FRIEZE NEW YORK 2013
INTERNATIONAL HOME + HOUSEWARES SHOW 2013
TOKYO DESIGN WEEK 2012
BEIJING DESIGN WEEK 2012
Over the next months we will be highlighting award-winning projects and ideas from this year's Core77 Design Awards! For full details on the project, jury commenting and more information about the awards program, go to Core77DesignAwards.com
Designer: Motonium Design Inc - Timothy Prentice
Location: Redondo Beach, California, USA
Category: Transportation
Award: Professional Winner
Mission R Electric Superbike
The Mission R is a high performance electric motorcycle for international racing competition. It was designed as the prototype for a high-end ultra high performance street motorcycle that embodies unique electrical and mechanical technologies to achieve new levels of performance and efficiency for electric vehicles.
Core77: What's the latest news or development with your project?
Mission R: Latest news! Recently (just a few days after receiving the CORE77 Transportation Design Award) the Mission R electric superbike won the joint FIM/TTXPG race at Laguna Seca, smashing the previous lap record for electric vehicles and having competitive lap times with supersport-class internal combustion engine racers, and lapping within 10 seconds per lap of the fastest MotoGP bikes. Big congratulations to the team at Mission Motors!
What was an "a-ha" moment from this project?
The big moment for me happened before I had even started on the project. It was the first day I met with my client Mission Motors when they let me ride their earlier prototype. Being a long-time motorcycle rider, designer and enthusiast, I have to admit my expectations were low. I thought it would be slow with poor throttle response, and that I would miss having no shifting or sound of a great engine. I didn't miss any of it—the power and torque were amazingly strong and the throttle control felt completely natural. By the end of that first ride I was convinced that that if I could apply some compelling and exciting industrial design to their bike, that we could end up with something very special, something very desirable regardless of power system...That one ride completely changed my mind about electric powered vehicles along with the design opportunities that they present.
Read on for full details on the project and jury comments.
Comments
Fresh and sick. A hundred times better than the first version.
very cool! I love the old school space frame with a new school powertrain. As far as street bikes go, I know the loud noise is a safety enhancement so does the lack of sound become a safety issue? If you could have the "noise-maker on when in town and off whey out for some solitude in the country...