Luxury e-scooter Dragonfly is fast, powerful, and weird as hell

Scooting on any old electric scooter won’t cut it. You need a “hyperscooter.” Enter the Dragonfly. 

Touted as a premium scooter and the first of its kind, this three- or four-wheeled beast opened for $100 refundable pre-orders this week. The first 500 scooters are supposed to arrive next summer. Until then, you can gaze longingly at the cobra-like lightweight carbon fiber frame, low center of gravity, tilt-based steering, and 4.5-inch high-def screen with turn-by-turn directions.

Starting at about $5,000, the electric vehicle better pack a lot of punch. The luxury scooter company also offers a four-wheeler for just under $6,000. For the price of a used car, you get a 38-mph ride , although in most places in the U.S. you can’t legally drive it that fast on public roads.

It also offers up to a 28-mile range on a single charge. The batteries are swappable, so you can keep riding. Dual motors power the vehicle, giving you a lot of torque. Hold on tight, because this thing is supposed to zip along.

Most surprisingly, the whole thing weighs less than 32 pounds, even with a lockable 3-gallon storage space and aluminum and paulownia wood parts. The monstrosity (meant in the nicest way possible) even beeps for you, so pedestrians and others on the road know you’re coming. It really does look like a superhero (or villain) who forgot about leg day is motoring down the street. It looks so top heavy! But apparently, the chunky frame responds to how you move and rotate your body, making steering more intuitive.

You can customize the Dragonfly with off-road wheels and color choices that range from “luxury mocha” to “oxide lime.” For early buyers, the London-based scooter maker will throw in a Lumos Matrix helmet. You’ll need it.