The fastest I've ever ridden on an electric kick scooter is close to 40 miles an hour, and it was terrifying. UK-based escooter company Bo wants to go even faster—more than 100 miles per hour—and set a Guinness World Record in the process.
Bo is a relative newcomer in the micromobility space, and its team is peppered with former members of Williams Formula One Advanced Engineering. It launched its first scooter, the hand-assembled Bo M, a year and a half ago in the UK and European Union, and it's finally gearing up to launch it in the US in the coming weeks. To get people jazzed up about its sleek, unibody aluminum scooter, Bo is trying to dazzle with the Turbo.
“If you want people to really care about micromobility, you have to do impressive, meaningful things,” Bo CEO Oscar Morgan tells me. It's unveiling the Turbo to the public at Bonneville Speed Week in August, where it hopes to set the speed record.
Model M
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Before diving into the details of the Turbo, we need to discuss the Bo M. It resembles a scooter, but it also doesn't look like any other kick scooter. The hallmark of its design is the unibody aluminum chassis, which doesn't fold at all. Even when you order it, the Bo M comes in an L-shaped box, preserving its pristine shape. The company is so proud of its unibody Monocurve chassis that it has a seven-year warranty on the chassis (the scooter in its entirety is covered for two years).
The inability to fold it makes it rather annoying to store neatly or carry up a flight of stairs, but Morgan says a folding system immediately creates more durability risks, citing how major players like Segway have had to issue recalls tied to folding mechanisms. An early issue like that would have jeopardized a small company like Bo.
The idea is for the Bo to be ready to go at all times. The unique center stand keeps the Bo M from leaning sideways when it's not in use, unlike almost every other scooter. And it's completely weatherproof (IP66)—Morgan says you can store it outside, something that isn't recommended with most escooters.