Ather Energy’s initial launch plan targets consumers in 11 cities with the brand aiming to expand further to 10 more cities by the end of 2021
Earlier this year, Bengaluru-based Ather Energy had announced 450X Collector’s Edition electric scooter. This was done to pay tribute to those thousands of customers who had shown faith in the brand Ather, and booked the 450X even before the company had revealed the scooter or announced its price.
Today, Ather has finally taken wraps off their 450X Collector’s Edition. Called ‘Series1’, this is a limited edition production electric scooter, only for those who had booked 450X even before it was revealed. All those customers will now get a change to own Series1. Anyone else is not eligible to buy this scooter. The 450X and the Series1 would have been available to consumers had not been for the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent nationwide lockdown.
Design & Features on offer
We already know that the 450X is more powerful and feature loaded than the standard 450. The 450X Collector’s Edition Series1 gets all the power and fancy tech of 450X with some cosmetic upgrades. The Series1 comes with a high-gloss metallic black body colour combined with red accents which enhances its sporty appeal. This colour scheme is starkly different from the existing colour palette of grey, white and mint green.
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The highlights are the translucent body panels which give a sneak peek of what’s underneath the scooter. Ather has been true to its commitment of providing an ‘inside-out design’ of this limited edition scooter. This is also the first scooter in India to offer tinted translucent panels.
Ather will start shipping the 450X Series1 by November. But the translucent panels will only be made available by March 2021. Owners will get delivery with regular panels now, and that can be replaced once translucent panels arrive next year. Also, Ather says that only the chassis is visible through these panels, while what you store n the underseat storage is safe and not visible.
Like the standard model it is based upon a distinct cast aluminum chassis and trellis frame which is visible under the seat. It is assisted by telescopic forks at front and a mono-shock suspension at rear which is also painted in red.
Other standard features in the 450X like tyre pressure monitor, Bluetooth connectivity and regenerative braking have also been carried forward to Series1. It also features a 7-inch touchscreen on the dashboard carried from the standard 450X which gets a Series1 specific special intro screen and subtle hints of red in the UI designed for the scooters.
Performance
The Series1 gets the same mechanicals as that of 450X. It draws its power from a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) which is backed by a 2.9 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. This setup is good enough to produce 6kW (8 bhp) of power and 26 Nm of peak torque which results in 0-40 kmph acceleration in just 3.3 seconds. It gets three riding modes- Eco, Ride, Sport, and a high-performance ‘Warp’ mode. It is also claimed to be one of the quickest scooters in the 125cc category.
It received the improved charging technology from 450X which charges 50 percent faster than the standard 450. The claimed range is 85km according to the WLTP cycle. For every fast charging for ten minutes, it adds up 10km to the battery.
Estimated Price and Availability
The Ather 450X has been priced at Rs 1.59 lakh (ex-showroom). Price of Series1 has not been revealed. Ather says, “Price will be given to those who have pre-ordered 450X, if they want to opt for it.”
Ather announced its first phase of expansion where the 450X will be sold across 11 cities across India and deliveries are set to begin from November. These include Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Coimbatore, Kozhikode, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kozhikode, and Kolkata. However, Ather added that initial batches of Series1 scooters will ship out with black panels which will be upgraded to the translucent panels in May 2021.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
