Greyp Bikes: Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Cesc Fabregas are fans of the Croatian electric bicycles dreamed up by royal inventor Mate Rimac
The footballing heroes each have their own custom-made Greyp electric bike, which sell for £9,000, and were created by the man behind Prince Harry's eco E-type Jaguar
WHO needs a Toyota Prius?
Every now and then Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique like to ditch their flashy motors for electric bicycles.
The international footballers are fans of Greyp Bikes, a Croatian company which boasts the most advanced electric bikes in the world.
The three stars each have their own customised version of Greyp’s premier model, the G12S.
The bikes are the brainchild of inventor Mate Rimac, 30.
He is one of Croatia’s most innovative entrepreneurs, and is the brains behind the battery-powered E-Type Jaguar driven by Prince Harry at his wedding to Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in May.
Pique shows his love for Barcelona, having one styled in the Catalan giants’ colours.
But he also has a plane version, which he used to ride to training on Tuesday.
Fabregas has gone for his international team, Spain, while Messi has followed suit with his bike decorated in the blue and white of Argentina.
Meet Mate
Mate Rimac, 30, is a Croatian inventor and entrepreneur.
He has built the world’s fastest electric car with a top speed of 256mph.
He started Rimac Automobili nine years ago and it now employs 400 staff on the outskirts of Zagreb.
His firm helped convert the vintage E-type Jag that Prince Harry drove at his wedding to an electric engine.
The company’s technology is used by customers such as Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover and Renault.
Rimac has raised more than £50m in funding and broken five land speed Guinness world records for electric vehicles.
Most of Greyp’s products are made specifically for their clients that include footballers, the police and armed forces.
And through Rimac’s other company Rimac Automobili, he’s even attracted the Royals.
His firm helped convert the silver-blue 1968 Jaguar’s combustion engine into a environmentally friendly electric engine.
Harry and Meghan drove the car to their Frogmore House, Windsor reception.
The remodelled car was believed to have cost £350,000.
Kresimir Hlede, COO of Greyp Bikes said: “We are proud that such amazing athletes recognised our product.
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“Greyp G12S is living proof of how hypercar technology can stream down and create a totally new and exciting product – the G12S.”
In terms of its motor, the G12S produces a peak power of 12 kW in Power mode, down to 250 W in Street mode.
That gives it a range of 74.5 miles and it fully charges within 80 minutes.
Alternatively, if the rider is feeling a little more ambitious, the bike can be pedaled to, which obviously gives you a little more mileage.
Speed-wise the G12S is no slouch.
In Power mode it can reach a top speed of 43.5 mph.
And in Street mode, you’ll get it to go 15.5 mph, in line with European laws.
Another cool feature the G12S boasts is a 4.3-inch color touchscreen display with an integrated finger scanner.
That means you can program it with multiple thumbprints, can add multiple users and it will automatically recognise the mode the rider requires.
Pique loves his Greyp Bike so much that he upgraded to their £9,000 G12H model, and he’s even taken it for a ride to the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper training centre while he’s banned from driving.
Fabregas recently took his G12S for a spin with daughter Lia for a beautiful park ride.
But like all good things, Greyp’s bikes aren’t come cheap.
With a retail price starting at around £6,000, and as much as £9,000 for the G12H, you’ll need to earn footballers wages to get your own.
So, if you want it for Christmas you best start saving now.
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