Electrically powered three-wheel vehicle is launched

Electric Powered vehicle called The Raptor Credit: ITV Central

Coming to a street near you…a strange new electrically-powered three-wheel vehicle called The Raptor.

It’s been designed and developed in Leicester and may be manufactured in Birmingham.

Ecospin Ltd says The Raptor can swiftly reach its top speed of 25 miles an hour.

It can travel up to 60 miles on a single charge of electricity and costs about 2 pence per mile to run.

The vehicle is largely aimed at the police, the security industry, local government, postal services, airports, theme parks, and organisers of major events.

Its inventors say interest has been shown by the Metropolitan Police and companies in Singapore and Dubai.

The cost for a standard model will be around £6,000.

Ecospin has teamed up with the Midlands Assembly Network to produce the prototype.

Over the past two years, they have spent £1.2 million on its development.

It’s now street legal and carries a number plate.

One of the developers, David Loomes, says The Raptor is “green” because it has zero emissions.

He says: “The road model is also free to tax, and insurance is favourable compared to motorcycles.”

Ecospin says it hopes to build the first 100 vehicles in Leicester.

It has plans to expand further in the Midlands after that, creating new jobs in the region.

The company hopes to sell vehicles to police forces, claiming they are ideal for chasing criminals in places that are hard to access by car.