AltCar 2008: Triac in the metal, deliveries to customers start in December

We heard about the Triac back in April and got more details in May. When we saw the prototype sitting on the floor of the Santa Monica Alt Car Expo floor over the weekend, we knew we needed to stop in and say hello. Ehab Youssef was there to give a rundown of the Triac, an all-electric tadpole-style three-wheeler that can go 80 mph and has a 100-mile range. The Triac uses a 20 kW AC motor and a 160 amp hour lithium battery pack and features full regen braking. The intellectual property - lithium batteries, battery management system, etc. - is engineered in the U.S. and final assembly is in San Jose, but some of the other components come from overseas.

One of the things that Youssef is quick to point out, though, is the Triac's safety features (this is a "motorcycle" in the eyes of the feds, after all, and so escapes a lot of expensive testing). "Safety is one of the primary concerns of any vehicle, and so we went well beyond the Federal motor vehicle safety standards for motorcycles," he said, "and put in all of the safety features that are possible." Some of those features are disc brakes, structural steel cage, side impact bracing.

So far, Youssef said, "several vehicles" have been reserved and Youssef's company, Green Vehicles, will start delivering the Triac to customers in December (a little later than expected). Youssef explained that the base price of $23,000 is the lowest you can find today for a highway-speed electric vehicle, and many customers are choosing to go with some of the many upgrades.