Torqeedo reveals next-generation electric outboards: the all-new Travel family
- Modular, flexible, and customizable design puts boaters’ needs first, opens up broad range of applications
- Four packages to choose from: Adventure Package, Essential Package, Range Package and Power Package
- Powerful 1,600 W direct-drive Travel XP debuts as new flagship, opening up a new dimension in electric propulsion power
Amsterdam, Netherlands (14 November 2023) – With more than 250,000 Torqeedo drive systems in the field, Torqeedo today introduces their latest product innovation. The iconic Travel motor has been delighting boaters with its outstanding efficiency, useful technology, and easy-to-use design since 2005 and more than 100,000 Travel motors have already been sold worldwide. Now, Torqeedo has taken the original to the next level.
“The new Travel family marks the opening of a new chapter of Torqeedo products. The original Travel was Torqeedo’s first product and the one that disrupted an industry. A true icon which now has been redefined,“ said Fabian Bez, CEO of Torqeedo GmbH. “The new lineup serves an even broader range of boating applications, adds many user-centric features, and allows boaters to fully customize their Travel experience to meet their individual needs. The customers’ demands are at the very core of our product development – resulting in the Travel XP. Our latest product with up to 1600 W input power clearly closes a gap in the market.”
The new Travel family’s modular design starts with four packages to choose from:
Adventure Package
The Adventure Package pairs an 1,100 W Travel and a 1,080 Wh battery with an innovative mounting and steering system that gets kayak anglers quickly and stealthily to their secret spots.
Essential Package
The Essential Package is the original Travel, redefined. It pairs an ultra-efficient 1,100 W outboard motor with a 1,080 Wh battery.
Range Package
The Range Package substitutes a higher-capacity battery (1,425 Wh) for when you want to spend all day on the water, taking boaters even further.
Power Package
The Power Package easily propels bigger boats, boats on coastal waters, or that routinely experience windy, wavy conditions with its heavy-duty 1,600 W direct-drive motor and 1,425 Wh battery.
Once the package is selected, a multitude of charging, propeller, and accessory options allow boaters to build their perfect electric Travel companion.
“These innovative outboards are designed to be ultra-easy to use, transport, and stow, and the click-and-play battery means no more cables to connect. Once the battery is removed with a click and the tiller is folded, the compact and lightweight motor is easy to hand up and down to the dinghy, fits easily in a lazarette, and won’t leak fuel and oil while stored,“ Thomas Wiedemann, Senior Vice President Global Program Management, adds.
The included 180 W charger cuts charge times in half, and a backlit, full-color display takes Torqeedo’s intuitive user interface with onboard GPS-calculated real-time range and runtime and makes it even easier to read. TorqLink, Torqeedo’s advanced communications protocol, and Bluetooth and WiFi are built in so owners can connect with Torqeedo’s new smartphone app, TorqView. The app enables a host of new features, including maps, trip logs, and over-the-air updates. Now, motor updates can be performed anywhere there’s an internet connection, meaning the Travel is always up-to-date, safe, reliable and efficient. Torqeedo owners can also opt-in to allow Torqeedo and its authorized service centers to collect system information to provide the fastest and most efficient service and maintenance experience possible.
With infinitely variable speed and steering controls, the new-and-improved tiller eases docking and launching with its ultra-precise, foldable, and customizable design. Change the direction of forward and reverse, increase or decrease friction, and even use while standing. For boats with a rudder or steering wheel, the Power Package’s Travel XP can be ordered as a remote model with everything you need to connect to standard Teleflex steering, and an optional remote kit is also available to convert a tiller-steered Travel. The new, 90-degree tilt-equipped transom mount design lets you raise the motor completely out of the water, and the practical new 3-stage rotation control lever lets you quickly choose between fixed steering, +/- 60-degree steering, and 360-degree, fully rotatable steering.
“The entire user experience, down to the new connected features and the smartphone app, leverages Torqeedo’s 18 years of experience in building the world’s best electric drive systems and brings it to a new generation of boaters who demand greener, cleaner, and more thoughtfully designed products,” said Sven Mostögl, Senior Vice President Branded Retail. “This launch is the start of a new chapter for Torqeedo. Not only are we significantly reshaping and sharpening the product portfolio and brand appearance, but we have also made the next decisive step in building the future of electric boating.”
The new Travel family of clean boating products and accessories will be available in early 2024.
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Look, ma, no cables! Actually, there’s impressively more to the complete redesign of the Torqeedo Travel electric outboards than even mentioned in this press release, as we learned at METS. More details to come.
Yeah, Ben! The cables (actually the plastic-encased connectors) are the one really weak point with the original Travel 1003 we both have. I have cursed those connectors every time we deploy the motor.
On a slightly different aspect, what happened to Torqueedo’s service network? None of the shops that used to handle maintenance exists anymore around the Chesapeake.
Hartley
S/V Atsa
Hey, Hartley! I never had serious trouble with the 1003 connectors, maybe because I often kept the motor assembled for weeks at a time, but I sure wouldn’t miss them either.
That said, I did start getting a lot of E30 (data communications) and other error messages in the 2022 season. Torqeedo USA tech support suggested that it might be an intermittent wire failure in the thick motor-to-battery cable and suggested sending it to Columbia Marine in Connecticut. Which turned out to be a good experience, including a direct diagnosis call from their obviously sharp e-mechanic. The total cost with shipping both ways was about $950, but now my 1003 has a new cable plus new gears and a refurbished motor. And it ran like a top this summer.
https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us/stores?service=true
Plus I’m still using the same battery that came with it in 2011. Pretty impressive, especially considering how much of that decade+ my motor was fully exposed to the elements, including the lower end in saltwater. Given Torqeedo’s vast experience with the 1003 and 1103, it seems likely that the “Next Gen” Travel outboards will be even more long-lasting. I hope to post more details on the new design next week.
Hi Ben! We take our motor apart every time we use it – those plastic, fine-thread connectors REALLY like to cross-thread, especially after they get a bit worn. If you don’t mate them perfectly straight, they are jam city. And you really want to have them all the way in :).
Some years ago, we started getting all manner of wacky errors, and then Torqueedo informed us we should have had the gaskets redone every 4 (I think) years. The good folks at Hartge on the West River S of Annapolis did a great job repairing the damage and even converted our motor to a short (“normal”) shaft from the original long shaft (which was a PITA in shallow water0). Not only are they no longer handling Torqueedo, there isn’t anyone on the Chesapeake that is! Shipping it off is a hassle, but the only course available to us now.
We, too are still using our original (2014) batteries, and haven’t had any issues with them – I decided not to upgrade a couple years ago when they did a recall.
Hartley
S/V Atsa
Holy cow: Yamaha is acquiring Torqeedo: https://www.tradeonlytoday.com/tech/yamaha-motor-co-acquires-torqeedo
I did not see this coming, not even a little bit. But I can visualize Yamaha as more appropriate owner than Deutz AG.
Won’t it be great, for instance, if the many Yamaha outboard dealerships also become Torqeedo sales and service centers?