If you’re too young (or scared) for a VW Golf GTI, it could be worth waiting for the Volkswagen Sport eBike. Technically, this one isn’t made at one of the German company’s many factories. Instead, it’s being produced by a company called N Plus. But it has VW branding, as well as an official license.
The Volkswagen Sport eBike also claims to be dreadfully smart. Exactly how smart will depend on you. And your wallet. See, while the electric bicycle will feature the usual bits — motor, removable battery, a Shimano derailleur — its smartest bits are optional extras. They do seem pretty cool, though.
Volkswagen train
The VW-branded ride looks fancy enough. The aluminium frame has enough space inside (it weighs almost 28 kilograms) for the 490Wh removable battery, a Yamaha PW-X3 motor, and motion-sensing tech that’ll tell you if someone has made off with it. The front and rear LED lights feature the VW logo, so you can feel just like you’re riding a Polo that never grew up all the way. That motor is a little… not German, but since Volkswagen isn’t actually making the thing…
The smart bike also has your usual connectivity features, as well as a fair-sized screen/dashboard between the handlebars. That’s still not where it gets ‘smart’, though. See, every person who purchases the made-to-order bike will get a free radar-activated rear-view camera. Which is cool and all, but the R12,000 add-on sort of forces you to add more.
N Plus also offers a smart helmet (R6,600) that’ll stick brake lights and indicators onto the back of your skull. The also-optional smart glasses (R8,300) show drivers what’s in their blind spot on the heads-up display in the lenses. Navigation is also an option in the same manner. You don’t need either of these for the rear-view camera to work, though. The backward-facing unit will display what’s creeping up your butt on the bike’s display. But since you’ve got that feature, you might as well nab the rest.
An optional 814Wh battery pack (which is another R14k) mounts additional batteries on the Volkswagen Smart eBike. It’ll also push the maximum range from 120km to about 260km per charge. Finally, there’s a security package, the cheapest addition of the lot at R2,500.
Just don’t count on getting your (at least) R66,000/$4,000 eBike any time soon. N Plus reckons that “This bicycle is currently still in development as a pre-production model. Delivery will only take place once manufacturing is complete and the bike has been successfully certified in accordance with applicable EU regulations.” After that, the trick is getting it to South Africa.
