This is a hybrid, but not as you know it. Say hi to the Hopper, an electric-assisted pedal trike with its own cover and headlights—and it’s just gone into series production. Car, meet bike.
The 2.1m long covered pedelec (pedal-electric) is the creation of Hamburg-based start-up Hopper Mobility. A meter wide with its mirrors folded out, its e-bike-style credentials mean legit bike path use, while the Renault Twizy-esque cover keeps most of the rain out of your face. It doesn’t come cheap, mind.
There are two flavors of Hopper. Priced from £10,145 (P783k before taxes), the Passenger Hopper lets you give a friend—or two small humans—a piggyback ride and has 125 liters of storage space. The Cargo Hopper, costing from £10,486 (P809k before taxes), replaces your passenger with an extra-large trunk, up to 285 liters actually. Both have a total payload of 300kg.
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The trike sports a Heinzmann wheel hub engine generating 0.25kW of continuous power, peaking at 1.35kW to assist your leg muscles and minimise perspiration, at a top speed of 25kph. Easy, tiger.
The 1.4kWh battery has a range of 59.5km, and recharges in six hours. There are plans afoot to give the thing an optional fast charger, but it’s not there yet.
Both versions have a turning radius of less than two meters to help get around city streets, and Hopper Mobility tells us that since the first iteration, the suspension, seat comfort, and driving dynamics have been improved, too.
Inside the cabin, there’s a USB port, while the driver assist kit includes powered parking and a reversing function. Fancy. Optional extras include body-color wheel caps, a smartphone holder, and side panels—so you’ve got something to slam shut when you’re arguing with your two small human passengers.
So what do you think? Any room for a third wheel?
NOTE: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
