We recently got the chance to sit down with Hypercraft USA Creative Director, Logan Tanner, who gave us the inside scoop on Hypercraft’s plans to launch the first all-electric Unlimited Class trophy truck to go head to head against gas-powered competition at the Mint 400, Baja 1000, and more!
What made Hypercraft decide to team up with Geiser Brothers on this project?
Geiser are the winningest race truck manufacturers in the biz by a long shot, having collected more wins than all other builders combined so we feel ultra-confident about building this EV on that platform.
How did you guys convert a standard trophy truck into an all-new EV version?
We’re building this EV truck on a standard Geiser Bros G6 chassis and replacing the gas motor, trans, cooling system, etc with a tri-EV motor setup capable of 1,600HP and over 7,000 lb/ft of torque. We’ll have a dual EV motor setup in the front with torque vectoring, and a single motor driving a shaft to the rear differential turning the rear wheels. Next iteration, we hope to work with Geiser to redesign the rear suspension setup to allow for dual-EV motors with torque vectoring in the rear also, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves too much.
How will the truck’s energy supply fare during these demanding courses?
Energy storage for the truck comes by way of swappable battery packs that are currently slated to sit beneath the driver and passenger seats, and in the rear of the truck. The under-seat packs should be swappable by hand, while the ones in the rear will be large enough to require some light equipment to change out at each pit stop along the course.
A standard battery setup can’t achieve the 200-250 mile range between stops that we’re shooting for, so we’re augmenting the traditional battery setup with capacitors that are more efficient and speedy at regenerating energy and releasing it. For heavy on/off throttle use situations, the truck can pull from these constantly-draining-and-filling capacitors, and when the truck is pinned in the flat stuff, it can sip from the traditional battery packs to maintain speed.
So when will we see a Hypercraft EV racing in the desert?
Stay tuned to Hypercraftusa.com and all our social channels (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin) for updates because the Geiser Bros truck is being built as we speak, but we’re also working with SCORE International and Ultra4 to bring EV racing to the desert in a few other different and exciting ways.
And as exciting as all the racing stuff is, I think it’s important to note that we are not just a desert racing outfit. Hypercraft as a company exists to create and provide complete, turn-key electric drive systems for everything from one-off garage builds to OEMs looking to provide a full EV option to their lineup. The racing aspect of this business is a way for us to market what we do, and pressure test the technology in tough and demanding conditions to prove its mettle — it just so happens to be a whole lot of fun too.
What can Hypercraft offer someone that wants to put together an electrifying project?
Our EV drive systems are available for anything from 10hp to 2,000hp and of whatever range and battery capacity you desire. These offerings cover everything from go-karts, motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs, etc, all the way up to cars, trucks, restomods, and aircraft and marine applications. If you know what kind of power and range you want, the world is your oyster with Hypercraft.
Got a build idea and want to work with Hypercraft, CLICK HERE!