This Awesome Tiny Car Has A Secret: Its Driver Is In A Wheelchair

This Awesome Tiny Car Has A Secret: Its Driver Is In A Wheelchair

All Stacy Zoern wanted was a car she could safely drive on her own. Born with a genetic condition called spinal muscular atrophy, the intellectual property lawyer uses a wheelchair to get around her downtown Austin neighborhood and calls friends when she needs a ride. So when Zoern, 32, read an article in the spring of 2010 about a tiny electric car designed from the ground up to be wheelchair accessible, she called the Hungarian company that made it and tried to buy one. But the company had halted production right after it completed the prototype. “Their bank loan had fallen through,” says Zoern.

A year later Zoern had raised $2.5 million, mostly from private investors, and bought the company so she could bring the snappy one-seater to market. To get inside theKenguru (pronounced kangaroo), the driver presses a remote control, and the back hatch pops up. A short ramp descends, and the wheelchair user can roll right into the driver’s area. Drivers accelerate and turn using motorcycle-style handlebars. The 1,200-pound vehicle, which looks similar to a SmartCar, travels at a maximum speed of 25 mph and has about a 50-mile range before its lead-acid batteries need recharging. Because it’s registered as a neighborhood electric vehicle, owners don’t need a driver’s license, but can travel in regular car lanes where the speed limit is 45mph or less. Zoern just began production on the $25,000 Kenguru, which is currently sold only through dealers in Europe. She says she expects the cars to be available in the U.S. within the next year.