There’s no point arguing, electrification is the future and eventually every carmaker is going to have to make the switch. While Ferrari might be teasing its plans to electrify its cars with hybrids like the SF90, McLaren has this week gone all in on its first EV, a battery powered scooter that it says will “redefine” personal mobility.
Now, firstly, we’ve got to point out that this won’t be called a McLaren scooter, so all you label chasers can stand down. Instead, it’s a whole new brand developed by the British company that’s called Lavoie.
Secondly, Lavoie is being launched as an offshoot of the McLaren Applied business, which is sort of like McLaren’s contract engineering firm – a bit like Porsche Design. McLaren Applied lends its technical knowhow out to other companies or sectors that need engineering assistance.
Now that all that admin’s out of the way, what the hell have we got here?
Well, Lavoie is a new personal mobility brand created by McLaren Applied. It’s being headed up by ex-F1 engineer Richard Clarke and EV experts Eliott Wertheimer and Albert Nassar. Together, the trio are hoping to bring motorsport expertise and luxury details to the personal mobility space.
All that kicks off with Lavoie’s first product, the Series 1 scooter.
The Series 1 is a folding electric scooter, which McLaren Applied says has been inspired by the suspension of a top-tier race car. At the touch of a button, the deck folds in half and the stem collapses. With all the engineering required to make this choreographed folding possible, and stable, the scooter weighs in at 16 kg.
The scooter is also fitted with a set of chunky tires to help absorb the bumps and jumps on the road, and comes with the battery capacity to cover 50 km on a single charge. There’s also a swanky looking triangular light up front, and indicators built into the handlebars.
As with every new EV worth its salt, the Series 1 also has an app that will allow you to track the location of your scooter, and can be used to activate a built-in alarm if you think your ride is being stolen.
It all sounds very neat, and pretty expensive. So far, neither Mclaren Applied nor Lavoie has shared any details of pricing. This and availability will be revealed “in the coming weeks.”