Today is a double Brammo day. Earlier this morning we teased you with a picture of the . You may have noticed two things. 1) The bike is green…kind of like the Hungry Hunter, and 2) Best Buy is sponsoring it. We don’t mess with giant men that have brussels sprouts growing on them, so this article will solely focus on the latter of the two observations. More pictures after the jump.
With the Brammo Enertia slated to be sold at a Best Buy near you, there is in a way a logical connection then for the Brammo TTR to have Best Buy as a marquis sponsor to the electric racer. Best Buy is also a large investor in the Brammo the company, making the sponsorship fit even more so. In its sponsorship, Best Buy will be supporting a 2-bike team at the Isle of Man TTXGP, being held this July 12th.
There’s no word yet as to whether the Geek Squad will be working the pits at the IOM, but we have it on good authority: that joke isn’t going away anytime soon.
The Brammo TTR race bike is based standard Enertia chassis, but everything has been appropriately beefed-up to handle the output of the enlarged electric motor and 100-volt, 8kWh lithium polymer battery pack. Top speed is listed at just 100 miles per hour, but Brammo believes its low 360-pound weight and high-spec suspension will help the TTR maintain a consistently high average speed over the 37-mile TTXGP time trial, and fend off the advances of the larger and more powerful MotoCzysz and Mission One.
Speaking about the competition, Brammo CEO and Chairman, Craig Bramscher said this:
“Our goal is to be the best handling bike and the one that goes through the curves the fastest so we’ve got the highest average speed,” says Bramscher. The TTR is likely to be far slower in a straight line than both the Mission One, the street version of which is said to hit 150mph, and the MotoCzysz E1pc with it’s 10 battery packs and three motors. We’ve already seen the E1pc hit 122mph on a dyno.”
Brammo CEO Craig Bramscher also told Wired.com that his company doesn’t have plans to sell the race-ready TTR at the consumer level, but we suspect a more “sporty” version of the Enertia will make its way off the drawing board at some point. Rumor has it that a fully-faired version of the bike will be launched within the next six months alongside a less-expensive, detuned version of the standard Enertia.
What is interesting though, is that the Brammo TTR has taken a bit of color change from the leaked photos we gave you about a month ago. Could those be possible renders of a street going bike? Or just one of many designs that was up for grabs for the IOM racer?
Brammo/Best Buy Press Release:
BEST BUY SPONSORS BRAMMO ENERTIA TTXGP RACE TEAM
ASHLAND, Ore., May 28, 2009 — Brammo, maker of the Enertia plug-in electric motorcycle announced today that Best Buy is an official sponsor and team partner of Brammo’s two-bike team that will compete in the Isle of Man TTXGP race. The team will be officially known as Team Brammo Enertia Best Buy Racing.
Founder and CEO of Brammo, Craig Bramscher (Twitter: @brammocraig) said, “Our goal with Team Brammo Enertia Best Buy Racing is to explore future capabilities, technologies and features of the production-based Enertia electric motorcycle and the future of the Brammo product line. Having Best Buy support for our Enertia racing program has really helped Brammo elevate the program and it is awesome to have their involvement.”
“Best Buy Racing is thrilled to be part of such an innovative racing endeavor,” said Paul Zindrick, senior manager of event marketing at Best Buy. “Our involvement with Brammo and the TTXGP event is a natural extension of our Best Buy Racing initiatives and we will apply our full technical and promotional resources to integrate the Brammo Enertia into Best Buy Racing around the world.”
Team Brammo Enertia Best Buy Racing has two bikes entered in the TTXGP. Bike #11 will be ridden by Roy Richardson. “Roy Boy,” is a third-generation motorcycle racer and has an impressive history at the TT with numerous silver replica awards and lap records. Bike #26 will be ridden by Edinburgh native, Mark Buckley. Mark has been racing for 15 seasons with numerous top finishes and is also an accomplished journalist.
TTXGP is the first zero emissions motorcycle race on the planet that will take place at the historical Isle of Man TT scheduled for June 12, 2009. Twenty-three teams from around the world are entered in the TTXGP and the event is designed to introduce carbon-free racing to the world. For additional information about the event, visit www.ttxgp.com.
Fans and media can follow Brammo on www.brammo.com, or on Twitter at @BrammoSays. Additional pictures of the Enertia race bikes and fresh video can be found at www.brammo.com.
About Brammo
Brammo (www.brammo.com) is a premier specialty vehicle manufacturer developing sustainable performance products for the next generation of transportation. Through integration of digital engineering and high impact design, Brammo transforms ideas into compelling products. Located in Ashland, Oregon the company was founded in 2002 and is privately held.
About Best Buy Co., Inc.
With operations in the United States, Canada, China, Europe and Mexico, Best Buy is a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services with a commitment to growth and innovation. The Best Buy family of brands and partnerships collectively generates more than $45 billion annual revenue and includes brands such as Best Buy, Audiovisions, The Carphone Warehouse, Future Shop, Geek Squad, Jiangsu Five Star, Magnolia Audio Video, Napster, Pacific Sales Kitchen, Bath and Electronic Centers, The Phone House and Speakeasy. Approximately 155,000 employees apply their talents to help bring the benefits of these brands to life for customers through retail locations, multiple call centers and Web sites, in-home solutions, product delivery and activities in our communities. Community partnership is central to the way we do business at Best Buy. In fiscal 2009, we donated a combined $33.4 million to improve the vitality of the communities where our employees and customers live and work. For more information about Best Buy, visit www.bestbuy.com.
Source: Brammo
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