The ‘G-Wagen of golf carts’ could be the ideal second car
The ‘G-Wagen of golf carts’ could be the ideal second car
“高尔夫球车界的奔驰 G-Wagen”或许是理想的第二辆车
The Amble One is an open-air electric vehicle designed for hotels and resorts. Could it be the right fit for America’s truck-fatigued buyers too? Amble One 是一款专为酒店和度假村设计的露天电动汽车。它会是那些对大型卡车感到疲惫的美国买家的理想选择吗？
While the auto industry wrings its hands over the electric vehicle market, sweating details like aerodynamic efficiency and range anxiety, a new EV startup based in Lisbon, Portugal, is zagging in a different direction. Amble’s new electric buggy won’t impress anyone with its 0–60 time or its self-driving features (it has none). Instead, it takes a stab at the belief that cars have gotten too big, too fast, and perhaps could use a bit of a downgrade in both departments. 当汽车行业还在为电动汽车市场忧心忡忡，纠结于空气动力学效率和续航焦虑等细节时，一家位于葡萄牙里斯本的电动汽车初创公司却选择了截然不同的道路。Amble 推出的这款新型电动越野车在百公里加速或自动驾驶功能（它根本没有）方面毫无竞争力，但它试图挑战一种观念：汽车已经变得太大、太快了，或许在两方面都需要适当“降级”。
The Amble One is a premium, street-legal buggy with a gorgeous neo-retro design that’s currently being marketed to locations where traditional cars are unnecessary or too large, like hotels or resorts. Developed by a team of alumni from Apple, Audi, and Cowboy, the compact EV is intended to be the solution for a society overrun by oversized, overpowered trucks and SUVs. And it could be coming to a neighborhood near you. Amble One 是一款高端、可合法上路的越野车，拥有华丽的新复古设计。目前，它主要面向那些不需要传统汽车或传统汽车体积过大的场所进行营销，例如酒店或度假村。这款紧凑型电动汽车由来自苹果、奥迪和 Cowboy 的校友团队开发，旨在为充斥着超大型、超动力卡车和 SUV 的社会提供解决方案。它或许很快就会出现在你家附近的社区。
Rather than competing directly with conventional automobiles, Amble wanted to create an entirely new category of vehicle intended to become a household’s second vehicle rather than its primary car, CEO Adrien Roose told me. 首席执行官 Adrien Roose 告诉我，Amble 并不想直接与传统汽车竞争，而是希望创造一个全新的车辆类别，旨在成为家庭的第二辆车，而非主力座驾。
“If we look at the stats, most European and American families have, like, two cars on average,” Roose said. “The reality is that there is one car that brings the emotional freedom or the actual freedom that you need to go on a highway and to go on vacation or to go on long weekends. But the reality is that the second vehicle is mostly used for, like, school runs and grocery shoppings and neighborhoods.” He added, “We want to be the ultimate solution for these short trips.” “如果我们查看统计数据，大多数欧美家庭平均拥有两辆车，”Roose 说。“现实情况是，其中一辆车提供了你在高速公路上行驶、度假或度过长周末所需的情感自由或实际自由。但事实是，第二辆车大多用于接送孩子、购物和社区内短途出行。”他补充道：“我们希望成为这些短途出行的终极解决方案。”
The Amble One is open and minimal, but with a sturdy design perfect for off-road trails and beach paths. Built as an open-air vehicle with no doors, it features folding front seats, a digital display, and physical controls utilizing leather and cork befitting of its Portuguese origins. There’s also a front cargo rack for luggage or other storage, and the rear seats fold flat for surfboards or other gear. Built-in mounts lets you add baskets, straps, mirrors, and other accessories. Amble One 采用开放式极简设计，但结构坚固，非常适合越野小径和海滩路径。作为一款无门露天车辆，它配备了可折叠前排座椅、数字显示屏，并使用了符合其葡萄牙血统的皮革和软木材质物理控制装置。车前部设有行李架，后排座椅可放平以放置冲浪板或其他装备。内置的安装点允许用户添加篮子、绑带、后视镜及其他配件。
With a 15 kW motor and an 11kWh battery, it won’t win any drag or long-distance races. The Amble One caps out at 40 mph (65 km/h) and can travel upwards of 62 miles (100 km) on a single charge. It can fill up its battery from a standard wall outlet in five hours and has a curb weight of under 450 kg (992 lbs). 凭借 15 kW 的电机和 11 kWh 的电池，它无法赢得任何直线加速赛或长途比赛。Amble One 的最高时速为 40 英里/小时（65 公里/小时），单次充电续航里程可达 62 英里（100 公里）。它可以通过标准墙壁插座在五小时内充满电，整备质量不到 450 公斤（992 磅）。
Roose described weight as one of the company’s greatest engineering challenges because the vehicle is being homologated under Europe’s L7e quadricycle regulations. To qualify, the complete vehicle—including the battery—must weigh less than 450 kilograms. It’s a truly demanding target, with Roose describing it as the source of some of the team’s most intense engineering debates. Roose 将重量描述为公司面临的最大工程挑战之一，因为该车辆是根据欧洲 L7e 四轮车法规进行认证的。要符合标准，整车（包括电池）的重量必须低于 450 公斤。这是一个要求极高的目标，Roose 称这是团队内部一些最激烈工程辩论的根源。
The company is beginning with a resort-oriented vehicle, but Roose says it’s been intentionally engineered for local roads as well. Looking further ahead, the ambition is to introduce a broader family of low-speed vehicles that collectively address short-distance transportation. During our conversation, Roose showed me a rendering of a version of the vehicle with doors and windows that looked like a cross between a dune buggy and a Mini Moke. 该公司起步于度假村用车，但 Roose 表示，它在设计之初就特意考虑了在当地道路上的使用。展望未来，他们的目标是推出更广泛的低速车辆系列，共同解决短途交通问题。在我们的谈话中，Roose 向我展示了一款带有车门和车窗的渲染图，看起来像是沙滩车和 Mini Moke 的结合体。
But Roose would prefer a more upscale comparison than the breezy runabout. “The inspiration for this vehicle comes initially from the Lunar Rover, but they also looked into older 4x4 like the G-Wagen, which is very famous for its very flat surfaces and other such vehicles,” Roose said. “Some people could call it a glorified golf cart, but it’s really in between in terms of platform. If you look at the battery, it’s three to four times the range of a golf cart.” 但 Roose 更倾向于将其与更高端的车型进行比较，而不是那种轻便的代步车。“这款车的灵感最初来自月球车，但我们也参考了像 G-Wagen 这样以平直表面著称的老式四驱车，”Roose 说。“有些人可能会称它为‘美化版高尔夫球车’，但从平台角度来看，它介于两者之间。如果你看它的电池，它的续航里程是高尔夫球车的三到四倍。”
The Mercedes comparison makes sense given the team Amble has assembled. In addition to Roose, who used to helm the premium Belgian e-bike company Cowboy, the company’s leadership team includes founder and chairman José António Uva, a Portuguese hotelier and entrepreneur best known for transforming his eighth-generation ancestral estate into São Lourenço do Barrocal, an acclaimed luxury farm retreat in the Alentejo region. Julian Hoenig, an industrial designer whose worked on the R8, RSQ, A4, and Q3 at Audi, and the Apple Watch, Vision Pro, and defunct Project Titan at Apple, serves as design lead. And Michael Tropper, designer and founder of London-based creative studio forpeople, is cofounder and chief creative officer. 考虑到 Amble 组建的团队，这种与奔驰的类比是有道理的。除了曾执掌比利时高端电动自行车公司 Cowboy 的 Roose 外，公司领导团队还包括创始人兼董事长 José António Uva，他是一位葡萄牙酒店经营者和企业家，最著名的成就之一是将他第八代祖传庄园改造成了阿连特茹地区备受赞誉的豪华农场度假胜地 São Lourenço do Barrocal。设计负责人 Julian Hoenig 曾参与奥迪 R8、RSQ、A4 和 Q3 的设计，以及苹果公司的 Apple Watch、Vision Pro 和已终止的泰坦项目（Project Titan）。此外，伦敦创意工作室 forpeople 的设计师兼创始人 Michael Tropper 担任联合创始人兼首席创意官。
Roose says the pedigree helps explain why Amble chooses to begin with fleet sales to hospitality operators, describing it as a simpler way to launch a company as compared to diving directly into the turbulent waters of customer sales. However, an unexpectedly enthusiastic response since the launch of Amble One has caused the team to reconsider its rollout schedule. “I think we are just going to be forced to adapt our plans and accelerate the deployment of the street legal version in the US,” he said. Roose 表示，这种背景有助于解释为什么 Amble 选择从向酒店运营商进行车队销售开始，他称这比直接投入动荡的消费者销售市场更简单。然而，Amble One 发布后出人意料的热烈反响促使团队重新考虑其推广计划。“我想我们不得不调整计划，并加速在美国部署可合法上路版本，”他说。