We’ve previously written about this funny amphibious vehicle, which is officially an electric bike and at the same time a boat for use on water (but not in the sea). The Latvian company BeTriton invented the device and managed to attract 150 investors to raise 80 thousand euros for further development, writes tech.eu.

On land and at sea

The device covers 100 km on land and 30 km on water. It does it slowly: the maximum speed is 25 km on land, but that’s normal for an e-bike: in the water it travels at 8 km/h, thanks in part to its 250-watt solar panels. It has two electric motors and an outboard motor for sailing.

The trailer costs €9,900 and if you also want the compact e-bike it quickly goes up to €17,900. The vehicle was developed for the rental market, so the idea is that you rent the BeTriton while you travel, for example. The advantage is that you can also sleep in it, both in the water and on land. The rent will probably be around €100 per day. At first you can only rent in Latvia and Switzerland.

100,000 euros required

It remains to be seen whether that will happen, as the company says it needs €100,000 to bring the behemoth to market. In any case, a test was carried out last year with very positive results, so perhaps the Latvians can invest the remaining €20,000 needed in another way to put this versatile vehicle into production.

Also see our series on electric transportation.