Despite appearances to the contrary, the dominant form of transportation around the world is the motorcycle. This fact led LIT Motors founder Danny Kim to re-think what was required of a car as urban transport, and how to combine it with his other passion, riding a motorcycle.
Based in San Francisco, US, LIT Motors – formed in 2010 – was Kim’s brain-child, an answer to the congested city streets and vehicle pollution created during rush-hour commutes. The fact that the majority of vehicles in cities are only occupied by a single occupant struck Kim as he was nearly crushed underneath a 4WD vehicle he was building.
He wondered why he was building such a large vehicle when most people drive alone. Thus, the LIT Motors C-1 was born in 2013. Starting by going back to school to earn a degree in industrial design and sustainable transportation, the C-1 prototype was a fully-enclosed, single-seat, electric two-wheeler.
Kim recognised the fact that while motorcycles stay upright only by virtue of the rider’s input, this would not be a workable solution for the C-1, which was intended as a replacement for the typical car, and marketed to non-motorcyclists. The solution to keeping the C-1 upright and stable was a pair of gyroscopes.
The gyroscopes keep the C-1 up-right even when unattended, and are spin fast enough to prevent it from toppling even when pulled by an SUV. Steering is by-wire, and uses a car steering wheel. While motorcycles steer using counter-steering, the C-1 uses signals generated by steering movement to turn the motion into counter-steering, letting the C-1 lean into turns the way a motorcycle does.
Powered by lithium iron phosphate batteries, LIT claims the C-1 has a top speed of 160 kmh, while 0-100 kmh is done and dusted in less than 6 seconds, and a range of 320 km per charge. The C-1 weighs in at a hefty 360 kg, due to the battery pack, gyroscopes and full-coverage bodywork.
A mishap in 2015 left Kim bed-ridden for six months, and he has only recently resumed work. In the meantime, the LIT team has developed a new prototype, the EP4, which is under-going development. Pricing for the C-1 was listed as 24,000 USD (RM96,600) during its initial kickstarter campaign, but no word on what current or final pricing is likely to be.
Mayb consider about hybrid as well before fully ev? And need an air conditional.
Air conditional? Lol
We should order this for Najib and for each Minister. So that they won’t cause jams with their outriders and sirens. They can travel fast on the motor lane to Putrajaya.
And they don’t have to give bull excuses that government vehicles can break the speed limit law.
According to information on LIT’s website, air-conditioning is planned for future versions.
The company need to bring the selling cost down to the price of a motobike which is around USD 7k-12k in order for commuters to consider purchasing it. If it is around the mid 20k, I think people would rather buy a compact car.
Come to Malaysia – selling at 80k. Damn.
Come to MY, will zero sales cuz motorcyclists cant cilok during jam with this fat bike
i think the target market for this vehicle is for the car owner that commuting to work without passenger and this thing is definitely a car with 2 wheels.
I’ve been following this company for months and all they’ve done so far is re-hash the same prototype concept into the media. Has anything new come to light since last year?
Yeah, when I read the article I have this sense of skepticism that they have finally started selling the Lit-1. The delays are never ending to a point it felt like they took the money but can’t progress any further. They need more than luck to pull it off.
Months? Try years. They were originally supposed to ship in 2013. The founder recently crashed on a motorcycle. I’m inclined to believe he did it deliberately to renew buzz.
This type of transport is very cool. It’s unlike anything I have seen, and I have been following Lit Motors for about 2 years. It’s got insane drag coefficient, small as a motorcycle and keeps you from getting a motorcycle license, helmet, and rain gear! Truly a form of transportation for the future.
People must understand that it’s a huge cost of capital for mass producing these. And do not be ashamed for putting down a preorder.
For an analogy, when Tesla was producing the roadster, their final model (after 26 prototypes) was essentially a $70 million dollar car. And that’s before they starting making a lot of them (about 1 a day came out of the factory). You’ve got to be really smart with your money if you want to survive in the motor transport industry. Lit Motors is defiantly struggling, but they got a pretty niche product like Tesla. Good luck to them!!
LitMotors are using gyroscopes (min. two) to stabilize its vehicle according to the needs of the road (mainly speed and curve radius). In order to achieve required balances such gyros have to be effective enough, i.e. enough weight and gyro speed. While such system will work in all STEADY circumstances, it will probably NOT adjust in time for any traffic changes (other than at slow speed). Maybe there is a chance using automatically tilting gyroscopes, but -even if possible- development may take years and definitely MORE cash.
i love this design… my God.
It will rock continuously about its balance point. Side winds will buffet it as it leans into them. Push on it and it pushes you back, potentially crushing you against a wall – note how the only pushing we see is an impulse. The gyro idea is old, see Louis Brennan’s monorail, but can only ever be a novelty. All this time and so few videos. This is a scam in my opinion.