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When you visualise an electric car, it’s unlikely a monster truck is the model that springs to mind. At this week’s Vancouver Auto Show, that’s exactly what the crowds were treated to. The Odyssey Battery Bigfoot No. 20 Monster Truck was unveiled at the event and is the first monster truck to be 100 percent electric.

The release of the monster electric car, while not expected to take off in the world or Monster Trucks, the release is hoped to spark interest in the electric car scene and raise the profile of EVs to a wider audience. The DC motor was hand built by Dennis Berube from the company Electrified Motorsports. Boasting a 30 Batter/360 Volt PowerPack system with variable speed programmable speed controller, high horse power and high RPM capabilities.

The electric battery, made up of three separate banks of 10 Odyssey Batteries, moves the enormous electric vehicle at up to 360 volts. Another six batteries then power the brakes and steering system of the vehicle – making a total of 36 batteries working to moves the enormous electric car. These batteries weigh a staggering 623 kilograms.

So how does Bigfoot #20 hold all of this weight without suffering under the pressure? A custom designed fiberglass structure makes up the body of the vehicle and, while designed to be lightweight itself, can withstand a large amount of weight while in motion.

Bigfoot is one of the most famous monster trucks in the world, weighing in at almost 5 tonnes. Bigfoot VP Bob Trent said “A lot of naysayers speculated that we’d never even make it to the cars, much less on top of them, and now we just ran this thing for more than 20 minutes without recharging it. This is really just the start of what this truck can, and will do.”

Photo credit: Dave Parker