Jonathan Gitlin

Jonathan Gitlin



Jonathan Gitlin

Jonathan Gitlin

Jonathan Gitlin

Jonathan Gitlin

Without a doubt, the most fun thing I've driven all year is also the cheapest. It's the Arcimoto SRK: a three-wheeled electric vehicle that remains the one thing I liked about CES 2016. Since then the Oregonian startup has been beavering away, refining the design of the $12,000 EV as it readies for production next year. The SRK made its way to DC recently, and that meant another chance to drive it—this time on some familiar city streets. Yet again, the experience blew me away.

It's a tandem trike, with each front wheel powered by its own 25kW (34hp) electric motor. But don't let the handlebars fool you; with seats, seatbelts, and a roof, even the bike-phobic like me are quite at home here. In fact, earlier versions of Arcimoto's platform actually used a steering wheel and pedals before evolving into the SRK, and it corners with almost no body roll. There's a 12kWh lithium-ion battery pack, good for about 70 miles (112km) of range, although a 20kWh pack will also be available. Depending on the state, you don't need a motorcyle license to drive it, but for those where that doesn't apply, you can take the test in the SRK.

Since I drove it last, the SRK has a new polycarbonate windshield that the team is trying out. It also features the production gearbox. "It's much quieter than before; there's a lot less latch, a lot less noise, and the gears are a lot better construction," explains Jesse Fittipaldi, Arcimoto's VP. My first impressions were formed in a cold Las Vegas parking lot, where traffic or passers-by weren't much of a concern. Out in the real world, traffic isn't an issue either. It's very nimble and more than quick enough—0-60mph in 7.5 seconds is plenty faster than a Nissan Leaf and almost as quick as a BMW i3. The Arcimoto's top speed of 85mph (137km/h) is more than enough.

But it's still a slightly surreal experience driving it on city streets, because the SRK is almost as attention-grabbing as a McLaren 570S. Pedestrians and other drivers frequently stopped to ask questions, and the trike was a big hit with the highschool crowd. The fact that it appeared to meet with so much acceptance from the general public gives me hope. The SRK reflects an affordable kind of electromobility for the coming years—and that's something we still see all too little of.

I've seen the future and it's electric

Drivers who would never consider a scooter (like me) for safety reasons could quite happily commute in an SRK, and the potential for using them as delivery vehicles is obvious. (I'd also pick one over a Smart Car2Go any day of the week.) You also don't have to think very hard to see them being a big hit in places where people drive a lot of dirty two-strokes, tuk tuks, or rickshaws. Arcimoto has been in discussions about licensing the platform abroad, but right now its main focus is securing the investment needed to put the SRK into production here in the US next year. To do that, the company is using a law passed in 2012—the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, which allows small businesses to make use of crowdfunding to issue shares.

The hope that Tesla was going to usher in a bold new era of electric vehicles is proving stubbornly slow to materialize. Five years on from the Model S' introduction, the only major OEM with a long-range battery EV on the market is Chevrolet. While the Bolt is a fantastic car, it doesn't appear to be capturing the public imagination.

Other OEMs have models in the pipeline; Porsche and Audi are both very keen to try and undo some diesel-flavored bad karma, and Jaguar has the I-Pace electric SUV in store, but all those are still more than a year away. Volvo looks like it's catching electric fever, with plans for five new battery EVs in the works; Mazda and Toyota are joining forces to develop new EVs; and both BMW and Mercedes-Benz have somewhat vague plans for new all-electric vehicles. None of those are on the road yet, either.

Meanwhile, Tesla has done more than just light a (slow-burning) fire under the traditional automakers. It has inspired plenty of new EV startups, to the point where I think Sniff Petrol might need to create an EV version of its rather funny boilerplate press release for new supercar makers. But for the good of a diverse ecosystem, I'd like it if some of these other EV startups make a proper go of it. I'm not too worried about the EV hypercars from outfits like Rimac or Nio; most of us will never encounter the hand-built low-volume vehicles they create. But an Arcimoto would be in reach for a much bigger audience, even before the IRS EV credit cuts its price by more than half.

Listing image by Jonathan Gitlin