When we first took a look at the Gnarboards Trail Rider electric skateboard a couple of months ago, we likened it to a “Ferrari for your feet” due to it boasting a power-to-weight ratio that would put many cars to shame. But rather than a Ferrari, Gnarboards creator Joshua Tulberg has pitted his invention against another vehicle to demonstrate its power and speed – a C5 Corvette.
While the drag races were only over a distance of 75 feet (22.8 m), they served Tulberg’s goal of proving the Trail Rider’s ability to go from 0 to 28 mph (45 km/h) in under two seconds (1.9 seconds to be exact). With four 850 W electric motors providing 3.4 kW of power (16.5 kW peak power) and instant torque, the 4WD Trail Rider reaches its 28 mph maximum speed before the finish line, which allowed the Corvette to catch up and saw the series of races ultimately ending in a tie.
The Trail Rider is the most powerful electric skateboard in the Gnarboard range, which also includes the 2 kW Road Warrior, which can go from 0-28 mph in 2.8 seconds, and the 1.4 kW Commuter, which takes 3 seconds. It boasts a 13 to 15 mile (21 to 24 km) range and can be charged in two hours.
The drag races were also conducted to highlight the Gnarboards’ Kickstarter campaign, which is attempting to raise some cash with which to finish the company’s first batch of eight electric skateboards and hopefully generate orders for the second and third batches. It appears to have worked with the campaign reaching its US$15,000 goal with 15 days still to run.
Pre-orders can still be made through the Kickstarter with prices starting at $2,900 for the base model Commuter to be delivered by November this year, up to $4,000 for Trail Rider model from the third batch to be delivered by March, 2013.
The Trail Rider and Corvette can be seen going head to head in the video below.
Source: Gnarboards, Kickstarter
