Like the picture above, this is an electric motor based GPR 125 that has been built by Spanish moto manufacturer Derbi. This would be the first factory electric Derbi, but not the first electric GPR. Todd Kollin, of 2009 Open class TTXGP winner Electric Motorsport, has been converting GPR50’s to electric power for quite some time. We don’t yet know if Electric Motorsport is entering a bike in the US TTXGP rounds in 2010.
But after testing and observed the bike was then shown not-so-silently navigating the tight switchbacks of Parc Motor De Castelloli in Barcelona, Spain and doing it fairly quickly. The GPR EV was built by Derbi and uses a Sevcon Gen 4 AC motor controller and AC Perm motor which should produce some impressive results. Perhaps part of the 150 Million Euro loan taken out a year ago by parent company Piaggio to develop hybrid and electric transportation might have helped in this effort. There has been a credible mention that Piaggio will enter the TTXGP with a Derbi branded electric motorcycle.
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