Move over Fred Flintstone: The human-powered car that can reach speeds of up to 60mph

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Category: Transport

Published on Sunday, 22 August 2010 08:16

It looks like the kind of vehicle you would see Fred Flinstone driving around Bedrock, but this hand-powered hybrid car can reach speeds of up to 60mph and keep you fit at the same time.

The HumanCar Imagine PS, which can seat up to four people, is the brainchild of Charles Greenwood, an engineer who has been working on developing the perfect human-powered vehicle for more than 40 years.

With all four people cranking, the vehicle can travel on human power alone, but it also has electric battery power for when there are fewer passengers.

It is started by just a few hand cranks backwards and forwards and the company behind it says a senior citizen in reasonable shape should be able to manage it easily.

Mr Greenwood began working on human-power cars in 1968 as a way to tackle polluting exhaust fumes and the unhealthy bodies of many drivers.
It is capable of climbing hills at 30mph and can accelerate to 60mph on flat terrain.

The Imagine PS is expected to go on sale next year costing £10,000 and the company says it has already received 100 pre-orders.

An all-weather roof is being developed for the commercially available cars and models could also feature a touch-screen display with GPS and biometric data logging, sound, computer and communications systems. Air bags are also a further addition to later models.

Production on the cars, which are now street legal, will begin when the company has 800 pre-orders.

Mr Greenwood said HumanCar is independent and 'essentially profitable now'. He added it has a 200-year business plan which includes taking human-powered cars to the developing world, along with other products such as a two-person mobile power station that folds into a suitcase.

Daily Mail Reporter

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