If a souped-up go-kart tearasses down the street and no one hears it, did it ever even tearass down the street?
The short answer is yes.
The long answer is that it was probably an “eRod” from Swiss auto company Kyburz, a line of battery-powered hot rod/go-kart hybrids that’ll make nary a peep while blowing most gas-powered hoopties in their class off the line.
Available in three model types (Basic, Fun and Race), the eRod has an open-style cabin with lowered sides and no roof, a flat-bottomed steering wheel and an electronic heads-up display for monitoring speed and other metrics.
Capable of hitting a top speed of 87 MPH, the 1,400-pound eRod Race has a 201 HP 150-kW motor and a 39-kWh battery good for a max range of 136 miles per four-hour charge.
Although the Basic and Fun models pack less juice and therefore less power, they still epitomize what a “roadworthy sports car” can be and offer “pure driving — on and off the racetrack.”
The models won’t come cheap: a pre-assembled will set you back about $33k, while the Race tips the scales at $108k. But they also offer build-it-yourself models at drastically reduced rates.
Interested in a test drive? Book one.
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.
