ON YOUR MARQUES...

Automotive manufacturers have a history of creating bicycles to complement their vehicles. These have often been unremarkable, although Land Rover’s 1995 collaboration with British folding bike maestros Moulton was pretty cool. Nowadays, it’s all about e-bikes, with car and motorcycle marques racing to cash in on the popularity of this relatively green and potentially lucrative new mode of transport.

BMW have four urban e-bikes, Mercedes-Benz o er three discbraked hybrids and HarleyDavidson have their own e-bike brand, Serial 1, with a range of belt-driven runabouts. But what about e-MTBs? Jeep make an alarmingly powerful, throttleactivated (and therefore not road- or trail-legal) 26in-wheeled full-suspension fatbike with upside-down fork, upon which they paid Bill Murray to pose with a groundhog for American TV.

KTM-branded e-MTBs have been available since 2010 (although the bike brand is separate to the motorbike business), Ducati sell Thok-built bikes including a 180mm-travel enduro model with Öhlins suspension, and it’s not surprising to see Yamaha now making their own YDX-Moro e-bike after years making electric motors for other brands. Even MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi has launched his own e-MTB.

However, it’s Porsche we’re keeping our eyes on. Their existing models were designed by German bike brand Rotwild and look svelte and functional, if short on travel (100mm) and high in price (from £7,650). However, in a sign that the company are taking this new market seriously, they’ve acquired a majority stake in Croation e-bike brand Greyp, who have multiple o -road models in their line-up. Could we soon see a full range of Porsche-branded e-MTBs?