What the heck is that? That’s the question you’ll hear over and over every time you ride down the road on the Zeltini Z-Triton, an absolutely discombobulating vehicle that’s designed to take you through city roads, camping trails, and even bodies of water with equal aplomb.
Billed as “an amphibious camper-trike,” the vehicle is an electric tricycle with an integrated camper in the back that also happens to be a boat, allowing you to use the same vehicle for camping, getting around the trails, and even spending a peaceful day on the lake. Granted, it looks absolutely strange seeing anyone driving this on the way to your local campsites, but if you don’t mind being that guy who gets all the weird questions when you stop to get a bite somewhere, it should make for a good time.
The Zeltini Z-Triton 2.0 doesn’t just take a regular trike and hitch a camper boat in the back. Instead, they appeared to have designed the whole thing from scratch, essentially integrating a trike mechanism around a camper boat to let it ride around on land. Out front, it gets the front half of a bicycle, albeit with a taller-than-usual saddle that allows it to accommodate a raised section of the boat underneath, which, we guess, was necessary to maintain a reasonable length for the whole thing. The other two wheels are integrated into the hull of the boat, so you actually look like you’re riding a unicycle and towing a boat-shaped camper in the back, which, we guess, is one of the main reasons why the darn thing looks so strange.
To ensure it handles trails well, the trike comes with a rear suspension that should help it maneuver on off-road terrain, along with seven internal gears for smooth riding on land. They also threw in hydraulic brakes for serious stopping power and an adjustable seat for comfort.
The Zeltini Z-Triton 2.0 runs the trike mechanism on pedal-assist using a 1000-watt motor drawing power from a lithium-ion battery pack that can keep it running on land for up to 31 miles between charges. On water, it runs using a separate 1,150-watt motor that draws juice from the same battery. According to the outfit, it can run up to 12 miles on water, so you’ll want to figure out way to recharge back up if you’re planning to travel somewhere to go boating on this thing. While they do integrate a solar panel array on the roof, it’s only designed to extend the range a bit, as it’s not powerful enough to fully charge the batteries on its own.
In boat mode, the bicycle-style front is raised to keep it away from the water. Instead, you control the boat from the cabin, where you get a removable N-shaped steering wheel and controls for the integrated lighting. Other features include a manual windshield wiper, a folding dining table, cargo space, a GPS system, Bluetooth radio, and USB charging ports.
The Zeltini Z-Triton 2.0 is now available for preorder, priced starting at €14,500. Deliveries are expected to commence in late 2022 for Europe and 2023 everywhere else.
