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| Piaggio MP3 Hybrid |
Page 1 of 2  The future is here! well progress is progressing... Petrol/Electric 3 wheeled Hybrid. How does 140MPG sound to you?  There has been plenty of work done on production electric scooters, while the automotive world seems focussed on hybrid technology. Well Piaggio took the opportunity of the EICMA show in Milan to reveal a production ready Hybrid scooter. Now we all know about the MP3, the technology is now proven and if you have ridden one you will know how well it works. The Hybrid takes this radical, modern looking scooter to the next level. According to Piaggio's information this "Parallel Hybrid" should do around 141MPG... I will hold judgement of this figure untill it can be tested. It isn't completely unbelievable though as the new MP3's charging and running system seems to run a well balanced combination of combustion and electric power. The idea of the Parallel Hybrid is that the Petrol engine and the Electrics are linked both mechanically and electronically linked and supply power either simultaneously or individually. So both power sources can drive the MP3 under heavy load, normally the petrol engine, boosted by the electric motor, or you can switch the petrol engine off (via a handlebar switch) for use within restricted, inner city areas, short commutes and the like.  This combination means there is plenty of range available, especially when you take into account that the petrol engine charges the batteries. Further still there is this incredible device... called a "plug" which is attached via a cable to the bike... this "plug" is then inserted into your regular wall socket and will recharge the batteries in just 3 hours. This means that if you have a short commute you can keep your fuel use to zero and then use the combined power for longer or higher speed trips. It would appear that storage has been somewhat reduced to house the batteries although Piaggio tell us there is still room for a helmet, I suspect it will be the European spec open face device. Even so this would appear to be a pretty damn useful device if it is half as good as the press release maintains it is. Full Press release on page 2:
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