Roofless electric bubble car emerges as the ‘anti-pickup truck’ for US drivers
- Check out this neat electric bubble car
- The Microlino Spider has been dubbed the ‘anti-pick-up truck’
- Its creators hope it can revolutionize short-distance travel
Published on Jan 18, 2025 at 3:00 PM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jan 20, 2025 at 6:02 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Check out the Microlino Spider – a roofless all-electric bubble car that has been dubbed the ‘anti-pickup truck’.
The dinky concept car was unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show 2025 and sports an unusual retro design.
The Microlino Spider is actually the fourth iteration of microcar from the Swiss-based Micro, which has previously launched the original Microlino, the Microlino Lite, and the Microlino Spiaggina.
Its creators say the anti-pick-up truck offers ‘a stylish, sustainable, and safe vehicle for residential areas and leisure destinations’.
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The electric bubble car is designed for the ‘95% of trips’
The Ford F-150 is the most popular American-made vehicle ever, but Micro reckons that the majority of road users don’t need a pickup truck most of the time.
“The Microlino Spider isn’t for the 5 percent of trips where you need to carry a lot, but for the 95 percent of trips where you drive alone to work or for quick errands,” Micro founder and CEO Wim Ouboter said in a statement.
Micro is hopeful that the unique-looking vehicle could revolutionize short-distance travel – not just in Europe but over in the pick-uptruck-loving US of A.
The company says the EV offers a fresh take on micromobility and is ideal for ‘golf clubs, hotels, European holiday destinations, and US residential neighborhoods’ as an alternative to the much larger SUVs and pickups.
The Mircolino Spider has a unique retro design
The Microlino Spider has a fun retro bubble car style, that Micro says ‘recalls the simplicity and functionality of a golf cart’. Although we reckon it looks a bit cooler than that.
The vehicle is open top, with an optional fabric roof to offer protection from the elements, and also has no doors.
Inside there are wooden accents to the door sills and steering wheel, paired with blue and white interiors.
Outside there’s an interesting paint job that changes from blue to green to purple depending on the light.
As yet, Micro hasn’t shared the specs for the Microlino Spider but has said it will be similar to the original Microlino – which featured a 2.4-kW motor and up to a 15-kWh battery – but ‘adapted for US regulations’.
The company said its Microlino Spider is permitted on ‘most roads’ that have a speed limit of 56 km/h (30mph), which covers half of the road network of America.
So you may see one on a street near you soon.
Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Across her career she's covered a wide variety of topics, including celebrity, cryptocurrency, politics, true crime and just about everything in between.
