About Illuminati Motor Works

Illuminati Motor Works is a group of engineers, automotive technicians, graphic artists and car enthusiasts who have worked on alternative means of transport and alternative energy for many decades in their professional and personal lives.

Team members have built electric, solar electric, series hybrid mini Baja, natural gas fuel injected parallel hybrid, and stored are super charged fuel injected vehicles and have competed in the 1995 Hybrid Electric Vehicle and 1996 Future Car challenges. They’ve worked for a variety of companies, including the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and GM, where team members specialized in circuit and system design and programmed and completed prototyping for the EV and HEV programs.

Committed to ending our additiction to oil and the environmental degradation it causes, IMW is more than just a collective of like-minded mechanics and engineers; the team was formed to answer the challenge offered by the ongoing Automotive X PRIZE competition, which offers millions of dollars in prize and seed money to teams that can build super-efficient, consumer-friendly, mass-producable vehicles that can achieve 100 MPG or more.

The Illuminati Motor Works (IMW) “Seven” is a four seat, gasoline compound series hybrid. The vehicle has dual modular design enabling both its drive train and body components to be swapped out. This concept allows bolt on adaptation of Diesel, BioDiesel, Ethanol, and natural gas drive train and body styles including the four door sedan and truck versions. The design flexibility coupled with its other strengths will allow for quick market adoption of the vehicle.

Specializing in clever engineering to maximuze the utility of simple, low-cost components, the team adheres rigorously to the KISS strategy (Keep it Simple, Silly / Stupid), and has partnered with Hyundai Motors America to help drivers everywhere apply this same strategy to modding their own cars for better fuel efficiency and a lower carbon footprint without compromising performance.

And while they are experts in their fields, IMW is definitely the underdog; largely self-funded, they rely on their own savings and donations to keep working towards the X Prize against much bigger, more well-funded teams. Their ingenuity, expertise and dedication more than make up for a lack of resources, however, proving that the future of driving in America very well may come from the grassroots. Hyundai likes IMW’s style and shares their vision; as such, we’re proud to help them move one step closer to making history.

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For more details about Illuminati Motor Works, check out the following links:
Illuminati Motor Works
WIRED Magazine
MFGx: “Underdogs Going for the Green, Automotive X PRIZE”