Vanda, an electric vehicle manufacturer based in Singapore, has a bit of a split personality. On the one hand, it offers the 1,500 horsepower Dendrobium carbon fiber hypercar built in cooperation with Willams Advanced Engineering. On the other hand, it makes the positively silly Motochimp, an electric scooter thingie with a lithium ion battery powering a half horsepower rear hub motor.
Made from extruded 6061 aluminum alloy, the Motochimp is just over a meter long with a wheelbase of 750 centimeters. It is available in your choice of colors, so long as you like red, yellow. or blue. With its high handlebars and horizontal body, it looks suspiciously like one of the reindeer in the original Rudolph Christmas special.
The company takes a decidedly upbeat approach to its newest offering. “At Vanda Electrics, we want to revolutionize electric transport on a global scale — and Motochimp is key to that. It’s the new face of city transport — bold, edgy, fun.” The folks a Fully Charged definitely agree. After their time with a Motochimp, they were reluctant to give it back.
The little electric scooter has top speed of less than 20 miles per hour and a range of 37 miles. The company says it can be fully recharged from a standard wall outlet in one hour (most of the world uses 220 volt AC current.) The rear motor operates on 48 volts. Sales will begin first in Japan and then gravitate to other parts of the world. Expected price in US dollars is around $2,000.
“Designed from the outset to be eco-friendly, fashionable and the antidote to traditional urban transport, Motochimp offers cost-effective city mobility, capable of being fast charged from any regular AC power plug under an hour, giving you a worry-free round trip of 60 kilometers,” Vanda says in its brochure. “This fast charging cycle means that Motochimp easily fits into busy urban schedules, capable of charging fully in a lunch hour, ever ready for fast and frequent travel.” The Motochimp is controlled by an RFID digital key and has a small speedometer attached to the handlebars next to the throttle.
Larissa Tan, CEO of Vanda Electrics, says, “Motochimp really celebrates the indie spirit of spontaneous urban mobility. It’s sustainable yet sassy, cost-effective yet cool, eco-friendly yet bursting with personality. In designing Motochimp, our original concept was inspired by a sketch from a 10-year old girl. When you’re on the Motochimp, you put enchantment back into everyday life, you see fun and wonder through the eyes of a child. We’ve really let our imaginations run free and we’re very proud of the results."
Source: Inside EVs
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