MINI Scooter E
The electric scooter genre is about to given a high voltage boost as MINI joins the frayMercedes-Benz owns a trendy compact car company, smart, that has just introduced an electric scooter, the smart escooter.
BMW owns a trendy compact car company, MINI, that has just introduced an electric scooter, the Scooter E.
Coincidental or not, the electric scooter market is likely to expand in Europe, where these compact vehicles will be heavily marketed to tech-savvy car drivers who don't have full motorcycle licenses and the hip and happening youth who dig social media and mobile gadgetry.
Like the smart escooter, the MINI Scooter E is unlocked via smart phone, which integrates neatly into the instrument cluster when not being used to Tweet, update Facebook or phone a friend.
As well as unlocking the scooter, the smart phone 'key' also boots up the instrumentation software so you can see how fast (or slow) you're going, how much battery charge you have left and there's also a navigation program for finding your way around.
Interestingly, the software also allows riders to play music and access other phone functions while riding, and a Google Maps widget shows you where other MINI Scooter E riders are, should you wish to accost them/invite them for a ride.
Unlike it's Benz-made direct rival, the MINI Scooter E uses lots more capital letters as opposed to being exclusively lower case, and instead of an advanced/futuristic design, the Scooter E adopts a blatantly retro aesthetic.
The BMW-owned company is calling its Scooter E a 'concept' but bookies everywhere already have short odds on it reaching production.
With a range of accessories and customisation options, much like the MINI Cooper passenger car, the new zero emission Euro scoot has the makings of retro-cool style icon, again like its four-wheeled relation.
Though we don't know the specifics of the Scooter E's powertrain, we do know that it is powered by a hub electric motor and uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. Expect similar vital statistics to the smart escooter, with around 6hp (4kW), a top speed of around 45km/h and a range of around 100km.
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