New RoadRunner Pro electric scooter hits 50+ mph speeds while sitting down
Remember that little seated electric scooter that looked almost like a toy, yet could do a solid 34 mph (54 km/h)? Well it’s back, in an even higher performance version. The new RoadRunner Pro from VoroMotors answers the question, “What happens if we took the already ridiculous RoadRunner and tricked it out even more?!”
That’s exactly what the RoadRunner Pro is: a significantly upgraded version of the original VoroMotors Emove RoadRunner.
It keeps the all-wheel-drive, but replaces the 500W and 350W motors with a pair of 2,000W motors. The two motors are powerful enough to offer a top speed of 51 mph (82 km/h); the only question is whether you’re brave enough to reach those speeds on 14″ wheels.
Fortunately, you’ll have a good set of stoppers if you want to come down from that speed quickly. The RoadRunner Pro is outfitted with a pair of dual-piston hydraulic disc brakes. They’re perfect just in case you want to nope out shortly after hitting 50 mph.
Another piece of good news is that you’ll have dual suspension beneath you, with a hydraulic suspension fork up front and dual coilover shocks in the rear. Hitting a pot hole at 50 mph on a hard tail bike or scooter could feel like you’re being catapulted into the stratosphere, so rear suspension is a key upgrade over the original RoadRunner we previously tested.
I described the original RoadRunner as basically a scooter built around a massive battery. And the RoadRunner Pro – in keeping with its theme so far – has yet an even larger battery. The new pack is a whopping 60V and 30Ah battery. It uses 21700-format battery cells and offers 1,800Wh of capacity. That’s more than just about any light electric two-wheeler we’ve seen and is apparently enough for over 50 miles (80 km) of range per charge.
At what speed is that range measured? It’s not clear, but considering that equates to 36 Wh/mile (22 Wh/km), I’d guess that the range is calculated at an average speed of around 25-28 mph (40-45 km/h).
Other new gear gracing the RoadRunner Pro is an updated twist throttle and a new full color 3.5″ TFT VoroMotors display. The display shows battery status, motor temperature, speedometer, mode and time, and even features colored-coded rings around the speed to remind riders of which mode they’re in with a quick glance.
New 14″x2.75″ tires get tubeless treatment, with rims more akin to automotive-style wheels that don’t require an inner tube like conventional bicycle and scooter wheels.
That’s a key feature that should considerably improve both the handling and the user experience for maintenance of the scooter. As the company explained:
We custom designed these new split rim wheels with tubeless tires, so it’s easier to repair a flat – if you ever have to. The 14” x 2.75” tubeless pneumatic tires have a flatter, wider profile that works well for street riding, and doesn’t get squirrely at high speeds. With tubeless tires, you never have to carry or replace inner tubes again – since the tire seals directly to the rim. If you get a flat, the split rim design makes it easier to swap tires. Simply disconnect the plug-and-play motor, remove six screws from the hub, swap in a new tire, re-inflate, and you are back on the road. Literally re-inventing the wheel was an important goal at VoroMotors, as everyday transportation should be easy to maintain and repair.
The saddle also received a significant upgrade. It’s now larger and more comfortable, measuring 20” long by 7.9” wide and 3.5” thick (51 x 21 x 9 cm) and is wrapped in a wear-resistant and heat-resistant material. The goal was to ensure it would last longer and also not heat up as much when parked in the sun.
The electrical system was also heavily upgraded to support the extra power. The discharge circuit uses 8 AWG wires, which are ridiculously thick (and expensive) wires designed for high power delivery. Even the charging wires for the battery are quite large at 16 AWG. For comparison, many lower power e-bikes and e-scooters will use 16 AWG for discharge, meaning the RoadRunner Pro has as much copper just for charging use as some other light EVs use for actual driving.
The BMS and battery are rated for a massive 120A of discharge current, which is more than enough for the two power hungry 45A speed controllers powering the front and rear motors.
To put it another way, it’s got speed and power profiles similar to something like a Sur Ron or ONYX light electric motorcycle, yet in a much smaller and more portable package. Well, smaller for sure. The weight isn’t exactly svelte, considering it tips the scales at 114.4 lb (51.9 kg). But that’s a lot lighter than most 50 mph light electric motorcycles!
The RoadRunner Pro has just gone on sale today with an MSRP of $2,895. Considering that a Sur Ron will set you back another $1,500 or so, that’s pretty darn fair.
VoroMotors attributes the lower cost to their ability to self-develop the scooter:
The RoadRunner Pro is easily a $4,000 scooter, but our ability to develop and produce electric scooters in-house is how we can offer this brand new model at such an insane price.
Electrek’s Take
This is pretty awesome. I’m loving just about all the upgrades here, except perhaps that we lost the folding handlebars. That was a cool addition to the original RoadRunner, especially for folks that parked it against a wall, behind a couch or in another narrow area. But I guess when you’re doing 50 mph, you want to rigidity of fixed handlebars.
The question of legality will certainly be an issue in some areas, and I’d recommend that you check your local laws if you plan to use this on public roads. But if you’re taking it to your local drag strip and racing for pinks, then I don’t think street legal status will matter quite as much.
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Germany’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, EnBW’s He Dreiht, just hit a big milestone: The first enormous turbine is now up in the North Sea.
He Dreiht – which means “it spins” in Low German – is using Vestas’s massive 15 megawatt (MW) turbines, the first project in the world to install them. Just one spin of one of the rotors can generate enough electricity to power four households for an entire day.
When it’s finished, He Dreiht will have 64 mega turbines cranking out 960 megawatts (MW) of clean power – enough to supply around 1.1 million homes. And it’s being built without any government subsidies.
EnBW, one of Germany’s major energy companies, has been working in offshore wind for more than 15 years, but He Dreiht is their biggest project yet. “It will play a key role in helping us to significantly grow our renewable energy output from 6.6 GW to over 10 GW by 2030,” said Michael Class, who heads up EnBW’s generation portfolio development.
The project is a win for Vestas, too. “With the installation of the first V236-15.0 MW, we have reached an important milestone for both the He Dreiht project and our offshore ramp-up, which helps Germany build a more secure, affordable, and sustainable energy system,” said Nils de Baar, president of Vestas Northern & Central Europe.
He Dreiht is located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of Helgoland. At peak times, more than 500 workers will be out at sea building the farm, using a fleet of more than 60 ships. EnBW’s offshore team in Hamburg is running the show.
The installation process is a major operation. The 64 foundations were already set in the seabed last year. Parts for the turbines are loaded onto the installation vessel Wind Orca in Esbjerg, Denmark, and shipped out in a 12-hour journey to the construction site. From there, the turbines are lifted into place. Meanwhile, crews are also working on internal wind farm cabling.
A partner consortium made up of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP, and Norges Bank Investment Management owns 49.9% of the shares in He Dreiht.
Read more: Trump admin halts $5 billion NY offshore wind project mid-build
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Tesla has released a quick update about its Tesla Semi factory in Nevada. It says that it is on track for volume production of the electric semi truck in 2026.
The Tesla Semi was first scheduled to go into production in 2019, but it has faced numerous delays.
Now, it appears that there is finally some momentum to bring it to volume production.
For the last two years, Tesla has been working to build a new factory next to Gigafactory Nevada, where it builds the battery packs and drive units for most of its electric vehicles built in North America.
Today, Tesla released a “progress update on the factory, confirming that it finished building and it’s now working on deploying the production lines:
Tesla had previously mentioned aiming for volume production by 2025, but it is now only talking about starting production toward the end of the year and ramping up next year.
The automaker reiterated its planned production capacity of 50,000 units.
We recently reported that an early Tesla Semi customer, Ryder, stated that the electric truck program is experiencing more delays and a price increase described as “dramatic.”
They now expect to take deliveries of their first trucks later in 2026 and said that the price has increased “dramatically,” leading them to scale back their pilot program from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks.
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2022. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
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Vietnamese solar panel maker Boviet Solar just opened the doors to its first US factory — a huge new PV module plant in Greenville, North Carolina.
The company dropped $294 million into the state-of-the-art facility, which will pump out Boviet’s Gamma Series monofacial and Vega Series bifacial solar panels. They’re using advanced PERC and N-Type solar cell tech, which basically means these panels are built to deliver higher efficiency and better performance across residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale projects.
The Greenville factory’s first phase is now online with an annual PV module output capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW). For Phase 2, which is scheduled to come online in the second half of 2026, Boviet will invest another $100 million to add 600,000 square feet and ramp up to another 2 GW. It will make high-efficiency solar cells.
Once both phases are complete, Boviet’s campus will cover more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing and R&D space. It’s one of the biggest clean energy manufacturing projects North Carolina has ever seen.
The jobs impact is significant, too. The first phase will create 460 skilled local jobs. Phase 2 is expected to add another 908, bringing the total to over 1,300 direct jobs, plus nearly 2,000 more indirect jobs across the region. That’s good news for Pitt County’s economy, real estate market, and workforce training programs.
“This facility is not just creating jobs, but creating opportunity, innovation, and a stronger foundation for eastern North Carolina,” said Senator Kandie Smith. Governor Josh Stein added that Boviet Solar’s move shows how North Carolina is leading the way in clean energy growth.
Read more: Thomas Built Buses debuts its next-gen electric school bus
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