You may be asking yourself, “what on earth is a noped?” Well, it’s a new category of electric vehicle that just didn’t quite fit into any existing boxes.
Too fast to be called an e-bike and too pedal-less to be a moped, the Pocket Rocket has been deemed a “noped”.
Built by Stuttgart-based Sol Motors, the Pocket Rocket is an all-electric urban commuter that looks like it rode straight out of Blade Runner.
Built using a lightweight aluminum body, the noped houses a lithium-ion battery that enables it to zip through congested cities CO2 free. The motor generates up to 8.5 horsepower, which because of its light frame boosts the Pocket Rocket up to speeds of 50 mph.
The battery is good for 30-50 miles of travel and can be removed from the chassis for easy charging with a standard outlet.
Beauty and brawn
Even pre-production, Sol Motors has picked up multiple awards for the design of the Pocket Rocket.
The dramatic “V” shape of the bike is meant to draw attention to exactly what it’s lacking: an engine. The saddle sits directly on the cylinder that houses the battery, controllers and lights, which makes for an incredibly simple, futuristic silhouette.
“While designing, we chose to forgo all the elements we felt were unnecessary or simply decorative.”
Sol Motors plans to produce and assemble all Pocket Rockets in Germany to keep quality high, and their carbon footprint low.
If funded, the noped will ship out worldwide starting September 2019.
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