British electric motorcycle plugs into US: The Saietta can go from 0-60 in 2.3 seconds and has a maximum speed of 150mph

The bike boasts a 130 to 250 mile range (PA)

A British-made electric motorcycle is taking to the wide open roads of the United States this week as part of a UK trade mission.

Agility Global promises a 100 per cent clean and green alternative to the conventional petrol-guzzling bike.

The company was founded by former marine Lawrence Marazzi who, after returning from Afghanistan, decided to return to his roots in Formula 1 and aerospace design.

Now the London-based business has transported its flagship model to Colorado to drum up interest in the motorbike-loving American market.

The Saietta, which means thunderbolt in Apennine Italian, can go from 0-60mph in 2.3 seconds and has a maximum speed of 150mph.

The bike is 80 per cent charged in an hour and a half and boasts a 130 to 250 mile range.

Its sleek, futuristic design means it would not look out of place in a James Bond movie and Mr Marazzi said he has already had interest from a number of film franchises. He described the bike as the “world's first high-performance, clean tech motorcycle”.

But the company needs investment to expand and is looking for angel funding.

“We've been working with the next generation of electric technology to develop this model over the past five years,” chief executive Mr Marazzi, 42, said. “What sets us apart from our competitors is that we have started our design on a clean sheet of paper and the bike is not just derived from the format of traditional motorbikes, which makes us higher performance than a petrol bike.”

Mr Marazzi said feedback so far on the trade mission had been “phenomenal”.

“It's impossible to go anywhere without causing people to stop and stare - it's a real conversation starter,” he added.

“We have been inundated with interest so far but what we need now is to grow.”

Agility Global is one of 16 British companies which have been selected to be part of the week-long Clean and Cool Mission to Colorado, one of the fastest-emerging clean technology centres in the US.

Supported by UK Trade and Investment and the Technology Strategy Board, the party is made up of some of the most promising UK entrepreneurs and early stage businesses in the industry.

PA