SOUPED-UP SCOOTER

Renowned Formula 1 constructor Williams is developing high-speed, high-performance (completely nuts) scooters for the world’s first Electric Scooter Championship, due to kick off next year

Meet the electric micro scooter that can hit 100km/h on the clock.

Tron-style electric scooters will feature in the Electric Scooter Championship (eSC), an event launched by a team of motorsports enthusiasts including Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi and ex-Formula 1 driver Alex Wurz. Details are yet to be finalised, but the group says the event will launch sometime in 2021.

The newly announced deal will see Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) exclusively developing and supplying the eSkootr chassis, battery system and powertrain for the eSC’s first two seasons.

“Williams Advanced Engineering has already demonstrated its pioneering approach to battery powertrain solutions in other motorsport series,” says Iain Wight, the business development director at Williams Advanced Engineering. “The opportunity to further explore the sector with the eSkootr and eSC provides an opportunity for us to refine the packaging, ergonomics and systems required for deployment on a micromobility scale.”

The eSC has been designed to “champion progressive micromobility policies and as an advocacy platform promoting smarter, cleaner and safer mobility in our cities,” the founders say.

WAE has already begun development of a highperformance electric scooter prototype that they say will be capable of achieving speeds of more than 100km/h (60mph) and accelerate faster than most road cars. WAE will now continue to test their design on a series of newly developed micromobility race circuits, before supplying all entrants with finished models.

“Make no mistake this is a very high-performance model: some of the cornering and acceleration figures that we’ve simulated are really quite extreme. It’s like nothing that’s ever been seen before,” says Wight. “It’s clear that micromobility will play an increased role in the urban lives of millions of people, and the eSC provides a fantastic opportunity for manufacturers to develop and showcase new technology before it’s brought to market.”

“SOME OF THE CORNERING AND ACCELERATION FIGURES WE’VE SIMULATED ARE REALLY QUITE EXTREME”