Vintage Electric's electric bikes literally ooze retro charm, with classic cruiser looks, signature engine-like battery housing and thumb throttle or pedal-assist able to tap into a powerful rear hub motor. For its latest limited edition creation, the company has taken design cues from Carroll Shelby's personal Cobra 289 Slab Side.
The automotive world lost something of a legend in 2012, when Carroll Hall Shelby died at age 89. The once land speed record holder, US national champion and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner quit racing in 1960 and went on to design and manufacture automobiles, and is now perhaps best known for the Cobra sports car first introduced in 1962.
And it's the Cobra which has inspired the design of the new 48-volt Vintage Electric throttle bike named, appropriately enough, the Shelby.
"To channel Carroll Shelby’s spirit of design, you have to be in the presence of the phenomenal vehicles that he created," said Vintage Electric's lead designer and founder, Andrew Davidge. "Walking around these celebrated Shelby cars, touching them, driving them, and seeing every last detail that Carroll poured into them is truly where our inspiration came from in making the new Shelby bike.
"When you walk up to a Cobra, this first thing you notice is the timeless aesthetic that has been celebrated for generations. The Cobra is an American icon, and we wanted to express that in our newest Vintage Electric Shelby bike."
The retro-racer has been created in partnership with Carroll Shelby International, and features a color-matched blue metallic N6 paint scheme, black matte racing stripes and sports the Shelby logo, together with Cobra badging. The grips and saddle reflect the interior design of Shelby's original 289 and, well, pretty much everything on this e-bike is a design nod to that Cobra.
Vintage has enclosed a powerful 48-volt, 23.4 Ah battery in cast aluminum housing mounted within a hydroformed aluminum frame, for up to 75 miles (120 km) of range per 4.5 hour charge. The combination of that battery pack, the powerful hub motor and special Race mode is promised to get rider up to 36 mph (58 km/h) "on private-property/closed-courses" thanks to a power boost to the drivetrain.
To access that extra oomph, riders will need to remove a speed key from the battery pack, otherwise you'll be limited to a street legal 20 mph. Push-button pedal assist is offered, as well as a thumb throttle that gives riders access to five power modes.
Elsewhere, the Shelby features inverted front fork suspension for 60 mm (2.36 in) of travel, 26-inch wheels wrapped in Fat Frank Schwalbe tires and thorn-resistant inner tubes, LED headlamp and taillight, and Promax hydraulic disc brakes front and back, with the one at the rear able to recover energy to help top up the battery.
The Vintage Electric Shelby e-bike is limited to 300 units, and is priced at US$7,249. The video below has more.
Product page: Shelby
