the most miles on the Enertia bikes, which, as you can guess, means he hates his job. Once I filmed a few scenes of the bike in action, it was my own turn at the handlebars.

Aaron warned me that the bike might jump at the start, because its throttle map is one of the key sticking points that needs to be resolved before the production model is unleashed on the world sometime next year. Even with his warning, and me moving my hand ever so slightly, the bike did hop a bit as I started. It wasn't uncomfortable or scary, just a "hup!", and then I was on my way.

More, much more, after the jump.

In the video above, NextGear talks to Brammo, the maker of the Enertia electric bike, at EVS-23 and they say the bike will be released the second half of 2008. Here is exactly what Brammo said about the release date:

We would like to be building and shipping these bikes towards the second half of next year. We will be able to give a firm date, I would say towards the beginning of next year but right now we are not giving you a hard date but we will say second half of next year.

The NextGear interview includes a close look at Enertia's organic display and Brammo talks about why they choose the Valence battery. Brammo also talks about making the bike and the company history which includes making an Ariel Atom for Jay Leno.

The Enertia will cost about $12,000 which is a little more than the Vectrix scooter. You can see a video of Enertia below the fold.

Related:

• The Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle
• MSN Autos gets first ride on the Brammo Enertia electric cycle

[Source: NextGear]

Brammo Motorsports is really gettin' their green on these days. They just released information on their new electric motorcycle, the Enertia. Now, word leaks that they are changing their gasoline-burning ways and are shifting the focus of their upcoming supercar to electric power! The vehicle was previously known as the Rogue GT; the name has been changed to the Enertia GT to go along with their electric motorcycle. The Rogue was to be powered by a V12 engine, obviously the new one will use an electric motor instead. Because of the nature of electric motors and the fact that they produce maximum torque off the line, the vehicle might just accelerate harder than if it had the V12 engine, but give back some of that performance at the top end.

It should be noted that the company also builds the Ariel Atom here in the States. The CEO of the company, Craig Bramscher, truly seems to have had a change of heart when it comes to environmental issues, as he also claims that there are many other alternative fuel projects in the works.

Unfortunately, we don't have many other details to give you. We might mention that the Enertia bike uses lithium based batteries from Valence. Might the car version use the same? Carbon fiber was put to good use as well on the motorcycle, and would be expected on a supercar as well. I am really excited by this news - a new player has joined Tesla in the electric supercar games. Brammo has experience in building cars already, and offers their vehicles for sale currently. No mention was made of price, of course. It's certainly just conjecture at this point, but will they follow Tesla's lead in offering lower cost and passenger friendly electric cars to a larger market? These really are exciting times to be following the alternative vehicle industry.

[Source: Winding Road via Autoblog]

We just showed you the new Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle a few days ago, and already MSN Autos has gotten to take it for a ride. Yes, we are all collectively jealous. MSN seems to have enjoyed their time on the machine, although they had to keep it in the low power settings. The machine allows the rider to select a 40 percent power mode or a 100 percent power mode. Also, a logo on the dash lets you know how much power you are using by changing from green to yellow to red, in succession, as you ask for more current from the batteries. As was mentioned in our last article, the top speed is limited to 50 mph and the range varies as to how you ride the bike, but is as much as 40 miles. MSN seemed to think that the mileage seemed realistic after riding for 30 miles and keeping the power meter pegged in the red for most of it.

Again, as was mentioned, the initial price is steep at a bit under $15 grand, but a lower cost model with the same specifications should arrive shortly afterward at under $12,000. MSN also relayed news that a higher specification model with seating for two will debut at some point as well as a lower spec city-only model. The more choices the better!

[Source: MSN Autos]

From the looks of the above video, there is one thing that Brammo definitely got right with their new electric bike, the Enertia: the looks. I really think that this is an attractive machine, with the leather saddle and all the carbon bits. The rest of the components make the bike appear better finished than many other electric motorcycles\bicycles that I have seen. I include bicycles in this comparison because it is likely that some of the components on this machine come from the mountain bike realm.

It is absolutely essential to keep the weight to a minimum on a machine such as this, which is why I would not be surprised to see mountain bike bits. Along with that, carbon fiber pieces also keep the weight down. Even the frame appears to be made completely from carbon fiber, which undoubtedly will keep the price above other choices. In some cases, you get what you pay for... I would need to take this one for a ride before I could pass judgment.

According to The Kneeslider, the initial series of bikes will cost just under $15 grand. That is a rather large sum. It bears mentioning that the Vectrix scooter will cost less, and may even perform better. The price will go down to a bit under $12 grand shortly, with a different series of machines.

Specs:

• 50 mph top speed
• 45 mile range
• 3 hour full recharge time
• 76.8 volts from 6 Valence LiPo batteries

[Source: Brammo Motorsports, The Kneeslider and Hugg, thanks Linton]