Imagine a high-performance car that can run on gas or electricity but is not a hybrid.
Well, it’s about to happen because of 37-year-old twins, Nikita and Iliya Bridan. They have developed the HF-11 car, the world’s first powertrain agnostic sports car platform. It has the capability to be powered by interchangeable internal combustion or electric powertrains and equipped with standard transmission. Not only that, despite the EV component it makes as much noise as an F1 car. The Bridans call it The Street Legal Maniac Machine.
The Bridans and their team in California are in the process of building 25 bespoke versions of the HF-11, which will retail for $1.8 million for the internal combustion model, and $2.3 million for the version that also includes the EV component.
In a recent visit to Toronto to do a slight presentation about the car at the RClub, Nikita told me the car has two subframes that are swappable and can be done in about an hour.
“It’s much more complicated than just that, but very simply that’s what we’re doing,” he said. “It’s never been possible because batteries are heavy. Batteries don’t use a manual transmission. There’s a number of things that would cause this to be an issue. Also batteries are normally a skateboard underneath the seats, it doesn’t take up the same space as an engine.
“Our big difference is the way the batteries, the motor and everything on an EV component are basically swappable with an engine block. You need extremely lightweight batteries for that – extremely compact and energy-dense batteries – and it hasn’t existed until basically today. The tech is finally there and we’re making it happen.”
Nikita said electric cars are criticized for a lot of things – no noise, heaviness and lack of driving engagement – so that’s why he and his brother decided to build the HF-11 with standard transmission instead of automatic.
“Electric cars don’t need a manual transmission, they need a two-speed or a three-speed and that’s the fastest way to accelerate, the greatest efficiency, it’s basically mechanically perfect,” Nikita said. “But humans aren’t perfect, drivers aren’t perfect, and there’s a certain joy to using a clutch and shifting.
“It’s very nostalgic, and we think it’s an easier way for enthusiasts to get into EV because it’s more familiar. It also gives you more control. It’s not the fastest way to accelerate, but we don’t care. If you want a fast car, go by another car. Our car is fast enough.”
They began with the Half 11, a prototype of a Porsche 911 and Interscope Porsche IndyCar from the 1970s. That evolved over the years to the HF-11, which weighs 1,950 pounds, can go from zero to 60 seconds in 3.2 seconds, has 650 horsepower and a redline of 12,000 RPMs.
“With our specs, there’s nothing on the market like it,” Nikita said. “We don’t really like calling it a Hypercar because we’re not hyper-focused on anything or Megacar. We’re okay with just Supercar, Sportscar, Enthusiast Car. We don’t really have a preference.”
A track version of the HF-11 called Shadow will be publicly revealed for the first time in May. Shadow is a tribute to the Shadow Racing Team started in 1968 by Don Nichols, whom Nikita said was an ex-CIA/NSA individual who worked in “shadowy” government covert operations.
“They built one of the coolest racing brands of all time, had one of the coolest logos, literally like a spy with a hat,” Nikita said. “They raced in Can-Am, which was no-rules racing and no budgets in Formula One and Formula 5000. They were basically Go Karts with 1,000 horsepower, V8 engine. They managed to win the Can-Am championship in 1974.”
Nikita said his company is in talks with Trevor Harris, who was the designer of the MK1, about plans for the Shadow.
There is also plans to build a streetcar for everyday driving that is more affordable. He said about 300 cars a year will be produced that will be very different from HF-11 or Shadow but also be powertrain agnostic.
“The spirit of it will be a little less aggressive,” Nikita said. “There’s one word that describes it – and everyone hates the word – it will be magic. We want it to be unlike any car ever, very different in terms of the ownership experience, driving experience, not necessarily being the fastest, but a joy to use and the way it brings magic to your life.”
The brothers will be discriminate to whom they sell the cars, which will be designed to the buyer’s individual taste, thus becoming bespoke.
“For the most part the people we approach seem to understand why we’re building this car, that there is nothing that exists like it and are intrigued by it,” Nikita said. “It’s a good match basically. Normally you can pick the colour of the car or the colour of the leather, but we can go much further. We can modify some of the bodywork first of all, second of all the clients can choose between gas or EV as well.”
Perry Lefko is the Content Manager of The Car Magazine. He can be reached at [email protected]. Feel free to forward any story suggestions or comments.
