Awesomely Weird Alibaba EV of the Week: This four-wheeled e-bike/car

When it comes to oddities of the electric vehicle variety, it doesn’t take much to pique my interest. If it’s got an electric motor and a funky shape, I’m down to clown. But being an electric bicycle guy through and through, anytime we can work some good ol’ pedaling action into the mix, I’m all the happier. And this week’s edition of the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week sure tickles my fancy!

If Teslas are too mainstream for you, but Fred Flinstone’s car is a bit too much effort, then I think I’ve found the perfect compromise. This electric bike-car offers everything its name promises.

It’s got pedals like a bike, along with a set of handlebars for steering and a bicycle seat for keeping you the perfect amount of uncomfortable. But it’s also got the enclosed convenience of a car, shielding riders from the rain and sun, though not from the curious looks of passersby. And with an electric bicycle motor, you don’t have to burn through your entire lunch just pedaling this brick down the block.

Of course, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. And I’m sure the appearance will be divisive, with some finding it charming and others… less so. But more than just looks, this thing is about utility.

I’d say the design is perfect for anyone who has ever said, “Give me the environmental friendliness of an electric bicycle but with the turning radius of a school bus.” Finally, a vehicle that lets you feel superior to cyclists and drivers simultaneously while enjoying the camaraderie of neither.

Combining the aerodynamics of a garden shed and the aesthetics of a cute dumpster, this electric bike car is likely as hard to get rolling as it is to park. But it’s got one main thing going for it: an insane amount of enclosed storage space that other e-bikes could only dream of.

Behind those double doors is your own mobile storage unit, and one that has every right to use the bicycle lane – at least in cities that extend such rights to four-wheeled bicycles.

To put numbers on it, this thing offers a massive 1.8 cubic meters of storage space in back. I’m not sure the best way to describe that in freedom units. Does 63 cubic feet mean anything to anyone? 475 gallons? A micro-studio apartment in NYC?

Either way, you could just about turn the rear box into a tiny camper – though it wouldn’t be the first bicycle-based RV we’ve seen.

As far as performance goes, it’s got a top speed of 31 km/h, or a hair under 20 mph. Considering it probably has the crash-test rating of a cardboard box, I’m not sure I’d want to go that fast too often.

The benefit of crashing on a standard bicycle is you get to separate from it fairly quickly. Crashing in this thing makes me feel like I’d just pinball around inside the cab until I’ve become one with the handlebars.

Of course, the ideal environment for something like this electric bike-car is not mixing it up with traffic. I’d much rather stick to the bike lane or bicycle highways – though I’m not sure how my fellow cyclists would welcome me there. Actually, I’m not sure they’d even consider me a fellow cyclist.

So alas, I’m not sure exactly where I’d use it. And at $3,000, that’s a hefty chunk of change for a vehicle that would have a hard time fitting into our world. But even though its place is hard to understand, I’ll forever love that things like this exist.

Just please don’t go and try to buy something like this from Alibaba. Yes, I know I’m not a good example and rarely take my own advice. But this is a, “do what I say, not what I do” situation, indeed.