“Elio Motors, Inc. (OTCQB: ELIO), developer of the ultra-high-mileage, low-cost three-wheel Elio vehicle, announced that they had entered into a memorandum of understanding with a Fortune 500 OEM, to provide the engine foundation as part of a new powertrain for the Elio vehicle. Elio currently projects that the new powertrain will result in $120 million in research and development cost savings. The company is working with the engineering team at Roush to develop a new Elio prototype employing the OEM powertrain.” [link]

Personally I think this is a smart move. The engine will likely have twice the horsepower Elio was projecting for their engine, so with the light weight of the Elio, that should make the car (or autocycle, if you prefer) very quick. Secondly, it should allow Elio to bring the car to to market more quickly, which is a bonus considering how long we’ve all been waiting. Third, if it’s coming from an established automotive manufacture, the engine should be more reliable.

There’s some speculation that the engine could be coming from Ford, since they’re mostly getting out of the automotive business. An Ecoboost 1.0 L turbo would be nice in the Elio, wouldn’t it?

Read more at https://www.eliomotors.com/a-powertrain-press-release/.