Motorsports organization Formula E has launched a new partnership with Zinc Sports with the launch of the first of several upcoming products: Zinc Formula E GZ1 eelectric scooter.
Formula E is best known for promoting electric vehicles in its racing series; however, the organization decided to go in more modest route with GZ1 (opens in a new tab). For £400 (nearly $500) you get a light city cruiser that has a battery range of 13 miles (20 km) and a top speed of 15.5 mph, powered by a 250 watt motor. It’s certainly not lightning fast, but at least you’ll be could get from point A to point B in relative comfort. Zinc Sports goes on to say that the GZ1 has “a built-in gyro system that regulates speed, absorbs shock and provides stability for a comfortable ride.” Moreover, the scooter stands on nine-inch puncture-proof tires to overcome bumps.
Other features
Other notable features include an intelligent battery energy recovery system. It is a regenerative system that uses braking or downhill driving to recover some energy. The scooter has a series of “smart lights” that turn on automatically under certain circumstances. Whenever you turn more than 15 degrees, the turn signals will automatically turn on to let people behind you know where you’re going. Just like cars, the GZ1’s headlights and taillights instantly turn on when it senses the sun has set. The scooter is also quite light, weighing in at 14.7 kg (around 32 lbs) and is easy to store thanks to the foldable handlebars.
The GZ1 e-scooter is currently only available in the UK. However, there are plans for a US release where it will retail for $484. It’s currently listed as sold out on the US website, but according to a company representative, that will change as soon as the GZ1 becomes available.
Formula E also plans to launch six other products: a regular scooter, two other e-scooters and three e-bike models. All will be released periodically in 2023, but there are no specific dates for any of them.
Possible trend
Interestingly, this is not the first time a racing team has teamed up with an e-scooter brand.
Already at the beginning of November, the Oracle Red Bull Racing organization revealed RBS No. 01. However, rather than being an easy-to-handle city cruiser, it was an accelerated machine with a top speed of 48 mph and 80 Newton meters of torque for quick acceleration. The mad scientists behind RBS have made it extremely robust as it can “hold 3G load”. Just be prepared to pay six times the price of GZ1.
If you prefer something cheaper and it’s available in the US, be sure to check out TechRadar’s list best cheap electric scooters. We recently updated it for any of you who are doing some last-minute Christmas shopping.