After announcing a new batch of high-powered electric kickscooters early last month, Segway has now launched the GT series on Indiegogo – with the GT2 SuperScooter capable of a crazy top speed of 43.5 mph.
Though the video at the end does show full-helmet-wearing riders ripping through city streets, Segway is hedging its road-legal bets by pitching the GT series as racing thrill machines for the track or off-roading rather than for your daily commute.
The first of the two member GT series is the GT1, which boasts 1,400 watts of rear-hub motor power with peak output of 3 kW for a top speed of 37.3 mph (60 km/h) and a zero to 30 mph sprint time of 7.5 seconds. The 1-kWh battery under the extra-wide deck is reckoned to offer a per-charge range of 43.5 miles (70 km), though you're unlikely to manage such figures at full tilt.
The speed demon benefits from aircraft-grade aluminum alloy construction, features 15 levels of adjustable spring suspension in a double wishbone configuration to the front and trailing arm at the back and offers dual hydraulic disc braking with 5.5-inch rotors plus motor braking. It rides on 11-inch puncture-resistant tubeless tires that have a thin "self-healing" layer inside to seal up any holes without leaking, sports daytime-running LED lights plus turn indicators and has IPX4 weatherproofing for the scooter body, and IPX7 for the controller.
If the GT1's top speed isn't scary enough for your standing ride, Segway has bumped it up even further to 43.5 mph (80 km/h) for the GT2, which features dual 1,500-W motors for peak output of 6 kW. This model also slashes the standstill to 30 mph time down to a menacing 3.9 seconds at the highest of six ride modes.
The monstrous 1,512-Wh battery pack is reported good for up to 55.9 miles (90 km) on a single charge. There's adjustable air suspension in the same configuration as the GT1, a dynamic traction control system that adjusts torque for better grip on loose or slippery surfaces and a cool-looking transparent OLED display rather that the plain ol' digital screen of its series sibling. Elsewhere though, the GT2 rolls on the same 11-inch "self-healing" tires, and features the same LED lights, braking options and weatherproofing.
As you might expect for such powerful electric kickscooters, they don't ride in at the budget end of the e-mobility spectrum. Indiegogo pledges for the GT1 currently start at US$2,499 while the GT2 comes in at $3,499. If all goes to plan with the already-funded campaign, shipping is estimated to start in August. The video below has more.
Source: Segway
small wheels and a high centre of gravity are a really bad idea when moving fast .. and even worse when you need to stop quickly .. please put the same technology towards a decent electric folding bike or something where you can sit to ride and not have to experience a front flip the first time you have to emergency brake
These machines are everywhere (in California) now, even though they are legal nowhere. I think law enforcement simply looks the other way, especially with gas prices above $6 per US gallon here...
Sorry, but Scooters are NEVER cool. They are the very opposite of cool! Cool commuters tend to pick Electric Skateboards...
That being said, it's about time Governments made the decision to allow these to be used legally, not carry-on hoping they will go away.
Something along the lines that push-bikes are treated at present would work. Realistically, the top speed will have to restricted, but this obsession with punishing speed has been with us since the Red Flag Act, so road-users would be conditrioned to accept it.