Quick Summary
A French company is set to launch an electric trike that can travel at a reported 75mph.
You pedal inside the vehicle and battery power amplifies your motions into drive.
Sir Clive Sinclair was flying in the mid-80s. He’d revolutionised the home computer scene with the ZX Spectrum, so could seemingly do no wrong. But then came the Sinclair C5.
Lauded for its size, lack of speed, and plastic build, the battery-powered electric tricycle was nothing short of a disaster for the renowned inventor and his company. It was a fall from grace that Sinclair Research never really recovered from.
However, it just seems that Sir Clive was 40 years too early. As Marty McFly said in Back to the Future: “I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet, but your kids are gonna love it!”
And so up steps French firm Cixi with a vehicle that has distinct Sinclair C5 vibes. The Vigoz doesn’t look that similar, is fully enclosed, and can travel at speeds of up to 75mph, but is also an electric tricyle. And, like the C5, the driver can use pedal power.
In fact, it demands it.
(Image credit: Cixi)
As TechRadar points out, the Vigoz uses a PERS (pedalling energy recovery system) chain-less drive system. The driver pedals inside the cab which instructs the trike on how much battery power to transfer to the drive train. Pedal faster and it speeds up, relax and it slows down again.
Stop pedalling and you naturally come to a standstill.
This is all power assisted, of course, so the amount of energy you put in is greatly amplified. And you can choose just how much effort is needed to reach which speeds, through its on-board systems.
It’s a way of introducing a workout to your daily drive, basically.
(Image credit: Cixi)
As for the rest of the Vigoz’s features, it has two wheels at the front, one at the rear, and the entire cab tilts as you turn. It is heated inside, so can be used in different weather conditions, while the driver is protected by the chassis. There’s even room for a passenger and you both get seat belts.
The only issue is that there’s no timeframe on its full launch as yet, nor price. There will be a pre-registration phase, it says on the company’s website, but that’s not been announced as yet.
Still, it’s worth tracking as one of the most interesting transport concepts we’ve seen for a while. So if we hear more, we’ll let you know.
And if it does make it onto our streets, maybe there’s a spot of redemption for the late Sir Clive Sinclair’s crazy 80s EV after all.
