Hybrid cars are familiar enough now on British roads not to evoke comment, but we've yet to see a hybrid motorcycle or scooter.
One reason is cost, as few motorcycle companies are large enough to support the considerable development costs of the new technology, but another is more prosaic: packaging.
Fitting one engine between two wheels can be tough enough, let alone two sources of motive power.
Piaggio has finally done it, or at least fitted the power sources between three wheels, as the new MP3 Hybrid is based on the odd but effective MP3, which has a conventional scooter rear half married to a twin-wheeled front, where both wheels lean and are suspended independently, extending and retracting as you corner like a slalom skier's legs.
The MP3 Hybrid uses a 125cc four-stroke engine found in various other Piaggio products, and in addition a 2.6kW electric motor mounted on the transmission casing alongside the rear wheel.
The claims to green credentials include carbon emissions of 40g/km, which appears to compare very favourably against the best known hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, and its 89g/km.
These don't exist in Britain, which leaves the MP3 looking to sell only on the fact that it's a hybrid with plenty of sacrifices to demand in terms of practical transport. Even the MP3's useful underseat storage is lost to batteries.
Then there's the cost: the exact figure has yet to be set but at €9,000 in Europe, Piaggio UK says it will cost about £8,000 in the UK.
If the weight doesn't take your breath away, the price will. If the Hybrid lacks everyday practicality, another take on the MP3 theme, the LT, is the only practical solution for many road users: it can be ridden legally with a car licence.
By widening the front track slightly Piaggio has qualified the MP3 LT as a trike, meaning a car driver can ride it, and there isn't a requirement to wear a helmet.
The MP3 LT offers better safety than a conventional scooter as, like other MP3 versions, it doesn't immediately fall if the wheels slide, but it's still a remarkably satisfying ride.
No comments:
Post a Comment