Earlier this month, Nikola Motor Company (NMC) announced its intent to roll out an electric Class 8 truck that features 2,000 horsepower, 3,700-plus ft. lbs. of torque before gear reduction and a range of 1,200 miles.
There are a lot of eye-popping numbers in that sentence. Tesla’s Model 3, whose coming launch has been heralded like a returning war hero, promises a range of just 200-plus miles.
Thanks to an on-board turbine, NMC founder Trevor Milton is promising six times more from his Nikola One tractor.
The majority of the truck’s components are being developed by NMC, but the company turned to Meritor for help in co-designing the industry’s first-ever independent suspension.
Nikola One’s fully electric 335 horsepower motors feature a dual gear reduction at every wheel (6×6) and are powered by a liquid cooled lithium-ion battery pack, which is charged by the onboard turbine when needed. Milton says there is no need to ever plug in the unit.
Milton adds Nikola One was designed with the driver in mind. Its cab is 30 percent larger than those found on more traditional trucks, and its aerodynamics reduces the drag coefficient by nearly 5 percent over most tractors currently on the market.
