Ice cream trucks evoke a certain nostalgia that is difficult to replicate. But at a time when large combustion engine trucks are being replaced left and right, what is to come of cold confection-slinging vehicles? Perhaps they can be replaced by this Vespa-looking ice cream scooter instead.
It’s not technically a Vespa, though it certainly has that vintage vibe. It’s actually from a company named Xuchang Zhenda Machinery Co., and I since I found them perusing China’s largest online shopping site, it makes a great addition to the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week.
The three-wheeled refrigerator truck of sorts comes complete with a forward-mounted freezer for storing ice cream and other frozen treats.
The tadpole trike design with two front wheels also helps keep it more stable in turns, and the extra low-mounted weight of all those frozen concoctions surely helps with the rollover as well (though most of the time, this scooter is likely chugging along at slow speeds, rarely maxing out its unpublished top speed).
The scooter’s top speed may remain a mystery, but what we do know is that the factory claims it can spec the scooter with anything from a 2,000- to 10,000-watt motor. That puts between 2.7 and 13 horses behind this mobile malt shop.
The claimed 72V and 120Ah battery also offers an impressive 8.6 kWh capacity – more than you’d find in many full-size electric motorcycles. There’s no word on the official range, but I’m guessing there’s more capacity in the battery than in the freezer box, especially on a hot day, so needing a top-up charge likely won’t be an issue.
As interesting as the design is, there are some head-scratching choices when it comes to components. The red taillights mounted on the front of the scooter are worrisome at best, and the side stand as well as center stand seem like odd inclusions to support a motorbike that is already stable at rest, thanks to its trike design.
But when it comes to ultracheap $1,200 electric ice cream scooters, I try to not ask too many questions that I don’t want to know the answers to. Instead, I’d just like the opportunity to one summer day be walking down the street when an ice cream trike rolls up next to me and sells me an ice cream sandwich that perfectly hits the spot. Finally, a chance to enjoy that sweet delight without the mixture of diesel fumes.
Wouldn’t the world be great if our biggest concern was simply deciding which style of electric ice cream trike we want our treats delivered in?
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