Piaggio MP3 Hybrid trike hits the streets in early 2010 for around $9k

by Paul Miller posted Mar 7th 2009 at 7:32PM

It's certainly an odd beast, but Piaggio's "MP3 Hybrid" scooter / trike / whatsit has itself a ship window and a vague pricetag. Piaggio hopes to start selling the vehicle in the US by Q1 2010, with a price ranging around $8,000 or $9,000. The plug-in hybrid can run off of a standard charge for 40 miles, and has a gas-powered generator (like the Volt) for extra power, with a promised 141 mpg overall. It's packed in with some regenerative breaking, a high-performance battery-boosted mode to make one pretty hot scooter -- if you can get over those looks and the extra wheel.

Filed under: Transportation

Tags: hybrid, mp3 hybrid, Mp3Hybrid, piaggio, plug-in hybrid, Plug-inHybrid, scooter

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Neutral

KAIKAI @ Mar 7th 2009 7:34PM

ew....

Low Ranked

iHenchman#1 @ Mar 7th 2009 10:28PM

Yes.. Eww...

don't plan on getting any savings from that 141MPG...

OBAMA is already working on a way to tax the distance you travel should you use an electric car or high mileage vehicle...

All the while those filthy politicians still roll around in a 1-Ton or 2-seater...

AHAHAHAH!

You dumb americans...even is Energy was free your SCUM piloticians will find a way to TAX you so that they can have a nice cushy lifestyle....

Neutral

The Walrus @ Mar 7th 2009 10:42PM

I would post a rebuttal to you iHench, but the shear idiocy of your post has done my job for me

Low Ranked

jarofchris @ Mar 7th 2009 10:51PM

If only he weren't pretty much right :(

Neutral

Mindlessnerd @ Mar 8th 2009 2:21PM

Seriously? We can't even muster a good reply to this douchebag?
sigh. Here goes. I'm pretty sure there would be a fair bit of difficulty involved in taxing distance, and the odds are unlikely that we would ever tax the distance on anything such as a scooter for money. We may be cash-strapped, but we generally don't tax for fun, as much fun as it may seem. Relative to Europe and Canada, our taxes are actually kind of light.
Every country on the face of the Earth has public officials who are less than trustworthy, nay, even corrupt. Always has been, always will be. To simply point out the obvious by citing such simplistic cases as Blagojevich (as a citizen of Illinois, I apologize for him) is ridiculous and merely stands testament to your lack of knowledge and support for your case.
Not all politicians, or, as you seem to prefer to call them, "piloticians" (politicians...who also fly planes?) are Hummer Limousine owners who, in their free time, burn poor people by spraying them with an aerosol can, drowning them in 100% gasoline, and then igniting them via flamethrower and laugh while burning hundred dollar bills and smoking a cigar while ALSO diabolically petting their white cats in spinning chairs and laughing maniacally...just some of them.
Lastly, how the hell does this comment relate to the initial comment about the aesthetics of the vehicle? Honestly.
Sorry to take up anyone's time who had to read this, because I fully realize that his comment was essentially flame bait, but I couldn't resist.
The vehicle...should it be called as such...seems like a good idea, but I can honestly never think of fully justifying a 9 thousand dollar expenditure on something that you KNOW you'll be made fun of for owning, despite its obvious green advantages. Needs to be cheaper, and the third wheel on the front...really? Was it quite necessary?

Neutral

Shank @ Mar 8th 2009 4:53PM

BOTTOM LINE COMMENT
I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA , I WOULDNT BE CAUGHT DEAD RIDING SOMETHING LIKE THIS

Neutral

Smoke_me_a_Kipper @ Mar 8th 2009 11:56PM

It looks like the Power Wheels police "bike"

Neutral

Rocketboy @ Mar 9th 2009 10:52AM

If you're dead, I'd avoid driving any sort of motorized device.

Neutral

OneLove @ Mar 9th 2009 11:13AM

It better come with headphones and a armband.

Neutral

Releaux @ Mar 9th 2009 12:57PM

Sorry guys, iHench is partially right. It's not Obama (yet) but there are lots of plans in the works for either replacing or (more likely) augmenting gas taxes with a distance-driven usage tax:

http://www.wtop.com/?sid=1603555&nid=108
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/14/eveningnews/main674120.shtml

Just do a search for "tax distance driven"

Neutral

Craig @ Mar 7th 2009 7:37PM

regenerative what?

Highly Ranked

TS @ Mar 7th 2009 7:41PM

It's sort of like when the Terminator would go to pieces and then rebuild himself.

Neutral

Templarian @ Mar 7th 2009 7:54PM

Serious reply: It means when it stops it acts like a generator rather than just rubbing pads. Little bit more juice if your using it somewhere you have to stop and go a lot, very good for taxi's in larger cities probably.

Highly Ranked

Shadyman @ Mar 7th 2009 8:52PM

@templarian:

Read the summary again... "regenerative breaking"

breaking != braking :)

Neutral

slamEVIL @ Mar 7th 2009 9:18PM

oh man i didn't even notice that!

@TS, bwa ha ha ha!!!

Highly Ranked

Quentyn @ Mar 7th 2009 7:40PM

I like the scooter.

Highly Ranked

johcagaorl @ Mar 8th 2009 8:10PM

+1 to that, its pretty cool looking IMO

Neutral

Electromodo @ Mar 8th 2009 1:27AM

Me too!

Neutral

Boards of Canada @ Mar 8th 2009 8:49AM

I can easily see Jackie Chan on one of them and anything Jackie Chan ride is cool, even a freaking segway!

Neutral

absurdio @ Mar 8th 2009 10:33PM

Eh. It's hardly a tesseract...

...though this might even go into production someday. That's an advantage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNrJOrfqA-E

Neutral

Tony C @ Mar 9th 2009 8:24AM

It looks kinda interesting to me too. And as happens, I just saw one of these trike scooters parked in front of a local movie theater. Not sure what model it was -- though going by their website, it had to be an MP3 250 or 400 -- but it definitely had the distinctive pair of wheels in the front.

Main thing that looked odd to me was the size of the tires -- less than a foot diameter, I'm guessing, but I didn't exactly stop to measure them. Parked in the same space as a more conventionally-styled scooter, didn't notice the make of that one. On my way back to my car, the couple were suiting up, wasn't curious enough to ask them about their rides.

Highly Ranked

bill cant fart @ Mar 7th 2009 7:56PM

So what? It plays music?

Neutral

MowDownJoe @ Mar 7th 2009 10:58PM

I wondered why it calls itself an "MP3 Hybrid". Probably has an iPod dock or something... like you'd be able to hear your stereo with a helmet on.

Low Ranked

jeesusfreek @ Mar 7th 2009 7:57PM

pointless when a zuma will go 45 mph and get 100 - 120 mpg. know because i own one and drive it all summer.

Highly Ranked

Wes @ Mar 7th 2009 8:00PM

This'll be much faster with performace akin to a 250cc scooter. That means 0-60 in about 5 seconds and a 70-80mph top speed.

Neutral

jeesusfreek @ Mar 7th 2009 8:42PM

you're shittin me right? 250cc scooters take about a mile to get to 70mph, and a 2009 Ninja 250R takes 6 seconds to get to 60. The whole point of a scooter being the automatic transmission (at least here in indiana, it can't be manual in order to qualify), I seriously doubt this is gonna come equipped with a 14,000RPM redline engine that is mated to a 5 speed manual gear box.

8 or 9 thousand will get you three brand new Ninja 250R's, and they'll get 80 mpg. That was my point.

Neutral

Wes @ Mar 7th 2009 9:02PM

They're hardly competing for the same audience. And for an application like this, a CVT is actually faster than a manual gearbox, putting the revs into the power band immediately and for the complete duration of acceleration.

Neutral

jeesusfreek @ Mar 7th 2009 9:27PM

what audience is this competing for, exactly? the "look ugly, feel green, spend 9 grand on a POS" audience? cuz I gave up on that group long ago.

Highly Ranked

PieFace @ Mar 7th 2009 10:02PM

I currently own the NON-Hybrid MP3 500. It does 0-60 in 4.9 seconds, track tested. It does 93mph top speed, track tested. I have owned it since April 18th, 2008. I get an average 52mpg.

Before that I owned the Mp3-250 for over a year (again non-hybrid version), that did 0-60 in 6.1 seconds, track tested and had a top speed of 82mph, also track tested. In the year I owned that I averaged 60mpg.

A halfway experienced Mp3 rider can beat anyone but the best sports bike riders in the twisties. It will smoke any car on a continuously winding road.

Neutral

David @ Mar 8th 2009 5:48PM

Pieface:

The one thing about it is that it's built for short people. I found it WAY too cramped.

That's why I ride a Yamaha TMax (500cc parallel-twin scooter)

Neutral

yopladas @ Mar 7th 2009 8:02PM

I just love the MP3; too many Vespas in Berlin, but I saw them everywhere in Paris (the MP3s) and someday, I dream of some...

Piaggio is wonderful.

Neutral

Phour ZwanZig @ Mar 7th 2009 11:05PM

Piaggio is Vespa..

Neutral

yopladas @ Mar 7th 2009 11:44PM

When did I say otherwise? The closest I got to that was There are too many Vespas in Berlin + I love Piaggio.

Now go put words in your own mouth and don't act like I'm some kind of idiot.

Neutral

David @ Mar 8th 2009 5:50PM

PhorZwanZig:

You got it backwards. Piaggio is the parent company of Vespa.

It's so pathetic when people who correct other people are wrong themselves LOL

Neutral

Joe @ Mar 7th 2009 8:09PM

I could get a used Honda for that price, TWO of 'em in fact!

Neutral

Seth @ Mar 8th 2009 12:53PM

Yeah? Well I can get 15 used pontiac grand ams for that price. I win.

Neutral

Ken J @ Mar 8th 2009 3:27PM

I bought a Harley Nightster for that $8900 and get 55 mpg. Granted it ain't some crazy 141mpg, but I can at least take mine on the highway.

Highly Ranked

Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Mar 7th 2009 8:27PM

I'm holding out for the AAC.

Highly Ranked

bill cant fart @ Mar 7th 2009 8:39PM

FLAC's better.

Neutral

MeanSpyvie @ Mar 7th 2009 8:57PM

AC556 is best

Neutral

Funke, Tobias Dr. @ Mar 8th 2009 12:44AM

For Losers' Aural Canals?

Neutral

francesco @ Mar 9th 2009 5:11AM

I plan to buy the OGG, it will be cheaper, and after install the restricted codec package....

Neutral

jol @ Mar 7th 2009 8:46PM

I like how it regenerates when it "breaks". If they put that into cars, I'd never have to pay for a mechanic. No wonder it's so expensive.

Neutral

Bohemian @ Mar 7th 2009 8:48PM

It is not a trike.
It is a small displacement motorcycle with CVT and three wheels.

Neutral

why not the LS2LS7? @ Mar 7th 2009 9:01PM

What is the max electric-only speed? At what speed can I travel and still make 40 miles?

If I can ride to work and back at about 45mph on electricity only I'm very interested

Neutral

duality @ Mar 7th 2009 10:28PM

Awww yeah.

I'm considering one of these for my next scooter upgrade. Though the MP3 inherently takes up more space and is almost impossible to 'lane split' with, so I'd be more interested in the rumored hybrid Xevo or X8 or whatever they were considering.

Highly Ranked