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$390,000 two-wheel scooter bathed in pure 18-karat gold

The most luxurious two-wheeled electric scooter ever made is a self-balancing platform shelled in enough solid gold to make Smaug weep.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
2 min read

Gold scooter
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Gold scooter
This is worth a lot of money. Alexander Amosu

Most of us would agonize over the decision to drop $1,495 (£955, AU$2,040) on a regular Solowheel Hovertrax two-wheel self-balancing personal scooter. We would eye our budgets, run some figures and consider making some financial sacrifices.

It would never even occur to us to make an already pricey gadget a zillion times more expensive by having a bespoke version made with a gold shell for a $390,000 (about £250,000, AU$533,850).

Nonetheless, such an object exists.

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The custom battery-powered scooter was made by luxury designer Alexander Amosu for an unnamed client who made the special request for the fantasy item to become reality. This same client also owns a gold-coated phone and Rolls Royce, so it was only natural to get the matching scooter.

A press spokesperson for Amosu told CNET's Crave blog it took two and a half months to create the solid-gold shell that sits on the wheels. The shell was crafted in two parts that split in the middle to match the scooter's center-rotating design.

Amosu liked the result of the project so much, he decided to make some more accessible versions for the rest of the world. You can pick up plated versions in yellow, pink or white gold for between $1,562 (£999, AU$2,133) and $1,719 (£1,099, AU$2,348).

This isn't the first time a personal scooter has been given an extravagant precious-metal treatment. UK luxury retailer Goldgenie unveiled a $44,000 gold Segwheel earlier in the year. Amosu's blingy two-wheeled scooter would rumble right over the gold Segwheel thanks to the sheer brazen heft of its massive price tag.