Although the vehicle you see here has four wheels (gasp!), the story of Outrider USA began on two. Two students at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, decided to create an electric mode of transportation to make commuting safer and easier, and began their journey with an electric bicycle.

While electric bikes were readily available in the late-2000s when they began their project, they found existing ebikes too slow, so their contraption was designed to move considerably faster than the typical 20 mph limit. The increased speed introduced some aerodynamic issues, with their original motor and battery setup too weak and inefficient to push an upright rider through the air. As a result, they moved to a recumbent trike design for their second and subsequent models, and worked on sourcing ever more compact and powerful propulsion systems.

Several iterations of their on-road trikes and a Kickstarter campaign later, Outrider decided to branch out and produce an all-electric off-road vehicle, called the Coyote.

Outrider bills the Coyote as the world’s lightest 4WD (although it is also available in 2WD), and says it is built for physically disabled and able-bodied riders alike. Equipped with either a 3000-watt mid-drive motor or 5000-watt hub motor system, the Coyote can be equipped with an up to 6000+ watt-hour battery pack for 80-140 miles (128 to 225 km) of off-road range.

The Coyote has front and rear suspension, and is able to fit in a mid-size SUV, making it far easier to transport than an ATV or side-by-side for hunting, fishing, and backroad exploring, as demonstrated in theirYouTube video.

Made to order in Fletcher, North Carolina, from mostly American-made components, the Coyote represents a novel way to go off-roading without the noise, exhaust, or need for a trailer. Now if Outrider would just go back to their two-wheeled roots using the technology and engineering from the Coyote…