Scooters, electric or otherwise, are usually the choice of two-wheeled transportation for folks living in urban cities. For starters, they're extremely practical, as they're easy to ride with a twist-and-go nature about them. On top of that, they're usually really cheap to buy and maintain, and tend to be very efficient when it comes to fuel consumption. Meanwhile, electric scooters tend to offer quite a lot of range in between charge-ups.
Speaking of electric scooters, this is clearly where it's at for folks looking for sustainable, practical mobility. Albert Ebenbichler, a designer and mechanical engineer from Germany, is a diehard scooter aficionado who found the under-seat storage of scooters lacking in terms of capacity. So, in true German fashion, he decided to design and engineer his very own electric scooter – one that focuses on utility and the "joy of transport," or Freude am Transport, A.K.A., FAT. Dubbed the Fat Albert, the scooter has a gigantic storage compartment, so much so that it could be described as a storage compartment with wheels and an electric motor.
Those of you familiar with those suit cases you can ride on in the airport will surely be able to draw some parallels with the Fat Albert scooter. Here, it features a total of 70 liters of storage capacity, so much so, that two suit cases can be stored inside it. That being said, the added storage comes at the expense of some accessibility, as the Fat Albert loses the scooter's step-through frame design. Instead, you'll have to swing a leg over it as you would a conventional motorcycle. No worries, though, as the scooter's seat height is low enough even for short riders.
In terms of performance, the Fat Albert is powered by a three-kilowatt electric motor that peaks out at four horsepower. It should be good for a top speed of about 28 miles per hour, classifying it as a vehicle drivable by standard Class B car licenses, as well as Class AM license holders aged 15 to 16 years old. Battery tech consists of a pair of 60-volt, 20-ampere-hour battery packs, which offer a total range of 75 miles on a single charge. It takes about four hours to fully charge the batteries via a standard household socket.
Interestingly, Albert Ebenbichler and his Fat Albert scooter have been nominated for the 2023 German Innovation Award. Fingers crossed, he and the charming scooter will take home the award at the end of May, 2023. That being said, the electric scooter is slated to go into production with a total of four variants to choose from. The base model, expected to retail for 4,970 Euros ($5,371 USD), is scheduled for delivery starting in June, 2023.
