The Elf proposes a solution for urban commuters who want to
leave the car at home but can’t quite hack the rigors of a conventional
bicycle.
Rob Cotter, a former performance engineer and top-gun tuner
with Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, knows how to go fast. Now he wants to make
a go at going slow.
Mr. Cotter is the founder and CEO of the Durham, N.C.-based
Organic Transit, which makes the Elf: an ovoid, semi-enclosed,
solar-chargeable, plug-in, bike-lane-legal, electric pedal car. Got that? With
a 1-hp (750-watt) electric motor in the rear wheel hub and a lithium battery
pack, or two, snugged into the center frame rail aft of the front wheels—and a
plastic canopy to keep the weather off drivers—the Elf proposes a solution for
urban commuters who want to leave the car at home but can’t quite hack the
rigors of a conventional bicycle.