What's a Moke Car?
Andrew Koole
· 3 min read
New automakers are popping up all over the place these days. EV startups like Rivian and Lordstown plan to take on Tesla while tech giants like Google and Apple are venturing into self-driving technology.
But one new brand is more focused on fun than anything else. Mokes are low-speed vehicles the likes of which you’ve probably never seen. But the recreational vehicle has a surprisingly long and storied heritage.
Today’s electric Moke was launched in 2016, but the little car got its start in 1959 as a prototype for the British Army. Designed and built by Austin Mini-designer Sir Alec Issigonis and the British Motor Company, it went on to cart tourists and movie stars across the world’s tropical beaches.
A short history of the Moke
As Issigonis was developing the Mini, he was also working on a separate project for BMC, a similarly tiny car with looks comparable to the Land Rover Defender.
Originally called the Buckboard, the Austin Mini Moke’s lack of ground clearance kept it from being used for its intended customer, the British Army. Instead, BMC marketed it as a utility vehicle, but that too didn’t get off the ground. Only 10% of the original fleet was sold.
BMC stopped producing the Mini Moke in 1970, but the concept was sold to Leyland, another British automaker.
Their rendition of the little buggy, the Moke Californian, was sold in the U.S. and became famous for carting around movie stars like Bridgitte Bardot and for a small role in the James Bond film Live and Let Die.
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The new, electric Moke
Production of Leyland’s Moke ceased in 1981, but its cult status allowed the little jeep-like car to be reintroduced in the 21st Century.
MOKE International began making the new Moke in France and launched it in tropical locations like Australia and Thailand. In 2016, Florida-based Cruise Car, Inc. began producing electric Mokes in the U.S.
The golf-cart-meets-dune-buggy is not an everyday driver.
Robb Report
says that while the Moke is street legal, it only has a 40-mile range and can reach a measly 25 miles per hour. MOKE America clearly chose style over substance when they developed their model, but the little vehicle has proved to be useful for beachfront communities and carting around celebrities like Kevin Hart and DJ Khalid.
Finding insurance for a Moke
Getting
car insurance
for a Moke is complicated. Considered a low-speed vehicle (LSV) or a street legal golf cart, it needs to be registered and insured to be driven on public roads. But insurance companies see this type of vehicle as more of an ATV than a car.Because of this, providers differ in how they cover LSVs like the Moke. Some offer policies specifically for them while others allow drivers to add them to their traditional car insurance.
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