Scooters have their appeal, but they're not exactly ... strapping. Or sexy. Add an electric drivetrain and they get even less so. But KTM has the answer with its E-Speed concept.
With a long wheelbase, KTM's eye-popping shade of orange and an odd, mandible-shaped fairing, the E-Speed has a level of aggression your clapped-out Vespa can only dream of. It's no slouch in the powertrain department, either.
Utilizing an electric motor and battery pack developed in conjunction with its sweet off-roading sibling, the KTM Freeride E, the E-Speed develops a paltry 11 kW (15 hp) from its liquid-cooled, permanent-magnet synchronous motor and to the back wheel through a belt drive. But like all electric vehicles, it's about the torque, and the E-Speed is packing 27 pound-feet of the stuff, which should be more than enough to get the 300-pound scooter up to speed in city traffic before topping out at a little over 50 mph.
KTM says the 4.36 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion pack is good for 40 miles -- more than enough for the urban errands it's designed for -- and can be fully charged in two hours when plugged into a 220-volt outlet.
For now, the E-Speed is a concept, but considering how fast KTM brought the Freeride E to market, we wouldn't be surprised to see a production version land in showrooms in the very near future.
