Photographer: Giulia Marchi/Bloomberg
Hyperdrive
The Two-Wheeled Electric Car of the Future Is Being Tested in China
Inspired by 1961 Gyron, the futuristic one-person transporter may start selling by 2020.
The two-wheeled vehicle whizzing around a Beijing test track is a mashup of motorcycle, electric car and space capsule, wrapped around the brain of a smartphone. And engineer Zhu Lingyun believes it will be on public roads within two years.
Inspired by a Ford Motor Co. concept car from 1961 that used gyroscopes to stay upright, Zhu built a streamlined version that resembles an escape pod from a science-fiction movie. Beijing Lingyun Intelligent Technology Co. plans to build the gyrocar itself and may pick a domestic location for its factory this month, with a goal to start sales in 2020.