2011 Wikispeed SGT01

Tiny startup WIKISPEED introduces ‘modular' car made in Hillsdale

Saying it offers something new to the auto industry, WIKISPEED, the tiny automotive startup based in Hillsdale, introduced its lightweight and highly efficient prototype SGT02 this morning at the North American International Auto Show.

Joe Justice, project director and founder of Wikispeed, said the company is ready to start selling its cars in kit form for $28,886. If 250 pre-orders are received in 2011, customers will be credited with rebates bringing the price down to $17,995, Justice §äid.

Taking its name from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning speed, Justice has innovated a car that he says is modular. An easily manufactured chassis of four extruded aluminum girders is tied together by cross members of aluminum tubing.

From this base, the process can be adapted to accommodate nearly any powertrain and suspension. The interior is also a module, framed from smaller tubing, that can be changed at any point in the car s life to increase or decrease seating capacity.

Justice said computer testing indicates the chassis will meet the highest safety standards even though the fully trimmed car weighs only around 1,400 pounds.

One carbon-fiber composite body which Justice said costs the company less than $1,000 to make can be swapped for another in just a few minutes, giving the owner the potential to change from an enclosed one in winter to a convertible in summer. A light pickup also has been considered.

Justice, a Seattle resident, started Wikispeed in his garage to pursue the $10-million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize for 100-mile-per-gallon efficiency that was staged last spring and summer at Michigan International Speedway. The SGT01 didn t advance past the initial round of testing, but Justice was encouraged enough by the experience to create the SGT02 for the Detroit auto show.

While in Michigan in 2010, he forged a relationship with a Hillsdale couple, Brian and Lisa Ford, who volunteered to support the competitive effort.

The SGT02 was built over the past fall in the Fords garage. Justice, a software consultant, arrived in Hillsdale on Christmas Day to begin laying up the SGT02 s carbon-fiber composite body.

Air bag technology has yet to be refined before a fully finished production version can be offered. Justice is seeking additional investment before proceeding.

Source - Wikispeed