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Zerotracer: The Enclosed Electric Motorcycle That Challenged Electric Cars

Designed for the 2010 Zero Race, the Zerotracer paired a leaning, enclosed motorcycle layout with ambitious performance figures reported before the event.
Entry944 Date Time2 min MechanicCarCody Team
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The Zerotracer was a high-performance enclosed electric motorcycle prototype designed in Switzerland for the 2010 Zero Race. A contemporary report gave it a claimed top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph) and a range of 350 km (217 miles) per charge—ambitious figures that framed its challenge to electric cars, not proof of a head-to-head victory.

What was the Zerotracer?

In a July 6, 2010 report, New Atlas described the Zerotracer as a vehicle designed by engineers in Winterthur, Switzerland, for the Zero Race, an 80-day round-the-world zero-emission vehicle contest. It was based on the MonoTracer body concept, with two occupants enclosed in a Kevlar composite shell.

Unlike a conventional car, the Zerotracer was designed to lean like a motorcycle when turning. Retractable wheels served as stabilizers while the vehicle was stationary and as road-skimming supports in corners. The arrangement aimed to combine an enclosed cabin with motorcycle-like handling; the report did not provide comparative handling tests.

What performance did the 2010 report claim?

New Atlas reported the following announced specifications. They are reported figures from a contemporary secondary account, not independently verified test results or current specifications.

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Specification Figure reported in 2010
Top speed 250 km/h (155 mph)
Range per charge 350 km (217 miles)
Electric motor output 135 kW (183 hp)
Acceleration 0–100 km/h in 4.5 seconds
Battery 18 kWh, 400 V

The figures suggested a performance-focused electric vehicle rather than a low-speed urban runabout. But the article did not provide test conditions, charging time, or a like-for-like comparison against electric cars, so the numbers cannot establish how it would have performed in everyday use or against a specific car.

How did the Zero Race shape the project?

The Zero Race was described as an 80-day journey around the world for zero-emission vehicles, with a planned start on August 15, 2010. Under the rules as summarized by New Atlas, teams had to generate renewable electricity to offset the energy they used in the race through their home-country grid. Oerlikon Solar was named as the Zerotracer team’s main sponsor for that effort.

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This requirement made the challenge broader than vehicle efficiency alone: teams also had to account for the electricity used over the event. The report outlined the Zerotracer’s intended entry and the race’s energy rules before the event began.

Did the Zerotracer race around the world or enter production?

The July 2010 report does not establish the Zerotracer’s eventual race result, whether it completed the route, or whether it entered commercial production. It is evidence of the vehicle’s announced design and planned entry—not proof that it defeated electric cars or became a production motorcycle.

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Source

Darren Quick, “Zerotracer motorcycle throws down gauntlet to electric cars,” New Atlas, July 6, 2010.

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