Like riding a giant-sized I-pod, only faster? The as-yet-to-be-released Boxx electric vehicle, at the Portland auto show in January.

If you don’t mind turning heads as you turn corners, then the Boxx might just be the ride for you. It looks like eye candy for design geeks, but it’s got bona fides fit for the greenest save-the-planet people.

It’s a 120-pound individual transportation vehicle, officially classified as a battery-powered moped. It runs about forty miles at speeds up to 35 mph on a charge from a standard electrical outlet. With upgrades, the range can be doubled and charging time reduced from four hours to one.

The Boxx measures 1 meter by 1 meter of light-weight aluminum. It comes in ten eye popping colors, from Ferrari red to lemon yellow to the ubiquitous 2012 favorite, juicy tangerine orange. Plus the always appropriate tuxedo black or wedding gown white.

Even in a modest shade of grey, the Boxx will not be blending in anytime soon. It looks like an overgrown laptop, flipped on its side with a seat and handlebars attached. Much as Apple makes computers that dazzle with their simple exteriors no matter what the intricate innards are doing, this vehicle keeps it simple on the outside. The computer-run mechanics are encased in the boxy aluminum body, which also contains secured storage bins for backpack, briefcase and baguette. (Presumably, beer would fit as well.)

The Boxx is still in beta, with the first vehicles to be released later this year. But you can preorder from the Southeast Portland based company. Prices start at just under $4000 – in keeping with the cost of a snazzy Italian scooter, but with a different look, feel, and fuel.

The Boxx comes in ten colors – and runs on electricity from a standard outlet.

The Boxx made its first forays into the public sphere at the Portland International Auto Show this past January and at the Electric Avenue exhibit recently of Portland’s Better Living Show. The company was founded in 2009 by Ziba alum Eric Vaughn, a design engineer who has also “worked with some of the region’s electric vehicle and renewable energy startups,” according to Sustainable Business Oregon.

BOXX Corp.

?939 SE Alder St.

?Portland, OR 97214?

800.625.BOXX