Fans of personal, futuristic eco cars have something to "eggcited" about with the arrival of Eggasus, which is slated for northern hemisphere fall launch in the US. The designers are currently taking orders of the cute, no-emissions three-wheeler, which recently made the finalist list of the Sierra Nevada Innovation Challenge.
Eggasus is designed for one person only, with the driver protected from the elements by an all-weather enclosure, which gives the vehicle its egg shape.Underneath the shell is a three-wheeled electric vehicle, fitted with an electric hub motor in the front wheel, enclosed cab, tinted windows, a seat, and instrument display panel.
It reaches a range of up to 50 miles (80.4 kilometers), with a top speed of 25 mph (40.23 km/h). Although it is basically a scooter with a retro-modernist swagger, the style-conscious driver won’t get soaked in rain or get the wind blowing on his or her face, but will likely attract looks from passers by.
The Eggasus team claims to have vast experience in specialty gas and electric vehicles, including designing and constructing cars for mainstream auto companies, as well as race cars.
They are pitching their Eggasus as a solution for people living in an increasingly congested and urbanized world, which suffers from air and noise pollution and a lack of parking spaces - the makers say twelve Eggasus vehicles will fit in one normal parking space. Besides urban travel, the designers claim the Eggasus would be perfect for intra-campus transportation and as a mobile advertising billboard.
Autonomous versions of the Eggasus are also on the drawing board and the development team is seeking partners to develop a system that would see the eggs forming trains via a wireless electronic “yoke.”
The team is tapping the power of social networking to get its project on the road. They are taking orders through social venture funding site Indiegogo and aim to begin production this year. Pre-production models come with a price tag of US$5,000 a piece. However, there are a few different purchasing options, with cheaper prices for a kit or the Eggasus shell alone, while those buying in bulk looking to sign on as a dealer will also get a discount rate.
The video below shows the Eggasus in action.
Source: Eggasus
