Electrek.co
by Micah Toll
One little Swiss microcar (technically a quadricycle) has made a disproportionately sized splash. The pint-sized four-wheeled electric vehicle known as the Microlino may be petite, but it’s got a long line forming out the door counting over 30,000 reservation holders.
The company officially opened its configurator to let those early adopters begin building their own Microlino vehicles ahead of full-scale production.
The Microlino, which adopts a BMW Isetta-style single front door opening, is designed to embrace a new take on four-wheeled electric vehicles designed for urban drivers.
It fits somewhere between a conventional car and a motorcycle, taking up much less space than a typical car but retaining the enclosed weatherability advantages of a car along with the increased storage capacity.
With 230 liters (8 cubic feet) of trunk space and seating for two, the Microlino could be an ideal vehicle for couples and small families that don’t want the hassle of a full-size vehicle in a city.
Despite its small size, the Microlino still packs in fairly impressive performance. A 12.5 kW motor (19 kW peak) offers a top speed of 90 km/h (56 mph), meaning it should be fairly peppy for the city but might take a bit longer to get up to its top speed on larger roads.
The highest-capacity battery option offers the vehicle up to 230 km (143 miles) of range, which should be plenty for most city dwellers. In fact, many drivers will likely find that they can get away with once-a-week charging when staying in the city.