What is a velomobile?

Some of you living in the Netherlands, Denmark or Germany may have seen one of these once in their lives.
So did I today, when it passed me on the cycle lane.

I asked the rider, what is it?
He said: it's a velomobile.

So I googled what I found. And here I learned something new that I would like to share with you all !

So what is a velomobile?
A velomobile is a recumbent tricycle with an aerodynamic body.

It's supposedly very comfortable, much more so than riding on an upright bicycle.
There are 'hoods' available for these vehicles.

Or fully enclosed:

There are may different models of velomobiles. Apparently they are quite popular in Western Europe.
They say that speeds of 40 kph on the flats are easily reachable, with the same effort it would to ride a normal bicycle at a speed of 25 kph. Plus the added benefit of complete weather protection.
The only downsides are the pricetag ( about 8000 euros ) and climbing problems ( it weights about 30 kgs ). The latter could be solved by an electric motor, but that would increase the former downside even more.

So, it's basically an aerodynamic bicycle car, another asset for the garage!

Would you buy one? Leave a comment!