Confederate Motors

Confederate Motors, Inc.

Type	Private
Industry	Motorcycle
Founded	1991
Founder(s)	H. Matthew Chambers
Headquarters	Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Products	P120 Fighter, B120 Wraith, X132 Hellcat
Website	http://www.confederate.com/

Confederate Motors, Inc. is a manufacturer of exotic street motorcycles in Birmingham, Alabama. It was founded in 1991 by trial lawyer H. Matthew Chambers, as an initiative seeking “enlightened design through true American inspiration.”

History

The company opened shop in San Francisco, California in 1992, moving in 1993 to a prototype shop in New Orleans, Louisiana where its first motorcycle rolled off the production line on 11 November 1994. Over 500 first generation Hellcat models were built from 1996 to 2001.^[1] After going bankrupt in 2001, Confederate recovered in 2003 and produced a second generation of Hellcats, about 75 total.^[1]

After the severe factory damage in August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina interrupted production,^[1] Confederate moved its corporate headquarters and assembly operations to a building in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. Production resumed after the reorganization and move in early 2006, with an announcement in May of their $5 million expansion plans for production of a third, more affordable, model. Plant staffing is expected to increase from twelve to as many as thirteen employees.

Confederate Motor Co. sold 37 bikes in 2008 and anticipated the sale of 30 bikes in 2009, due to the recession. Even though Confederate's buyers are too rich to be affected by the economic downturn, company founder Matt Chambers said during the recession, "it was very fashionable to not be buying a high-end luxury product like ours."^[2]

Products

Pre-production 1 is the first Confederate Fighter. Claimed average speed of 155.8 mph (250.7 km/h) in the flying mile at Bonneville Speedway.

In 2007, the $92,000^[2] B120 Wraith and F131 Hellcat took first and second place respectively in the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building show at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, in the production manufacturer category.

List of current models

• B120 Wraith
• P120 Fighter
• X132 Hellcat (in development)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Carpenter, Susan (20 December 2006), "Paparazzi magnet; Gawkers get whiplash when Confederate Motor's new Wraith rolls by. That alone may make it a worthy successor to the star-seducing Hellcat.", Los Angeles Times: G.1 
2. ^ ^{a b} Carpenter, Susan (October 24, 2009), A bumpy ride for motorcycle makers; Sales plunge 37.3% in the third quarter. The industry is cutting staff and product lines., pp. B1,B4, http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/24/business/fi-motorcycle-sales24, retrieved 2011-06-07  Online version headline: "Motorcycle makers cutting staff and product lines as sales plunge" 

External links

• Confederate Motor Company announces relocation... Retrieved 20070617
• alabama.gov: Governor Riley Celebrates First Production Motorcycle Made in Alabama Retrieved 20070617
• Out of New Orleans, Confederate Rises NYT Handlebars column