Melbourne, Victoria
Australia’s first full-sized, high-performance electric motorcycle has won the top prize at this year’s Victorian Premier’s Design Awards, announced last week.
The Savic C-Series electric motorcycle – designed by company founder and chief executive Dennis Savic and concept designer David Hendroff – won Award of the Year and Best in Category for Product Design.
The awards celebrate innovation, excellence and the broad impact of design.
Judges at the 25th annual award praised the ingenuity required to combine the power and handling of a traditional motorcycle with the latest electric battery technologies.
Savic says the main challenge was integrating a bulky 80kg powertrain without detracting from the fine lines and distinctive ‘racing’ style of an iconic 1970s motorcycle, with the C-Series based on the traditional ‘cafe racers’ of that era.
“We did this by designing a lightweight cast-aluminium frame, which doubles as a waterproof enclosure,” Dennis Savic, a former Ford employee, said.
The frame incorporates the 144-volt battery pack as a structural chassis element, houses 80% of the electronics, and couples directly with the motor to produce a fully-functioning, integrated powertrain.
The first C-Series is expected to roll off the production line this year – the first full-powered electric motorbike designed and manufactured in Australia.
It comes five years after Dave Hendroff drew the first concept sketch in early 2017.
