KTM might not make E-Speed scooter after all

Scooter lust is as improbable a condition as it sounds. Yet, when we turn our gaze to the KTM E-Speed, we can't help but fall fast into an urban-riding reverie. A fantasy in which city-center congestion is carved into asphalt ribbons with cuts left and right, made quick with easy flicks of this two-wheeled blade. It is a dream, however, that may never happen.

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.

Rumors have surfaced claiming the Austrian outfit has shelved the project because the electric scooter doesn't quite fit with its image. This is disappointing. Especially since, last we heard, KTM executive board member in charge of business development (among other things) Harald Plöckinger was making very positive noises in the wake of the enthusiastic reception the E-Speed received at its Tokyo Motor Show reveal.

Hearts broken and hopes dashed, we turned to the company for confirmation of the rumor and to maybe get some closure, and in doing so, learned a couple things. First, don't believe everything you read on the Internet. (We know. Shocker, right?) Second, while there currently isn't a production program in place, we were also told, "never say never." In effect, don't stop believing.

For our part, we won't. Tesla has taught us that a premium product with proper performance bona fides can creates market niches that didn't previously exist. Could it work with an awesome electric scooter? Well, there's only one way to be sure.

Though still slightly pessimistic that an invitation to ride the E-Speed will ever arrive in our inbox, we leave you with video of another product once previously thought to have been dropped: the KTM FreeRide E. Look below for footage of a pair of the machines being playfully ridden by brand ambassador Danny MacAskill and none other than the extreme-enduro prodigy, Jonny Walker.