THE EDISON2 TEAM

We at Edison2 are a small group of passionate individuals who are highly accomplished in our respective fields. We are experts in automobile design, aerodynamics, and racing, as well as in implementing and realizing complicated projects in a timely and cost-effective manner. We pride ourselves in our creative out-of-the-box thinking, and in the quality and diversity of our various projects and products. For our entry in the Progressive Automotive X-PRIZE competition, we will combine the use of exceptionally strong, ultra-lightweight materials with ingenious improvements to existing automotive technologies to create a winning car design for the Mainstream Category. Our team is a colorful assortment of independent thinkers not unlike those of the original Edison Labs, who created the light bulb and many other significant innovations, hence our name- EDISON2. Our experiences range from Le Mans victories to degrees in Engineering, Business, Architecture and the Liberal Arts. We have a decentralized approach that utilizes a number of high quality sub-suppliers with whom we have previous and extensive experience, in the fields of transmission design, engine modeling, engine manufacturing, composite component manufacturing, engine electronics system design and various CNC manufacturing processes.

OUR CORE TEAM MEMBERS:

OLIVER KUTTNER - Chief Executive Officer and Project Leader

Oliver is a commercial real estate re-developer who was pivotal in turning Charlottesville Virginia’s blighted downtown into one of the best places to live in the USA. Today, he is working his magic in nearby Lynchburg Virginia with the same goal in mind. Oliver is an innovative thinker and designer of buildings and sports racing prototypes. He is the father of the recent ALMS Ford GT car. Oliver is a former BMW, Porsche and Audi franchisee, and one of the larger volume dealers in exotic classic Italian Cars. As one of the tallest professional racing car drivers in the world of motorsports, Oliver has two 3rd places finishes at the “6 Hours of Watkins Glen”, one World Sports Car win and several other podium finishes. Oliver has often been characterized as someone “who can make something out of nothing”, and his creation of Edison 2 is the culmination of 25 years of this “can-do” attitude. It is proving to be the perfect creative platform for Oliver to consolidate his many talents and work toward ever more meaningful goals with like-minded individuals.

RON MATHIS - Chief of Design

Ron is an engineer who worked with Doran Enterprises in the ground up design of the Doran Daytona Prototype and the Ford GTR for the American Le Mans Series. He was also the engineer for the Audi R10TDI championship winning American Le Mans racing car driven by Emanuel Pirro. As an independent engineer, Ron focuses on refining airplane parts for increased performance and has an extensive history in detail design work for customer projects. Among many wins and championships Ron has achieved two “24 Hours of Daytona” victories and one class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As the Chief of Design, it is Ron who first determines the most efficient theoretical solutions within the parameters of physics and chemistry, and then inspires the design team to make these formulas a working reality.

KEVIN DORAN -Chief of Race Operations:

Kevin is the owner of Doran Enterprises, a premier prototype shop in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a five-time winner of "The 24 Hours of Daytona" and a multiple winner of professional road racing championships and many other shorter races. Kevin is an innovator and designer, as well as a racing team manager and strategist of the highest caliper. He is responsible for historic sports car racing success stories for sponsors such as Loewenbrau, Momo, Lista, Kodak, and others. Kevin’s tremendous ability and experience is a major asset in the areas of safety and service-friendly design.

BARNABY WAINFAN - Chief of Aerodynamics

Barnaby is the aerodynamics Fellow at Northrop Grumman, working on both classified and unclassified projects. Barnaby is a leading thinker and teacher of aerodynamics at one of the world’s premier aircraft design firms. Upon uniting with Ron on the Audi program he has made a lasting impact on that historic sports car project by introducing a new perspective from the world of high performance aircraft design to sports car racing. For Edison2’s entry in the Automotive X PRIZE, Barnaby is boldly pushing the envelope of aerodynamic design by reducing the car’s frontal area to greatly reduce wind resistance and thus improve fuel economy.