posted 13 years ago
That was... not what I expected. A 4-placer? With... rowing benches? There's so much wrong with this I'm not sure where to start.
For one, the four place model seems oh-so-silly, in that most of the time you're not filling your car. Who wants to lug all that extra weight around? I sure don't.
Next, the rowing benches are pretty much inexcusable, unless you are designing for the disabled. Pedals are a much more efficient use of human muscle power.
Third, the aerodynamics are rather awful. You won't be going very fast.
There's no way I would buy this at just under $15,000, OR make my own.
What I thought you were going to be talking about is one of the electric-assist velomobiles available on the market. A velomobile is an aerodynamically sheathed recumbent bicycle, which a reasonably fit person can get upto 40km/h, and and atheletes can push 50km/h average speeds. (The top speed record is around 80km/h; there's a race on to get to 100km/h). They're available with electric assist to help you get up to speed, climb hills, etc-- the things that are harder in a velomobile due to the added weight of the aerodynamic sheath. So, human/electric hybrid. You could also cheat and cruise on the assist, I suppose, which would make it an electric car.
One of those I've seriously considered purchasing/building.
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