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Maybach Has Made a Luxury Rickshaw

As part of the Los Angeles Design Challenge, which typically produces some futuristic automobiles, Maybach - the über-luxury brand - has made a luxury rickshaw. Maybach explains it best: "The Maybach DRS – “Den-Riki-Sha” (electrically driven rickshaw) – blends the very latest automotive technology, luxurious comfort, and the highest safety levels with the needs of an environmentally aware world and the traditional values of the classic “Jin-Riki-Sha” (human-powered rickshaw)."

The Maybach Luxury Rickshaw in All its Glory

Sometimes it's just too difficult to add anything beyond what the press release has to say – and this press release says it all. "As it presents its draft design for an electrically powered luxury rickshaw, Stuttgart’s Maybach Manufaktur automotive hand-finishing section is exploring radical new avenues for the urban mobility of tomorrow as part of the Los Angeles Design Challenge. The futuristic four-seater is created through metamorphosis from a DNA cocoon, making it the world’s first naturally manufactured vehicle. The rickshaw was developed by the designers at the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studios in Tokyo – participating in the Los Angeles Design Challenge for the first time."

[Somebody help us out here at TorqueNews. How does one create a vehicle through a metamorphosis from a DNA cocoon?]

The release continues: The vehicle frame consists of carbon fibers and organic composite materials, whilst the doors and windows are made of injection-moulded polycarbonate and the panoramic roof of flexible organic composite materials. The Maybach DRS is powered by two 20 kW electric motors which are positioned in the wheel hubs and are self-balancing. The energy required is produced by a lithium-ion battery in the tail end. An on-board computer ensures optimum control, communicating with the metropolis’s transport infrastructure, and thus guaranteeing a smooth, luxurious ride through the city. In order to increase the vehicle’s range, the human/electric hybrid also allows additional pedal force, which is produced by the driver.

That last sentence makes one wonder. How exactly does one qualify to be a luxury rickshaw driver?

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