This is Lightfoot, a solar scooter conceived by San Francisco-based research and development team Otherlab, which it says will be available for purchase in the United States starting in January. The most striking feature is the two side panels covered with solar cells that will hopefully prevent you from needing a charger. However, in the space between the two is a fairly spacious cargo compartment with almost 1.6 cubic feet of space. That should be more than enough to transport your gear to and from work, or do some shopping when you're out and about. The padded seat and footrests are also designed to carry the driver and an additional passenger when necessary.
As for the specs, there are a pair of 750W brushless DC motors with a top speed of 20 miles per hour, generating 90Nm of peak torque, which should hopefully be enough to climb the hills around SF ( and wherever you are). They are connected to a 1.1 kWh battery that the company promises will offer a range of 37 miles on a single charge. The two 120W panels on either side will slowly charge the battery when you're on the road or parked outdoors. Otherlab claims this idle solar charging will add three miles of charge per hour, or 18 miles if you leave it for an entire day.
Aside from the solar hardware, Otherlab claims that you, or a qualified technician, will be able to keep it running without outside assistance. He said most of the components are off-the-shelf motorcycle parts and can be repaired or replaced just as easily. There's also a one-year warranty on the entire bike and two years on the mechanics, as well as a worry-free buyback policy. We'll reserve judgment on every facet of this until we can try it out for ourselves, but we're eager to give it a try just to see how it feels to drive it.
pre-orders for the Lightfoot opens today for $4,995and Otherlab committed to making first deliveries in January 2025.
