On Saturday, December 11th, I sat down with BlindedEpisode, CEO of Hyperion and alongside being CEO, is Founder of Elektrisk AB. From interesting info on the Ravenna to getting some insight into Elektrisk's recent media campaign on Twitter, this is a exclusive look at Blinded's two companies.
Article Information
For this article, I will be referring to BlindedEpisode as BE, highlighted in blue, and Catalyst_0 will be shorted to Cat, highlighted in yellow.
Since the paragraphs get a bit long in this interview, I'll space out each person speaking when needed. I also break up some of the largest paragraphs. Grammatical mistakes were also corrected. Otherwise they are direct quotes from our meeting.
Interview
Cat: So, how are you doing?
BE: Good
Cat: Great, so I'm going to be asking you about Elektrisk, Hyperion, and a few other topics.
BE: Sounds good.
Cat: Let's start off, how has Hyperion Ravenna development been going? The company has remained silent since unveiling it earlier this year. Has there been any big issues?
BE: The Ravenna is on a snail's pace as of now, since I've been going around and working on at least 6 other cars as well as real-life responsibilities. It's currently not a high-priority at the moment, but development for Hyperion in general will hopefully ramp up in the future.
Cat: Do you feel the Hyperion Ravenna is going to be facing stiff competition from Colt's Okami, Divisor's Konigsberg Zertus, and Elektrisk's Polaris or will it be targeting different demographics? You've said in the past (and I hope I'm remembering correctly) that you want to position Hyperion as company known for making cars that people could take camping or something of the like. How does this play into your endgame for the brand?
BE: The Ravenna is sort of all of those three cars combined, off-roading capability, fair performance as well as solid technology. However, the Ravenna specifically targets those who enjoy adventuring, off-roading, overlanding, etc. while being friendly enough to haul the whole family to the football game.
I mostly vision Hyperion as a brand for people who want something fun to drive and adventure with, whether its camping in the forest or burning rubber on a track day. I suppose you could say that Hyperion is transitioning from typical consumer cars to something more exciting and something that has identity.
Cat: That's nice! The Ravenna is going to be bringing a ton to the table as well as usher in a new era of Hyperion that will be more unique than Hyperion had been in the past. Now, to close on this topic, what vehicle class do you think is next for Hyperion? Will any previous Hyperion models be getting remade or will this be the start of a new lineup?
BE: Perhaps a performance-oriented car with a manual, I won't spoil too much though. The initial plan for the restructuring of Hyperion was to introduce new generations of existing models, with a few receiving renames (such as the Ravenna from Acheron) and others being axed entirely if deemed unfit (although highly unlikely this is to happen).
The proposed idea of 80s-90s Hyperions may be seeing familiar nameplates in their late 20th century form.
Cat: I can't wait to see what you and the team at Hyperion have in store!
BE: Thank you.
Cat: Now, over at Elektrisk, how do you feel the company's community has been? I've seen some amazing works such as the unofficial Polaris advert and people enjoy customizing and changing up their cars, even with more vexatious people like Sev_n making "Performance" trims of your company's debut car, the Polaris.
BE: It's quite hard to believe that Elektrisk was able to grow its own community, not directly heavily relying on another larger community such as the Autoworks server. Seeing people enjoy the Polaris is a nice reminder that people appreciate our work, but I think the future that's in preparation will truly accelerate Elektrisk.
The Polaris 2 is just to put us on the map, like Tesla and their Roadster in 2008 (before the Model S). Future projects under Elektrisk will be what gets us going and I'm glad we already have an audience ready to see that.
Cat: Is there anything you'd want to improve with the Polaris 2 that you couldn't on the 2021 Polaris?
BE: I'm sorry could you elaborate on that?
Cat: As of right now, the Polaris has very little flaws, aside from a somewhat over-minimalist dashboard look and bugs that are mostly solved in a few minutes. These bugs I found in the Elektrisk bug reports channel in the Discord. I've personally had no bugs on my Polaris.
BE: Honestly I'd probably not use blueprints for that car if I were to go back in time and first work on it.
Cat: I see. Moving over to the Pluto, do you think the Electility Thunor will be the main competitor as it's also going to be interesting to people looking for a sports sedan?
BE: No, I don't think so. Sure, Pluto has impressive performance numbers but is by no means performance-oriented like the Thunor. Elektrisk Pluto is more luxury-oriented, which would sit alongside other full-size luxury sedans such as the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series, so I suppose jokes on Electility for creating an entire car solely to see Pluto as its competitor.
Cat: No, the Electility is likely seen as a competitor by people who look more to the numbers (and the numbers alone) I think. Honestly I thought the Riolu is more a competitor due to it also being a luxury-oriented sedan.
But, let's talk the Elektrisk Twitter for a second. Recently, the company has been posting interesting pictures, with even the bio being "A psychedelic-like chapter begins". Even your website has reflected this change.
Cat: With this "Stardom" theme, is this related to the Constellation concept we saw at IAS?
BE: It has nothing to do with the Constellation concept SUV, but it has been in the making since IAS 2021 and does involve a car (a few hints have been displayed at IAS 2021 during Elektrisk's attendance).
Cat: With the Autoworks Winter Showcase around the corner, do you think Elektrisk or Hyperion will be skipping the event? Does Elektrisk plan on having another Electrifying Innovation-style event in the future?
BE: Yes, I've decided to have Elektrisk and Hyperion skip the Showcase. What I've learned is that when you attend a show, all of your work time revolves around said show. However, with a self-presented event, its the other way around, meaning more freedom and control for yourself. I also simply no longer find auto shows that interesting anymore, since its just a breeding ground for people's hard work put to presenting to often get shat on without valid reason.
As much as the "bringing the community together to show off what's in store" concept sounds good, its far from what the execution looks truly looks like. With that being said, it isn't the host's fault, I appreciate and respect the people who are behind the planning and setting up these events to happen.
Cat: Interesting, I honestly think we can wrap this up now. You've answered any questions I personally have and this was a engaging conversation and insight into these two brands. Once again, thank you so much for agreeing to sit down with me.
BE: Thanks for having me.
Conclusion
And that's a wrap. Not only did we get a window into the future of Hyperion, we also learned more about Elektrisk, what it has in store for the future, and it's community.
Feel free to leave your take and pitch into the conversation. Also please leave some feedback on my questions and question style. Tell me if I was too "straight to the point" or what you think of the back and forth style I've used for interviews in the past.
Thank you for reading!
I am excited for the Pluto myself! I can't wait what's more to come from Elektrisk!