Is it a car, or is it a motorbike?
Two-wheeled gyrocar aiming for production
The two-wheeled vehicle whizzing around a Beijing test track is a mashup of motorcycle, electric car and space capsule, wrapped around the brain of a smartphone. And engineer Zhu Lingyun believes it will be on public roads within two years.
Inspired by a 1961 Ford concept car that used gyroscopes to stay upright, Zhu built a streamlined version that resembles an escape pod from a science-fiction movie. Beijing Lingyun Intelligent Technology plans to build the gyrocar itself, and is aiming to start sales in 2020.
“I firmly believe this is the future of urban transportation because it is exquisite, energy-saving and easy to manage,” says Zhu. “I have to make it.”
Two-wheeled cars first appeared more than a century ago but never caught on as consumers preferred either the space and stability of traditional cars or the speed and handling of motorcycles.
Zhu saw Ford’s Gyron on the internet about five years ago, and says he was hooked immediately. The vehicle, resembling something from the futuristic TV cartoon The Jetsons, had two seats, a cockpit-like passenger compartment and tail fins mimicking fighter-jet wings, but it never went into production.
Zhu was so enamoured that he founded his company in 2014 to develop a 21st-century version.
Three years ago he raised US$10 million ($14.2m) from investors and now wants to raise another US$30m to help prepare for mass production.
“On most occasions, a car is used by a single person, so a car for one person has market prospects,” says Li Jianwei, who led Sequoia Capital’s investment in Zhu’s company. “As long as they can prove that their vehicles are reliable and safe, the Government will gradually accept it.”
Beijing Lingyun’s gyrocar is about 3m long and 1m wide, with a seat for one person. It has no steering wheel or accelerator pedal and can reach a speed of 100km/h.
The prototype can drive autonomously or can be controlled by using a computer mouse and screen.
The gyroscope balancing the car is under the seat, and doors open on both sides. Retractable wheels are under the doors.
During a test drive, the gyrocar was quiet and stable, and more nimble than a traditional car when making turns.
Beijing Lingyun also built a version with a steering wheel and brake, which is to reach showrooms first. It will cost less than 100,000 yuan ($22,200) if assembly lines can produce about 5000 to 10,000 units a year, Zhu says.
The gyrocar’s battery has a range of 100km, and Zhu plans for the batteries to be removable and rechargeable at home.
China is the world’s largest market for electric vehicles, yet a primary obstacle to the gyrocar’s mass appeal is whether it is legally a car or a motorcycle. The vehicle is considered a motorcycle in Britain but sits in regulatory limbo in China, where current rules don’t address twowheeled gyrocars, Zhu says.
“The question is if they are legally allowed to travel on roads,” says Nannan Kou, a senior associate with Bloomberg New Energy Finance in Beijing. “The dilemma makes this type of vehicle a premium toy rather than a useful transportation tool.”
That’s not stopping Zhu, who believes his company can make gyrocars commercially viable.
“We created something that the auto industry hasn’t been able to present to the market in over 100 years,” Zhu says. “The gyrocar carries people’s imagination about future transportation.”
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