Cocoa Motors' weird electric 'bathroom scale' scooter is coming to the US
If you've got $2,000 handy, you too can glide along in silence on the Walkcar.
Have you ever dreamed of someday opening up your backpack, pulling out your bathroom scale and riding it off into the sunset? Yeah, me either, but a company in Japan called Cocoa Motors sure has. That's why it is now bringing its Walkcar electric scooter to the global market, according to a report published Thursday by Electrek.
The Walkcar has been available for a while in Japan, and its popularity there has convinced the company that it could work in other countries, despite its somewhat odd appearance. As you'll see, the bit about riding your bathroom scale is actually fairly apt because, apart from the wheels, that's precisely what a Walkcar looks like.
It is driven by its front wheels and steered with the rear. Like other ride-ons, it uses lean input from the rider to go, stop and steer. It even has little shocks that look as though they'd be more at home on a remote-controlled car.
It's got suspension to smooth out rough surfaces.
Cocoa Motors' little technological terror features two riding modes -- sport and eco -- and they top out at a whopping 10 mph and 6 mph, respectively. That's probably a good thing, though, all things considered. Cocoa claims its design will allow the Walkcar to climb grades of up to 10 degrees, so don't count on wheeling your way up Los Angeles' Baxter Street or Filbert St. in San Francisco on it.
So, what exactly will this laptop-size mobility device cost you, should you be brave enough actually to want one? Well, you'll likely want to sit down for this. It retails for $1,980. Yes, for the price of a very nice bicycle or a reasonably crappy car, you can own the Cocoa Walkcar, but buyer beware, because if you weigh less than 66 or more than 178 pounds, you'd better look elsewhere for zany personal mobility solutions.
If you're not dissuaded yet, you can visit Cocoa Motors' website and place an order for your very own Walkcar in one of two colors, and in anywhere from three to eight weeks, you will be gliding along sidewalks like a boss (but, like, a totally weird boss).
