If you’ve been looking for a way to ditch your car, HP Velotechnik’s new Scorpion fs 26 S-Pedelec electric trike could be a suitable replacement for your daily commuter. Despite a mouthful of a name, the motor-powered recumbent can hit a top speed of 45kph, while still folding away into an impossibly small package for easy storage.
When it’s available early next year in the US it will sell for almost $US7500, which unfortunately prices it similar to a decent used car. But for that hefty sum you do get car-like features such as hydraulically coupled disc brakes, an electric starter that will propel the bike up to almost 6.5kph at the push of a button, and a full suspension system for tackling the most pot-holed of roads. You’ll never need pay for a drop of petrol either, just five or six hours of electricity every night. And finding and paying for parking is a thing of the past since it folds small enough to drag up to your office when you get to work.
[HP Velotechnik via Gizmag]