As you all undoubtedly know by now, I have been working hard with our parent company Meccanica on the launch of production of our innovative commuter EV, the SOLO, with our China based manufacturing partners Zongshen Industries. The great news for Intermeccanica customers and fans is that as I have been working on this project, the team at Intermeccanica has been hard at work building Intermeccanicas and, alongside the Meccanica engineering team, developing a new and exciting Intermeccanica: our new E-Roadster!
The Intermeccanica E-Roadster “D” and E-Roadster “S” will be replacing the current internal combustion (I.C.) offerings in the Intermeccanica product line and fill a need that has been growing in our market for the past five years. I want Intermeccanica to be a leader in clean spirited sportscar development and manufacturing the E- Roadster is our first major step. As we see emerging and traditional OEM manufacturers moving to EV power as a greater part of their product offerings, I believe that Intermeccanica, with the engineering and financial strength of our parent company Meccanica, can become a leader in a new sports focused EV products. As other OEMs chase ever higher levels of technology and automation in an effort to augment and eventually replace the driver from the driving experience, Intermeccanica is looking to put you squarely back in the driver seat and give you, the enthusiast, the control over this new amazing breed of performance sports cars!
The new E-Roadster driving experience will further immerse you in your environment: allowing you to enjoy top down traditional motoring in a new and amazing way. Your driving experience, whether through a forest or city, will never be the same. The amazingly smooth and beautifully silent performance allows you to enjoy the myriad of sounds around us in a way that an I.C. sports car never could. The performance provided by our 135 Kw motor and controller matched with our considerable 50Kw battery pack and relatively low mass makes for range that easily matches that of traditional I.C. Intermeccanica 356’s, with the additional benefit of 235ftlbs peak torque. The Meccanica engineering team has a few driver interaction features in development that are sure to engage even the most passionate of manual transmission drivers, but as an option, as this EV is powered by a single speed transmission, so there is no shifting required!
Intermeccanica is currently testing and refining our second E-Roadster prototype and has four production E-Roadster’s in process. The first E-Roadster “D” and E-Roadster “S” are slated to be released to customers by mid summer 2019. As a result of this shift in focus, Intermeccanica is no longer accepting commissions for I.C. products so that we can direct all our energies to this new and exciting endeavour. As for all of you traditional Intermeccanica owners, my staff and I are committed to continue to support your Intermeccanica products with the parts and service you expect and deserve. I am expecting the last Intermeccanica I.C. product to ship by fall of this year this will be just about the 600th Intermeccanica built in Canada.
I am also thrilled to report that this year is Intermeccanica’s 60th anniversary and as per tradition we will be celebrating this event with an Intermeccanica tour on the weekend of June 21 -23 in beautiful British Columbia wine country in our Okanagan valley, based out of the village of Oliver BC. My Reisner family organizing committee is putting the final touches on the itinerary for this event and will have further details out along with registration details in the coming days. If you are interested in joining us, we still have a few spots available as does our host hotel. For more information please contact Robert at intermeccanica@telus.net.
2018 was a very busy year for me and Intermeccanica and 2019 is shaping up to be the same. Bringing our innovative SOLO from design to prototype and on to mass production has been the experience of a lifetime for me and I could not have done this without the support of the Meccanica executive and engineering teams. I also realize that this process has taken its toll on current Intermeccanica customers whose projects were delayed by my heavy travel schedule. My dedicated Intermeccanica staff and the new staff at Meccanica deserve recognition for picking up the Intermeccanica ball and running with it in my absence. Lastly, I could not have done and could not continue doing what needs to be done without the support of my wife Holly and my kids Ivy, June and Ben and the Intermeccanica powerhouse that is my mother Paula Reisner!
I thank you all for your enthusiasm, support and interest in all things Intermeccanica.
As summer finally makes its belated appearance in the North West, the excitement at Intermeccanica continues with interesting new projects underway and great new customer relationships being forged. If you have been driving and enjoying your Intermeccanica, there are now new ways to keep in touch (read on) and if you are still dreaming about your Intermeccanica, this is the time to place your order and make sure you do not waste another driving season dreaming instead of driving!
2011 Intermeccanica Wine Country Tour
Our upcoming Wine Country Tour, Sept. 23 - 25 will be based out of the southern Okanagan town of Osoyoos. I have selected the Spirit Ridge Resort http://www.spiritridge.ca as a home base for our tour’s events. We have secured good pricing on some very nice rooms, starting at $139 for a one bedroom suite. The reservations are now open and can be made either by calling the resort directly 1-877-313-9463 or online by following these instructions: go to http://www.spiritridge.ca , select "rate and availability", fill in your dates, then enter promo code "MECCA".
The format for this year's tour is a change from years past. We will not have an IM BBQ component but rather will focus on drives based out of our hotel. We will include visits and tours to several local wineries as well as some memorable meals. This part of British Columbia is a favourite among both motorcycle and sports car enthusiasts for its great roads and light traffic. If you have time we welcome you all to join us. As per usual, this event is about people so you are welcome in whatever vehicle you wish to drive.
Publicity & Publications
Keep an eye on the upcoming November / December copy of Kit Car Builder. This magazine will be featuring a full article on long time Intermeccanica friends and customers Dale and Michele Bates' beautiful new Audi 1.8 Turbo "Maus". This will be the first press coverage of this exciting new model from Intermeccanica.
The Intermeccanica book "The Story of the Prancing Bull" continues to be a popular seller. If you do not yet have your copy we still have signed copies for sale, makes a great gift for your Intermeccanica fan! $85.00 including shipping. Please email Robert to order your copy.
2011 Shows
The 2011 show season has been a busy one for me.
We started the year off with the Vancouver International Auto Show where we exhibited our pearl pink automatic transmission 1.8 Turbo Roadster. This Intermeccanica was very popular and was well received by show goers and the press alike!
The East Coast SOC Speedster/Spyder event at Carlisle PA was once again a great event giving me the opportunity to meet with customers and friends both old and new. My Intermeccanica US dealer from Michigan, Bob Schneider, and I had a new location in the replica building. It was a bit harder to find but eventually everybody made their way by to see our exhibit and Roadster on display. If you did not make it or have never been, this is a show not to miss.
The West Coast SOC rain-soaked get together took place in beautiful Pismo Beach California. I had the privilege to attend this event with Intermeccanica friends and customers Dale Bates and Dave Mitchell, driving with them from the Sacramento area. The So Cal Speedster/Spyder guys put on a great event despite the weather and I enjoyed seeing the diverse look of the Speedsters in attendance.
Intermeccanica exhibited at the Mission BC (Vancouver area) as well as Seattle Historic Races. I plan to return to these events next year and maybe attend more as time and budget permits: our 356's had a great reception at these events!
Upcoming shows include the Vancouver Luxury and Supercar Weekend this event is sure to be interesting with some amazing vehicles, new and classics, in attendance.
Website & Social Media
I am proud to announce that in the coming weeks we will be launching our newly revised web site. For those of you who visit our site regularly, you will find the look familiar but with better navigation and better image access. For me what is most exciting about the new site is that the new platform will allow me to update the site more easily so you should see improved content flow.
Intermeccanica has joined the 21st century!
• With the help of our local technical institute summer intern, Intermeccanica now has an active Face Book page so if you think of yourself as a friend of Intermeccanica, "friend" us and in exchange I will promise to keep you all current on our projects with photos!
• If you need your Intermeccanica fix more regularly you can follow me on Twitter too! or search @intermeccanica.
• If you have always wanted to see more images of Intermeccanica products and found our site a bit lacking, we have an answer for you, our new Flicker account! We have loaded our current inventory of images from our web site as a start but as we move forward I will be loading in-process and completed project photos so that all of you can follow along as we construct our special projects!
I hope you have a chance to check out these new ways of interfacing with Intermeccanica and please drop me a note if you see things you like and also if you have suggestions on how we can improve what we offer.
Headstart Speedsters and Roadsters
In response to this past spring's marketing study, we have developed Headstart Speedsters and Roadsters. This is a selection of predetermined "package" 356's matching the best combination of mechanical and body options into Speedsters and Roadsters that you will want to own, fully specked out and at a set price point. You will of course have a full selection of exterior and interior colours to choose from, but the all important details that make an Intermeccanica all that it can be have been pre-selected for you, streamlining the order process. This is not to say that we have dropped the option for any of you to truly specify your Intermeccanica down to the fasteners, but now you do not have to: let Intermeccanica help you with this!
Coming Soon…
This past spring's sales have resulted in a great blend of projects moving through the Intermeccanica shop. We have had the pleasure of building an unusual number of Ultra HP traditional air cooled 356's, including one very special Outlaw/Carrera inspired Speedster featuring a CB Performance 180HP 2332cc. This is an amazing engine with great depth of performance and is a real kick in the pants to drive.
On the liquid cooled side of production we have two very exciting new Subaru powered projects. These build on our experience with the Audi powered liquid cooled projects but with a unique twist. I am very excited to see how these power plants perform and sound in comparison to the in-line 4's that we are familiar with.
Rounding out our current order book I am thrilled to be working once again with an old customer Mike W. for whom we custom built the 911 powered Speedster that was covered by Excellence magazine in 2003. Mike's new project builds on his experience with his Intermeccanica plus a few developments and is sure to be another unique top line Intermeccanica. If your travels bring you to the North West I hope you make time to stop by Intermeccanica for a visit!
If you have spent this driving season thinking about a new Intermeccanica, this is the time to plan for a new 356! Fall is the right time to get together with me so that next spring you will be the first on the road driving a Roadster with timeless style and performance - that you can’t buy off the rack! Please drop me a line at (604) 872-4747 [shop] or (604) 219-2586 [mobile].
If a visit to Vancouver is not possible please contact Bob Schneider at Intermeccanica US Ph: (248) 304-9091, web: Intermeccanica US, and for our Canadian friends outside of BC, contact Ron Leonard at Intermeccanica Canada Ph: (604) 220-4141, web: Intermeccanica Canada.
We are at your disposal and look forward to working with you to turn your 356 and even Kubelwagen dream into reality!
IM Across The Pond
I am thrilled to announce the establishment of Intermeccanica UK headed by Mr. Ian Smith of St. Andrews, Scotland.
Ian has successfully undertaken the task of bringing our liquid cooled Intermeccanica into UK IVA compliance and is now setting up sales and distribution for the UK. Ian will be showing his new Intermeccanica Speedster at several events in the UK. Drop him a line if you are interested in making an Intermeccanica part of your stable! For our numerous continental European fans, I am planning on using the UK beachhead as a starting point for further expansion into Europe. As information becomes available I will keep you posted.
Pre-Owned Opportunities
This summer has seen brisk movement in the pre-owned Intermeccanica market with most available Intermeccanica's selling quickly. Whether you are looking for a US or Canadian titled pre-owned, keep an eye on our site or even better drop me a note and let me know what you are looking for. There are some very good Intermeccanica's available and inventory changes every month so if a new IM is not for you right now give a pre-owned serious thought. I am always ready to take one back in on trade when the time is right for you to move to a custom build! If you are looking for a quality pre-owned Intermeccanica or if you are thinking of listing yours for sale please give me a call (604-872-4747) or send me a note at henry@intermeccanica.com.
I hope that 2011 has been a great year for you and your family so far and that if you have been dreaming about an Intermeccanica, you make 2011 the year that you allow me to make your 356 or Kubel dream come true!
