When it comes to quirky little cars, a lot of them have a way of forever staying on the cusp of commercial availability, without ever actually reaching consumers. Well, you can't say that about the Solo, a three-wheeled electric vehicle that was recently shipped to its first US buyer.

Made by Vancouver-based company Electra Meccanica and legally considered a motorcycle, the single-passenger Solo has an 82-hp (61-kW) electric motor driving its rear wheel, taking it to a top speed of 82 mph (130 km/h) – it goes from 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in less than eight seconds. Its 17.3-kWh lithium-ion battery charges in three hours at a 220 V charging station or about six with 110 V, giving the car a range of up to 100 miles (161 km).

It's priced at CAD$19,888, or about US$15,500.

This Wednesday, Electra Meccanica announced that the first US-certified Solo had been shipped to its Los Angeles-based buyer. Ex-IndyCar driver Dominic Dobson, who is the Solo sales rep for Washington and Oregon, was on hand to "greet" the vehicle as it passed through his area.

"Driving the Solo today reminded me of my days driving formula cars," he said. "It was so quick and nimble, it just made me giggle and I thoroughly enjoyed it."

Plans now call for a total of 75,000 Solos to be delivered to the US market over the next three years, with deliveries beginning in the middle of this September.

Source: Electra Meccanica via Electrek