The Futuristic Scooter You'll Actually Want To Ride

Scooters have never really caught on in the UK. Probably because of the weather. And the noise. And the helmet hair, slow speeds, precarious driving position... but mainly due to the weather. The Gogoro might be about to change all that.

With the appearance of a Vespa designed by a Tron fan, the Gogoro describes itself as a 'smart' scooter: 55 sensors are scattered around its curved body, adjusting suspension, lighting and the output of its electric motor to ensure you get the most juice out of its battery.

Rather than hanging around at a charge station for a top up, the battery pack can be swapped out at the nearest battery station, which Gogoro is pledging to install at a number of partnering cities. Pop the seat, remove the cuboid battery, slide in a fresh one and off you go - hitting speeds of 35mph in four seconds. An accompanying smartphone app will also give you a heap of stats on your ride, mileage and diagnostics, telling you when you're next going to need to top up before you leave the office. It's not a design meant for cruising country roads, but a transport solution to the packed streets of urban centres.

Set to launch in a number of yet to be named cities later this year, Gogoro looks set to do for the scooter what Tesla is looking to do with the car. All they need to do to is sort out the rain...