Reigning Formula One champions Red Bull and the technology arm of McLaren are poised to enter the growing electric scooter market.
The Red Bull Formula One team and McLaren’s technology division have released their first electric vehicles – a pair of battery-powered scooters.
After winning its second consecutive Formula One world championship with Max Verstappen, Red Bull has unveiled the RBS #01 – an electric scooter designed to go off-road.
According to the UK-based F1 team, the RBS #01 has a 760Wh battery pack which powers a 750W/80Nm electric motor. Top speed is listed at 45km/h, claimed ‘driving’ range is up to 60km.
Despite being constructed from lightweight, high-strength carbon-fibre – a technology derived from F1 – the scooter weighs a hefty 23kg. Other commuter scooters typically weigh 15 to 20kg.
However, Red Bull F1 has made the extraordinary claim its scooter can handle up to to two tonnes of weight – to better absorb impacts, bumps and jumps in the daily grind.
Red Bull says the first deliveries will be made to US customers in the middle of 2023. Pricing of the RBS #01 starts from $US6000 – equivalent to $8825 in Australian currency at today’s exchange rates.
A similar scooter has been launched by McLaren Applied – an offshoot of the F1 team and the supplier of electronic control units to the entire Formula One field.
Named the Lavoie Series 1, the McLaren electric scooter was partly developed by former Formula One mechanical engineer Richard Clarke.
According to the company, the Lavoie Series 1 is foldable, allowing it to be stored while taking up as little room as possible.
Technical details and pricing for the McLaren electric scooter are yet to be confirmed, although the UK firm has announced it weighs about 16kg – almost one-third less than Red Bull’s offering.
While electric scooters are rolling out in major cities overseas, their legal standing remains under a cloud in many Australia jurisdictions where they are banned except on private properties.
In New South Wales and South Australia, electric scooters are banned from roads, footpaths and bicycle lanes, limiting their use to private property only.
Victoria and Western Australia limit electric scooters to 10km/h on level ground and does not permit the use of any models which can produce more than 200W.
In Queensland, they can be ridden on footpaths and shared paths at up to 12km/h, however the speed limit increases to 25km/h on bike paths and roads – provided the sign-posted speed limit is 50km/h or less.
This 25km/h speed limit also applies to Tasmania, where electric scooters are restricted to weighing no more than 45kg.
The Australian Capital Territory imposes a 25km/h speed limit on shared footpaths and cycle paths, 15km/h on regular footpaths and 10km/h at crossings.
While the Northern Territory does allow electric scooters to be used on the footpaths or on roads with posted speed limits of less than 50km/h, there is no specific limit to their top speed.
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