Now sometimes you see something that you have to take a look at twice and you think “is that as cool as it looks?”. Most skateboard gadgetry I have come across has been just that - something that has come and gone. But watching the video about the Scarpar off-road skateboard is starting to make me think otherwise. This new product can supposedly get speeds up to 80 kilometers an hour and looks like a lot of fun.

I went over to the Scarpar creator’s site to see how this all started and what the future is. And this is what they have to say:

“The Scarpar story began over 12 years ago (in 1994) when the inventor, Dan Baldwin (not that one), was lamenting the short snow season in Australia. He wanted the thrill of speed on a board all year, and started drawing plans for what would eventually become the Scarpar.

Dan did not actually ride the Scarpar until 2004. He spent 10 years developing the design, and sourcing or fabricating components. The idea was to take the best of snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, wakeboarding and motocross and create a vehicle that he could ride like a board, steer by weight transference, and ride off-road over any terrain.

Being a keen participant in board sports, Dan was looking for a way to capture the best of all of them and create a unique experience which allowed him to pursue his passion for speed at any time he felt like it, unrestricted by geography or weather conditions. Dan also thought that he’d be able to give his motocross riding friends a run for their money if he had a board that could keep up!

The company directors remains committed to taking Dan’s dream to market, and expanding it to include many new and exciting possibilties across a range of applications.”

Now Andrew Fern, who is the CEO of Scarpar, has stated on the Scarpar site that the first versions will be available in 2008 and that those of us who are interested can get put themselves on the email list to keep up-to-date. The prospect of an electrical version is also being looked into.

To find out more, get over to the Scarpar website!