Mp3Hybrid
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Piaggio MP3 Hybrid trike hits the streets in early 2010 for around $9k
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/autos/Weirdest_looking_motorcycle_ever'; 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.
Piaggio debuts 141MPG plug-in "MP3 Hybrid" scooter
The NYPD may have ditched a few of their Piaggio scooters in favor of some all-electric Vectrix models a little while back, but it looks like the Italian company may be about to get back in their favor, as it has just unveiled its new MP3 Hybrid plug-in scooter that promises to get an impressive 141MPG. Apparently, the three-wheeled scooter can operate in either a full-electric mode, or one of three hybrid modes, which brings the 125 cc gasoline engine into the picture to let you do zero to sixty about five seconds. As with some other PHEVs, the scooter also makes use of regenerative breaking to help recharge the batteries, which can apparently be fully topped off in as little as three hours when plugged in at home. No word on a price just yet, but Piaggo says it "could" be on the market as soon as next year.
