The Hellcat was the model that carried Confederate Motor Co. through two decades. Three generations were built: the G1 of 1999–2001, the G2 of 2002–2007, and the G3, which stayed in production until the last examples were sold in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Confederate Hellcat at a glance
| Maker | Confederate Motor Co., Birmingham, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Type | exotic street motorcycle |
| G1 Hellcat | 1999–2001 |
| First generation | over 500 built, 1996–2001 |
| G2 Hellcat | 2002–2007, about 75 built |
| G3 Hellcat | 130 built; sold out in the fourth quarter of 2015 |
| 2007 award | F131 Hellcat, second place at the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building, Sturgis |
| Founder | H. Matthew Chambers, 1991 |
| Home since 2006 | Birmingham, Alabama |
| Successor brand | Curtiss Motorcycles from 2017; Confederate designs bought by Combat Motors LLC in 2018 |
Confederate has no separate Wikipedia article for the Hellcat; this page is based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the company (formerly Confederate Motors), which covers the model in its Motorcycles section.
History of the Confederate Hellcat
Confederate Motor Co. was founded in 1991 by the trial lawyer H. Matthew Chambers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as an initiative seeking “enlightened design through true American inspiration”. After a brief move to San Francisco the next year, the company settled in a prototype shop in New Orleans in 1993, and its first motorcycle came off the production line there on 11 November 1994. More than 500 first-generation Hellcats were built between 1996 and 2001.
The company went bankrupt in 2001 and recovered in 2003, when it produced a second generation of Hellcats — about 75 in total. Severe factory damage by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 interrupted production; Confederate moved its headquarters and assembly operations to a building in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, and resumed production after the reorganisation and move in early 2006.
G1, G2 and G3
The G1 Hellcat is dated 1999–2001 and the G2 Hellcat 2002–2007. In 2007 the F131 Hellcat took second place in the production manufacturer category at the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building show at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, behind the company’s own B120 Wraith. After moving to a larger facility in Birmingham in 2013, Confederate produced 130 G3 Hellcats, and that third generation stayed on sale until it sold out in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The end of the petrol Hellcat
At the August 2017 Quail Motorcycle Gathering the company’s president, Matt Chambers, said the Confederate name would be changed to Curtiss and that the firm would switch to electric motorcycles in partnership with Zero Motorcycles. The brand’s petrol designs did not disappear: on 29 March 2018 Combat Motors LLC purchased the intellectual property rights for the Confederate brand and continues to make petrol motorcycles.
Design and features
- Three generations: the same model name was carried from the 1990s into 2015 through the G1, G2 and G3.
- Small-series production: over 500 first-generation bikes, about 75 second-generation bikes and 130 G3 examples.
- Competition success: an F131 Hellcat finished second in its class at the 2007 AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building.
- American assembly: built in Louisiana and, from 2006, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Confederate Hellcat versions
- G1 Hellcat (1999–2001): the first generation, part of a run of more than 500 bikes begun in 1996.
- G2 Hellcat (2002–2007): the second generation, about 75 built after the company’s recovery.
- F131 Hellcat: the bike entered in the 2007 AMD championship at Sturgis, where it placed second.
- G3 Hellcat (to 2015): the third generation, 130 built and sold out in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The Hellcat’s stablemate was the Confederate P120 Fighter, the sportier machine of the range. More American motorcycles are in the Confederate collection.
Video: Confederate Motorcycles’ third-generation Hellcat, the X132
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Curtiss Motorcycles, English Wikipedia: company history, Hellcat generations, production numbers, 2007 award
