Urban Transport

Insane 100-mph e-Turbo scooter accelerates as fast as a Tesla

Insane 100-mph e-Turbo scooter accelerates as fast as a Tesla
The team behind the Bo Turbo has previously worked on F1 and land speed record vehicles – so you know this is going to be fast
The team behind the Bo Turbo has previously worked on F1 and land speed record vehicles – so you know this is going to be fast
View 4 Images
The team behind the Bo Turbo has previously worked on F1 and land speed record vehicles – so you know this is going to be fast
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The team behind the Bo Turbo has previously worked on F1 and land speed record vehicles – so you know this is going to be fast
Bo claims the Turbo can accelerate faster than a Tesla Model 3 – which manages 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds
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Bo claims the Turbo can accelerate faster than a Tesla Model 3 – which manages 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds
The Turbo (left) shares the non-folding aluminum chassis of the Model M (right), but features a different powertrain, battery, and bodywork for cooling the internals
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The Turbo (left) shares the non-folding aluminum chassis of the Model M (right), but features a different powertrain, battery, and bodywork for cooling the internals
The Turbo features custom CNC billet-machined components to make room for the larger 88-V battery
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The Turbo features custom CNC billet-machined components to make room for the larger 88-V battery
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UK-based mobility company Bo has racing in its blood, and its latest creation is designed to bring that heritage to the forefront in the form of a high-performance electric scooter subtly named the Turbo.

It might look a lot like the consumer-grade M model that Bo revealed in 2023, but after 18 months in the garage, it's mutated into an absolute fire-breather that's built to exceed 100 mph (160 km/h) and – according to Bo's initial testing – accelerate quicker than a Tesla Model 3.

How do you push a 15 mph (25 km/h) scooter all the way up past the 100-mph mark? The same powertrain simply wouldn't cut it, so the Turbo got twin electric motors, each rated for over 300A peak current, along with a new 88-V 1,800-Wh battery to deliver plenty more power on demand.

The Turbo (left) shares the non-folding aluminum chassis of the Model M (right), but features a different powertrain, battery, and bodywork for cooling the internals
The Turbo (left) shares the non-folding aluminum chassis of the Model M (right), but features a different powertrain, battery, and bodywork for cooling the internals

The team at Bo, which includes founders who cut their teeth on the Bloodhound World Land Speed Rocket Car program and with Williams Formula One Advanced Engineering, roped in Rage Mechanics from France to build the custom system.

All that hardware needs more cooling than a city-faring e-scooter, so the Turbo is fitted with an F1-inspired brake duct inlet, and ram-air induction helps channel air around the motor controllers. In addition, the chassis serves as a heat sink for the high-capacity battery.

The Turbo features custom CNC billet-machined components to make room for the larger 88-V battery
The Turbo features custom CNC billet-machined components to make room for the larger 88-V battery

Bo says it's been trialing the Turbo out on the Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex, UK, where the scooter has already hit 85 mph (135 km/h) in the capable hands of professional racer Tre Whyte. The company claims it accelerates like a Model 3, which implies a 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) time of less than 5 seconds.

Bo claims the Turbo can accelerate faster than a Tesla Model 3 – which manages 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds
Bo claims the Turbo can accelerate faster than a Tesla Model 3 – which manages 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds

"Having successfully completed the shakedown process on race tracks here in the UK, and with a high level of confidence in the stability and rideability of The Turbo, we are now initiating a process to increase the output and speed from the vehicle until we achieve our target," Bo CTO Harry Wills said, crediting the Bo M's aluminum 'Monocurve' chassis as a solid foundation on which to build a performance machine.

The target is, of course, to blow past 100 mph on this little monster.

A limited number of Turbos will be manufactured as part of a built-to-order production run, with each unit starting at US$29,500. That's more than 10 times the price of the Model M, and you could get a pretty nice electric car for the same amount. Bo will want to see some documentation of your previous riding experience before it accepts your order for a Turbo, which means it's really meant to be delivered to discerning speed demons who are going to take this on to a racetrack.

See more of the Turbo on Bo's site. Oh, and if you're looking for something with commute-friendly mileage that you can ride to work, Bo is bringing the Model M to the US in August.

Or you can try something more "friendly" (both in speed, range, and pocketbook) like the InMotion S1F.

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View gallery - 4 images
7 comments
7 comments
Uncle Anonymous
Does the US$29,500 include the paperwork for organ donations?
YourAmazonOrder
Now THERE'S a solution to "global warming" *and* "overpopulation." It's a two-fer! I do hope those who choose to ride this thing (and all scooters) elect to feel the breeze in their hair, and the wind on their torsos, legs and toes, and opt for no helmet and just short pants, a light tee-shirt and flip-flops while riding it. Be careless and free and ride like the wind and know you're helping the planet! Go!
guzmanchinky
Isn't speed wobble a dangerous effect of this steering and weight distribution setup? The problem is also that applying full braking would make the rider tip forward over the bars, or am I wrong?
Nelson
Someone with too much time on their hands building something truly useless.
Wavmakr
Does it come with a spatula to scrape you off the wall..............
Michael Dunaway
I don't see this selling well
sk8dad
Is that 100mph with or without a rider? What exactly will be the physics or aerodynamics of a human-sized sail on top of a short wheel-based scooter I wonder. Consider that aero drag is roughly a squared function of speed and an average rider height of 4 feet (tucked position) which is about 2x the wheelbase, I would imagine wheelies are inevitable. Then there are those pesky expansion joints and cracks on the road. Hitting those with what looks to be 10"x2.5" tires with no suspension or steering damping at speed is a sure bet for meteoric (albeit brief) YouTube viral sensation.