Electric Motorcycle Maker Energica Is Up For Sale For Just $4.6 Million
Electric motorcycles are an absolute blast, but they're still a bit of a tough sell here in the States. Battery tech isn't exactly cheap, and most Americans are too afraid of water to ever consider a commute unshielded by thousands of pounds of metal and glass. The numbers are hard to make work for a second vehicle too, and that tricky math led to the downfall of one of the most interesting electric motorcycle manufacturers. Energica was building bikes, winning podium spots, and then suddenly it was nothing at all.
Now, there's a chance for the Energica name to become something once again. The company is going up for auction, and some lucky buyer will walk away with everything from the name and branding to intellectual property and even unfinished and prototype motorcycles. The starting bid is just $3.5 million, but you could walk away with Energica for a reserve price of $4.65 million — not bad for an entire motorcycle company.
You, personally, should revive Energica
The sale listing includes a document of Energica's current inventory, written in some sort of indecipherable secret code called "Italian." Through careful application of the Jalopnik Mainframe's immense processing power, I've been able to crack some small parts of the list, including at least four prototype bikes and eight production motorcycles in various states of incompleteness. There's also a type of very fancy storage shelving, valued at over $150,000. Really, you can't afford not to buy this bundle.
Energica will likely go to one of two types of buyers: Either a bright-eyed idealist bent on bringing the brand back, like Norton, or a cynic who wants to plaster the name on shirts and use the company to take investment funds for personal use, like Norton. The third option, though, is that it goes to you — a true enthusiast, a fan, someone with the knowledge and resources to make Energica the brand it deserves to be. That is you, right?