Shelby Supercars to Produce a Hybrid Motorhome Platform

Forever on the cutting edge of impracticality, Shelby SuperCars maker of the neck-snapping, record-breaking 1,287 hp Ultimate Aero and proposed makers of the all-electric Ultimate Aero EV (a candidate for Vehicle Vaporware's greatest hits)—are now announcing a partnership with Jones and Sons Chassis to make … another supercar? No. A high-performance roadster? Uh-uh.

A hybrid motorhome.

Early specs hype a 150 mile all-electric range along with a total hybrid range of 500 miles—Jones and Sons made this range a required part of the deal. SSC Green, a subsidiary of Shelby, will integrate its All Electric Scalable Powertrain (AESP) to develop a platform for the RV.

The Ultimate Aero, courtesy Shelby

In one sense this is smart—campsites offer the kind of away-from-home national charging station infrastructure currently lacking in the US and pretty much everywhere in the world (Portugal aims to be the early exception, according to a recent article in the Global Post).

In other senses, I don't get this decision. Are they predicting a run on motorhomes when the economy recovers? If so, where are they getting their information? Furthermore, young people don't buy motorhomes, old people do—people who have less regard for the environment and more regard for the bottom line, and it's safe to say that if this motorhome ever reaches the market, it ain't gonna be in the bargain bin.