The Twike is one of those vehicles that really pushes the definition of velomobile to it’s limits.  A two seater sociable delta trike it relies heavily (pun not intended) on a large lithium  battery pack to augment the mechanical power provided by the two riders.  First displayed at the World Expo in Vancouver in 1986.  In production since 1992 the 1000th machine recently left the factory in Germany.

Christine Lepisto visited the manufacturer and has written an article on Treehugger, covering the history and giving an overview of the technology used in the Twike.  In this article she attempts to ask the questions:

• What value does pedal-power add to a vehicle that must compete with traffic and over typical commuting distances?
• Is an HPV/EV hybrid the world’s best citycar?
• What are the challenges when you take a TWIKE on tour?
• What is the lowest cost per mile that can be hyper-miled out of a TWIKE?
• Can people improve their fitness with an HPV/EV Hybrid?
• Is there still a place for a 20-year old human-powered EV design in a world where Teslas command the “EV sportscar” headlines and most major car manufacturers have an EV on or coming to the market? And closely related, is the EV trend killing human-powered vehicles (HPVs)?

Christine writes from a “Green Motorist’s” perspective, comparing the Twike favourably to the Tesla electic car.  However she concludes pessimistically that the Twike will remain a niche product while the rest of the world will turn to vehicles that reflect what they have always used.

While the perspective and the product are not fully aligned with the machines we usually look at, the article is none-the-less well worth reading.  The writing is somewhat terse and there are areas where one would like to know more detail but as an overview it is helpful.

Christine concludes with a reference to the TW4XP (TWIKE 4 the X-Prize) which took 3rd place in the Progressive Automotive X Prize and asks if this is a preview of the next generation.