From The Driving Seat header car on road

ALL ELECTRIC AT FULLY CHARGED LIVE

The Verge TS motorcycle with its unique hubless rear wheel, which is actually the electric motor. With the motor in the rear wheel, and no drive chain or shaft there is more space for a bigger battery.

The TS develops a staggering 1000 Nm of torque giving a 0-100 kph time of 4 seconds and a top speed of 180 kph – all with a range of up to 300 km.

We particularly liked the orange power cables, whose swooping lines bring to mind the exhaust system on a petrol-engined bike, and the two sets of pegs to give the choice of conventional or ‘easy rider’ stance.

Manufactured in Finland, the Verge TS is available for those with €24,990 (+ tax) burning a hole in their pockets.




www.vergemotorcycles.com


In the commercial vehicle section we were attracted to the enormous Emotive all-terrain vehicle prototype.

This Devon-based company has developed a powertrain that delivers electric drive to 2, 4 or 6 wheels individually for great off-road ability which will be useful in a number of commercal applications from fire-fighting to utility companies and even adventure tourism.




www.emotive-tech.com

With its central driving position and commanding view ahead it looks amazing and we really want one, although parking it at the local supermarket might be a problem!

Fully Charged Live, the spin-off show from Robert Llewelyn‘s popular YouTube channel, returned to the Farnborough International Exhibition Centre over the holiday weekend bigger and better than ever. This year, in addition to electric transportation, the show featured a huge number of stands offering everything from home and public charging sytems to home energy solutions.

The public interest in electric cars, and green home energy solutions, was made obvious by the increased number of visitors to this year’s Fully Charged Live that required the organisers to provide off-site parking with shuttle bus transportation to the event. The sight of the long queue for the bus was initially off-putting, but efficient organisation soon saw us on an electric double decker which silently whisked us into the show.

Under a bright sky, and with oligarch’s jets screaming up from the adjacent Farnborough runway, electric car manufacturers were waiting for the general public to sample their wares with test drives available for a wide variety of models from the diminutive (FIAT 500E) to the largest electric SUVs. These booked up fairly quickly but some of our team were able to get drives in a Kia Nero, Skoda Enyaq and Tesla 3. In the latter they were chaperoned by none other than ex-F1 driver and 1970 Le Mans winner Richard Attwood!

Too many things going on to cover them all here but two highlights stood out for us: