Friday, March 29, 2024

Startup Bobsla develops an amazing electric snow kart for winter tourists

This winter, if you go skiing in Austria, in Obergurgl-Hochgurgl, you could fall in love with a mini snowmobile called Bobsla. It is an electric machine halfway between the sleds, drift kart, and snowmobile designed for fun that promises you lovely rides!

The concept is based on the Tirol-based startup Bobsla GmbH, which was founded by Austrian and Russian engineers led by the founder and CEO Sergey Ignatyev, who sees in Bobsla tourist attractions in ski resorts, hotels, and other places.

Bobsla is an electric machine halfway between the sleds, drift kart and snowmobile designed for fun
Bobsla is an electric machine halfway between the sleds, drift kart and snowmobile designed for fun.

Unlike snowmobile, Bobsla has no steering. Instead, it slides on the snow on a plastic front resembling a sled and a pair of caterpillars behind which drive two 12 kW electric motors. Thanks to them, achieving a maximum speed of 18.6-mph (30 km/h) is not a challenge. The device is equipped with replaceable batteries, can work up to four hours, and charging takes about 2 hours.

Bobsla does not require downhill skiing and can be enjoyed on a relatively small area of flat snow, 50 to 100 m (164 to 328 feet) long. Mastering it is also a breeze. The device is equipped with tracks and skis, and control is carried out using two joysticks.

Bobsla has no steering, instead it uses two joysticks to control the kart.
Bobsla has no steering, instead it uses two joysticks to control the kart.

Last year, at the Startup Village and Startup live events, the startup received a couple of awards, which helped them to find the first customer for their self-propelled sled. Its first customer in the Austrian ski region Obergurgl-Hochgurgl purchased a fleet of these electric sleighs to provide visitors with the opportunity for new activity in the snow. It can be rented for €20 for 15 minutes.

Now Bobsla is working on a second model of such a device, but already for riding in the grass in summer.