SHANE: This is not a lawnmower, but a two-wheeled car

The inventor of the self-stabilized Hoverboard has bigger ambitions: to create a two-wheeled, five-seater car called SHANE. Reality or fiction?

Who ever said a car must have four wheels? Well, in fact, even though physics laws have been quite challenged over the past few years by new, rather quirky mobility devices, no one had yet thought of removing two wheels from a car.

This is exactly what Shane Chen, the crazy inventor behind the Hoverboard, the motorized board with parallel feet, has done. Very popular in recent years, this “toy” probably responsible for many twisted ankles and wrist injuries, has somewhat disappeared.

But behind the scenes, Chen was preparing his next move: dream big by applying the same principle to the automotive world.

So no, this is not a robotic lawn mower or a vacuum cleaner. The whole point of this concept lies in its extreme reduction of ground footprint for major energy efficiency. The shape created by removing the wheels at four corners then ensures an aerodynamics close to the highly sought-after water droplet form.

The two wheels, each powered by an electric motor, can also provide unprecedented agility during parking maneuvers.

Okay, we’re not entirely reassured about emergency braking, for example, but The Inventist, Shane Chen’s company, explains that the revolution lies in real-time balancing of the platform with the rotational movement of the wheels. Everything is managed electronically, similar to a drone or EVTOL.

The SHANE would then be equipped with an electromagnetic suspension capable of converting vertical wheel oscillations into electricity to extend its range, although no specific values are provided. The interior would be spacious enough to accommodate five adults and their luggage.

If we rely on the presentation video, the dimensions of the SHANE seem truly XXL. Would it mainly be intended for highway travel like trucks? Because in the Parisian alleyways, you can immediately forget that idea…

No development date, and certainly no commercial launch, has been announced. You don’t produce a road-going vehicle like a toy that moves on a sidewalk. The Inventist is seeking partners—technological and financial—to move forward now.