MOVING OUT OF R&D

These past few months, we've been working hard to evolve the Typ-1 out of the research and design phase, into manufacturing. That's meant late nights, intensive fine-tuning, and loads of caffeine, all to make sure that the vehicle is as safe, efficient and comfortable as possible.

What began, essentially, as a very ambitious and slightly insane concept vehicle will soon be staking its place in the real world. For the past two years, with the support of Idealab and EssenJay Investments, we've been imagining, sketching, engineering, and hammering away at the future of sustainable transportation. We focused on aerodynamics, efficiency, and flow at every step of the process.

Amazingly, it took only nine months for us to put together the first model. Designed to minimize drag and friction for the greatest fuel efficiency ever seen in a consumer vehicle, the pre-production Typ-1 was shaped like a teardrop and had three wheels, a small engine, and gull-wing doors. The criticisms were inevitable; 'It won't work' and 'It won't be stable enough' were just some of the concerns we heard. But then we recorded 231 miles per gallon on our first test drive. The critics got quiet and everyone started paying attention. Even NASA's aerodynamics lab did a double-take because of our astounding initial results.

Then, in 2007, we hired automotive designer Jason Hill (of Eleven, LLC) to evolve the pre-production Typ-1 into a vehicle poised for mass-consumption and mass adoption. He'd worked previously on the Porsche Carrera GT and the Smart car, so we knew he'd be perfect to help us further refine the vehicle's interior and exterior for unmatched style and functionality.