So, are these bicycles? Are they motorbikes? Well, they’re actually a little bit of both with an electric powertrain thrown in.
First, let’s start with the chunkier one. It’s called the BMW Motorrad Vision Amby, and it’s essentially an electric motorcycle that’s fit to use on bicycle lanes.
‘Amby’ stands for adaptive mobility. As the brand puts it, on bike paths the vehicle runs at a modest 25kph, while it can climb up all the way to 45kph and 60kph on inner-city and multi-lane roads, respectively.
The Vision Amby runs on 26- and 24-inch wheels at the front and rear, respectively, and comes with an 830mm ride height and footrests. The throttle is controlled via the vehicle’s grips, and geofencing tech allows it to detect what type of setting it’s running on. The brand stresses, however, that this ‘modular speed concept’ has no legal basis at the moment.
As for the slimmer, more futuristic-looking two-wheeler? Well, this one is the BMW i Vision AMBY—yeah, just an extra ‘i’ there. Like its shorter-named sibling, it’s backed by the premise of adaptive mobility. In fact, its top speeds and riding setting are identical to the Vision Amby’s.
The main difference? This one gets pedals instead of footrests and leans much more towards being a bicycle.
“Everywhere you look, apparently established categories are being blown apart—and that’s a good thing. In the future, classifications such as ‘car,’ ‘bicycle’ and ‘motorcycle’ should not determine the nature of the products we think up, develop and offer,” BMW Group design conception vice president Werner Haumayr said regarding the brand’s two new concepts.
“Rather, this paradigm shift gives us the opportunity to tailor products to people’s lifestyles—as we can see with the BMW i Vision AMBY high-speed pedelec.”
Not that it matters, considering both of these vehicles aren’t road-legal, but which one would you choose? Let us know in the comments.
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