Electric neo-café racer to compete in Goodwood hillclimb
The £90,000 zero-emission café racer Arc Vector will spin its wheels for the first time in public at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on 4-7 July, tearing up the famous hillclimb course alongside storied superbikes and motorsport icons.
Arc Vector is being readied for production next summer and the bike that’ll be seen flat-out on the Duke of Richmond’s driveway is the final prototype. In addition, Arc Vehicle’s on-site sales boutique will feature a VR-enabled Vector, and a third prototype is being hosted for all to see alongside the Michelin Supercar Paddock.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed celebrates velocity in all its forms, not least when it comes to adrenalin-forged innovation. Designed and built in Britain, makers claim that the Arc Vector is the world’s most advanced electric motorcycle. It features an ingenious battery-module carbon monocoque and, worn by the rider, a connected Heads-Up display helmet and bespoke jacket with haptic motors that makes the riding experience safer and more exhilarating.
As well as demonstrating the thrust of its 399-volt electric motor – which provides a power-to-weight ratio of 650bhp per tonne – Goodwood House’s 1.16-mile course will highlight the Vector’s handling and manoeuvrability; its unique steeply-raked hub-centre steering enables fast changes of direction and stability at high-speed.
Plot 5, next to the Thakeham Family Area and behind the Startline Grandstand, is where visitors can experience it for themselves, by straddling the Vector and donning Virtual Reality goggles. The fighter jet-inspired Zenith helmet and Origin sensory body armour will make its public debut, too, and there will also be a digital bike configurator where guests can spec their very own electric dream.
The bike will race up the hill twice on each day of the event, and Arc founder and CEO Mark Truman will undertake most of the riding duties.
“Goodwood is the ideal place for us to show the Vector to the people for the first time in anger,” says Mark. “We’ve been testing behind the scenes and now the bike is emerging from the shadows. It is the most amazing thing both to ride and behold. Up to 150,000 are expected at the Festival of Speed, and I hope they all get a chance to see what we’ve been working on; a unique all-electric neo café racer with all sorts of kit never before seen. Goodwood is perfect because it’s a champion of new technology and a best of British event of which we very much hope to be at the forefront. It feels really great to get the chance to ride something so new and advanced on such a prestigious piece of tarmac. It also gives us the opportunity to show enthusiasts what the bike is about, let them experience this sensory world on our stand, and help them understand the philosophy and ambition behind what we believe is a truly game-changing electric motorcycle.”
