Once a brand tied to self-balancing scooters that never really delivered a promised transportation revolution, Segway now represents a broader range of personal mobility devices including scooters that will soon be an even more terrifying way to zip through traffic with a new GT line boasting top speeds of over 69 km/h.
Following a collection of new electric kick scooters revealed last month that offer an alternative to a car for shorter daily commutes, Segway is targeting thrill seekers with its latest release: the SuperScooter GT Series that will come in two versions differentiated by power and speed.
The GT1, the tamer of the two beasts, is powered by a 1-kWh battery that boasts a range of 71 km on a single charge and a 1,400-watt electric motor in the rear wheel’s hub that can propel the scooter to a top speed of 60 km/h and acceleration of 0 to 30 MPH in 7.5 seconds. If that isn’t thrilling enough, the more powerful GT2 model uses dual 1,500-watt electric motors and a 1,512-Wh battery to hit a top speed of 71 km/h and go from 0 to 30 MPH in just 3.9 seconds.
For comparison, the Unagi Model Eleven, announced last September, and considered to be one of the most advanced electric scooters soon to be available, offers a top speed of 31 km/h, while the S1-X eSkooter, created specifically for the eSkootr Championship racing league, can hit speeds of over 97 km/h on straightaways. The Segway SuperScooter GT2 is just 27 km/h slower than a racing scooter, but won’t be limited to just closed courses.
There’s little chance either scooter will hit their promised range when ridden at top speed, but the numbers will still undoubtedly be quite impressive, particularly for the GT1 which relies on just a single motor.
But speed isn’t the only impressive feature of the GT1 and GT2. Both also feature frames made from aircraft-grade aluminium alloys and each ride on 11-inch tubeless tires that are designed to be puncture-resistant, but also include a layer of self-healing material inside to immediately seal up any holes that do occur. The GT1 uses spring suspension on both the front and back wheels with 15 levels of adjustability, while the GT2 offers air suspension instead, and while both feature large screens indicating drive modes and speed, the GT2 ups the cool factor by using a transparent OLED panel on the dashboard.
If after reading all of these specs you’re worried the new Segway SuperScooter GT Series models might be priced out of your budget, those concerns are probably justified. The GT1 is currently listed at $US2,499 ($3,469), while the GT2 is a full grand pricier at $US3,499 ($4,857) — but you can’t actually buy either yet. Segway is going the Indiegogo route to put most of the risk of these new models onto its customers, but has already considerably surpassed its funding goal.
Delivery is estimated to be as early as August, and while Segway and Ninebot have already brought countless products to consumers over the past few years and the risk of backing these scooters might be minimal, the chance of delivery delays are still very real with supply chain issues still very much a problem. So if you end up having to wait a little longer to get your hands on one, maybe just look at it as extra time to get yourself a really solid helmet.