Confederate Motors created shock waves in 2018 when it rebranded itself as an allelectric luxury bike maker , marking a significant shift away from its original Hellcat , Fighter , Bomber , and Wraith products of the past . Confederate had built a total of 1,300 outrageously unconventional high- priced V- Twin power cruisers , carving out a discerning clientele that included Hollywood A- listers .
Meanwhile , Confederate Motors was reborn thanks to one of its most loyal customers , the multifaceted Ernest Lee , owner of a Hellcat G2 Speedster and a P51 Fighter . Lee ended up acquiring the entire Confederate package – the trademark and its intellectual property – and restarted manufacturing several models . Lee rebranded the company as Combat Motors to avoid the controversial connotations of the company ’ s previous moniker and as reference to his service in the U . S . Army .
“ Since I ’ m retired military and with bikes in our portfolio called the Fighter and the Bomber , renaming it Combat Motors really seemed to fit ,” Lee explained . “ Confederate became Combat at the end of 2019 ,
If you like carving corners , the Wraith unwinds them more ably than any custom chopper .
and sales immediately picked up . We ’ ve sold over 40 % more bikes year over year than we sold in 2019 . We ’ ve discovered people are surprised to find that Confederate is still alive and well – just under a different name .”
The Wraith has a prominent place in my personal motorcycle memories . In 2005 , I visited Confederate ’ s New Orleans factory to test the prototype with a ride around Bayou Country . The Wraith represented a new direction
The sensational Wraith is definitely a bike that won ’ t get lost in a parking lot . There is simply nothing else like it .
30 | OCTOBER 2023 | AMERICANRIDER . COM