unu x urban artists

The Berlin artist SuperBlast has collaborated with unu to create a special edition of the smart electric scooter with its portable battery. A matte-black 3,000 watt unu and the matching helmet has been customized by the graphic artist in his typical distinctive style. The result was on show exclusively for the first time at the German Press Days on the 21st and 22nd of April 2016 in Berlin.

The unu mission is to provide the optimal mobility solution for city residents with the aim of connecting people more closely with their city. The electric scooter, launched in 2014, is the company’s first product and is currently on sale in three countries, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

“We are very pleased that Manuel Osterholt alias SuperBlast agreed to collaborate with us for the unu x urban artists series. He is a talented and urbane individual and, like us, he makes his home in Berlin. From the outset he was as enthusiastic about our product as we were about his art,” says Yasemin Ege Tulay, Head of Marketing.

The incomparable vibrancy of the Berlin graffiti scene and the richness of the city’s culture brought the artist to the nation’s capital sixteen years ago. Today he takes much of his inspiration from Eastern Orthodox icon paintings, transforming the motifs into a visual language that is very much his own and fits well in a postmodern context. Everyday city life also play an important role in his work.

“I really enjoyed working on the unu. It is a very aesthetic way of moving around in city traffic,” says the artist, graphic designer and curator about his collaboration.

The unu designed by SuperBlast is part of the 'unu x urban artists' project which will involve the Berlin start-up in partnering with other artists. A second one-off-a-kind will follow in the very near future.

unu combines innovative technology with stylish aesthetics and urban flair. With their first product, the electric scooter with portable batteries launched in 2014, unu delivered for city residents a new mobility solution. City riding with the smart electric scooter means an environmentally friendly and practically noiseless journey.

The firm’s homepage unumotors.com allows the unu buyer to pick a configuration from six body colours and three options for the seat to personalize the electric scooter. The unu will be delivered directly to the customer’s front door. The affordability of the unu – from 1,699 Euro in Germany - is thanks to an e-mobility business model new in the automotive industry. With running costs of 70 Cent / 100 km the unu is also the most economical way of being mobile in the city.

The unu electric scooter is fitted with the KERS technology (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) familiar from Formula 1 race cars – an application of the brakes sends energy back to replenish the batteries. The batteries are portable and can be recharged at any 230 V power outlet. In several cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland anyone interested in experiencing this innovative technology for themselves can sign up for a test drive. These are organized through a strategically implemented network of unu Pioneers. In 2016 further European cities will be added to the list of those where an unu test drive is offered.

Since 2015 the unu crew is co-located in the Factory Berlin complex, a centre for start-up enterprises which is also the home of Twitter, Pinterest, SoundCloud and Freelectics. The young firm is expanding rapidly and now has a staff of almost forty. In addition there are over fifty unu Pioneers deployed to arrange test drives for potential customers.