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 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.
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.
"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.
