Latvia-based startup Z-Triton is aiming to revolutionize outdoor travel by launching a production model of a unique recreational vehicle it calls an amphibious camper-trike. The Z-Triton 2.0 combines a boat, tricycle, and camper all in one, offering the freedom to travel both over land and water. The company says the vehicle is for outdoor enthusiasts interested in taking it on long-distance adventures or short weekend getaways to explore the beauty of our blue and green planet in a sustainable and extraordinary way.

The Z-Triton company is on a mission to shift the way people travel and engage with nature, especially considering the current worldwide pandemic and continuous desire to escape in a self-contained and autonomous way. The vision of the company is to create a global community of people who strive to travel in alternative ways and deeply care about the planet.

The idea for the company began when Aigars Lauzis, Founder & CEO, embarked on a solo cycle touring journey across Eurasia for 30,000 km and four years, with four stops to work as a designer in Istanbul, Dubai, Singapore, and Shanghai. While on the road and staying for a few months in Shanghai, Lauzis came up with an idea of how to upgrade cycle touring, and the tiny house-boat-trike was born. Initial sketches lead to the creation of the first mock-up model at his tiny apartment and the first tests in the local city park.

After the return home to Latvia, Lauzis set up his design and prototyping studio called Zeltini equipped with rapid prototyping tools to work on ideas. After completing the first prototype in 2020, the vehicle received an outpouring of public interest and the first pre-orders, and the first impact investors joined in to help complete the company’s mission to revolutionize the way people travel and explore the outdoors.

Product development was supported by a Norway Grant, which is aimed at social impact, sustainability, and taps into the movement of makers. Zeltini signed a contract in August 2021 with the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia to receive support under the Promotion of International Competitiveness program co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

Although fully functional, the first prototype demonstrated that improvements needed to be made before the Z-Triton could hit mass production. To accomplish that, Lauzis, Founder/CEO/Product, formed a team of “changemakers and top engineers.” The company’s website lists the team as Lija Lauze, Management/PR/HR; Renārs Lauzis, Production/Rentals/Pilot; Edgars Krūmiņš, Software; Edgars Koks, Aeronautics; Armands Upenieks, Mechatronics; Roberts Cipruss, Junior Engineer; and Kobe the dog and Chief Security Officer.

Within 14 months of hard R&D work, a new 2.0 vehicle iteration was created. The program included testing with potential customers in the Swiss Alps, Lake Geneva, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Most of the parts were re-designed and re-engineered for major improvements over its predecessor.

The company says that the vehicle now has all the features and functions that make it a market-ready product now. It is slightly wider now and provides more room in the cabin, allowing for two people to comfortably sleep in it. The body is manufactured in organic fiberglass with polyester from recycled PET bottles, and a number of parts are large-format 3D printed with bioplastics.

The product is 100% electric with both boat and trike electric-assist motors, a Li-ion battery pack, and integrated roof solar panels. The range is “two days,” or 50 km (31 mi) on land and 20 km (12 mi) on water.

Switching from land to water mode involves lifting the wheels of the bike, inflating and attaching stabilizers, and lowering the electric boat motor from the cabin.

Boat mode is also upgraded with a stronger 1.15-kW motor, which is integrated into the body. If users run out of battery juice in boat mode, there are attachable oars.

The bike part underwent a major redesign and now offers a lot more comfortable ride with rear suspension, adjustable seat, hydraulic disc brakes, a seven-gear internal gear hub, and twice the power at 1 kW.

There is also a plant pot that enables users to carry their favorite house plant or take small trees along for the ride to be planted along the way to “reforest” the planet. This is one way that the company says the Z-Triton 2.0 has a positive CO2 footprint and aims to be the most sustainable RV on the market.

Production of the first vehicle batch has already started, and the first units will be delivered to early European pre-orders in late 2022 and the U.S. in 2023. The company will start vehicle rentals, the first location in Latvia, later this summer, which is currently available for booking. Apart from the ready-made version the company is also developing a DIY kit version which will be a simplified, modular, more affordable, easy-to-ship version of the same concept.