Trikes can do some pretty neat things, but traveling around town with little to no effort using the power of the sun? Now that’s something we can all appreciate. And what’s more? You can build one in your own backyard with the simple instructions provided in this article. According to the article, the goal behind the solar powered trike was to develop a vehicle that –

“-Provides free, ‘green’ transportation for short distances (<10 miles), thus it must never plug into a wall socket, or emit any pollutants.
-Charges while at work
-Is cheap, simple, and low maintenance.
-Draws attention to the practical application of green energies, and promotes Fossil Fuel alternatives.
-Reduces excess automobile wear and pollution from cold driving / short, in town trips.”

It was initially a project for class, but this student took the time to outline the steps so anyone could reproduce this green (literally) trike, assuming you are ready to drop about $1,000 to build it.

The student goes on to describe the performance of the finished product (shown above) –

“This Solar Powered Trike does about 15-18 mph depending on the weight of the rider. The furthest I have gone is a little over 10 miles with small hills and little pedaling, and the battery meter still read full (green) at the end of the trips.

The Speed Studio Trik-E is an electrically assisted tricycle concept that could truly revolutionize local transportation. With its enclosed cab for protection from the elements, three wheels for added stability, electric motor to assist the rider, and additional storage space, the fact that it looks like an insect is easily excusable.

The article describes the Trik-E as –

“An electric-assist HPV. It’s designed to go anywhere a bicycle can go, while providing weather protection and light cargo storage. With a top speed of 20mph and a 750w electric motor, TrikE is legally classified as a bicycle. No driver’s license is required, and parking is easy. The 36v lithium battery pack costs pennies to recharge.”

The article also has a picture of some early concept sketches, so you can see how the trike evolved into its funny looking self.

Honda’s new three wheeled 3R-C is to debut at the Geneva auto show. It fits one person and has an electric motor.

From the looks of it, Honda has built this trike with the future in mind, styling it like something straight out of Robocop.

Check out the photo gallery in the article for some more pictures of the futuristic Honda.

The Urban Jet by Cherban is a three wheeled electric vehicle that is reminiscent to the now defunct carver one. It tilts, its fast, and apparently, its also very safe. But unlike the Carver One, it’s made from the same material as bulletproof vests. Here’s what’s under the hood –

“Powering the Urban Jet is a polymer lithium battery (26kWH), which weighs almost half of the vehicle’s total 312.5lb (142kg) – overall weight is 770lb (350kg). Life span of the batteries is more than 1,500 cycles with recharging via plug-in and an inboard charger: 110V, 16A or 22V 16A mono. Full charge can be achieved in 150 minutes, which should allow the vehicle to travel roughly 220 miles (350km).”

It can reach speeds of up to 150 mph and go from 0-60 in less than 3.5 seconds. Not bad for being electric.

It looks like a toy to me though, and bullet-proof or not, I wouldn’t feel safe travelling at such high speeds in one of these. Just look at the tires; they look more fit for a bicycle than a trike that goes 150 mph.

Swedish vehicle manufacturer Vehiconomics has introduced the Smite in Sweden for about $5,500 USD. It currently isn’t available in America, but when it is, you won’t be able to miss it. This is because of the crazy color options available for the vehicle.

This three wheeler is sure to catch the eye of passerby’s.

Among the many high performance hybrid vehicles that have been stirring up interest lately is the eVaro by Future Vehicle Technologies (formerly FuelVapor Technologies). The eVaro gets 275 mpg, can reach a top speed of up to 135 mph, and can go 0-60 in five seconds.

The hybrid configuration of this three wheeler is different than most though. The article elaborates —

“Not only is it fast, but the eVaro can travel up to 125 miles on one charge, and recharges at home in three hours. To keep the electricity flowing while it’s out and about, the car’s gas generator periodically kicks in to provide power for topping up the battery. Unlike most hybrids, the eVaro’s gas motor does not ever propel the vehicle directly.”

Future Vehicle Technologies plans to go into production with the eVaro, but has first submitted it to compete for the $10,000,000.00 Automotive X-Prize.

Commercial Production of the Aptera 2e trike has been delayed until 2010, despite over 4,000 preorders for the vehicle. This delay has been attributed to a lack of funding, but according to the article, Aptera “is currently trying to close a round of financing as well as obtain loans under the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicle program.”

The Aptera 2e was designed with maximum efficiency in mind.

“The Aptera 2e has three wheels, but not because Aptera wanted something that looked like George Jetson’s car. Having three wheels allowed Aptera to reduce drag far more than a four-wheeled prototype. The design takes elements from aerodynamic forms found in nature, CEO Paul Wilbur told us earlier this year.”

Also, it’s apparently incredibly hard to dent; check out the article about the Aptera 2e trike for the details.

The Auto Moto is a three wheel scooter with a twist. It has a roof, and it tilts and carves through turns.

The Auto Moto sports a 150 cc engine, and comes loaded with many features, including an MP3 connector that lets you play your iPod or MP3 player through the built in speakers. Whats more, it has a HUGE 72 liter trunk.

The three wheel configuration gives the rider added stability and traction, while the tilting feature makes it nimble and exhilarating. For a complete breakdown of the features and specifications, check out the trikes website.

BMWs latest three wheeled creation, dubbed the SIMPLE, looks like it needs wings and belongs to the US military.

SIMPLE is an acronym for “Sustainable and Innovative Mobility Product for Low Energy consumption” and apparently its design isn’t only for intimidating others on the road. The article explains —

“Although the vehicle weighs roughly 922 pounds, its star fighter design isn’t just for looks: the drag coefficient is only 0.18.”

Not quite sure what that means, but apparently it’s a good thing.

The Arcimoto Pulse, described as “a tandem two-seater, three-wheeled, 96-volt electric vehicle with a starting price of “under $20,000”” has officially been launched out of Eugene, Oregon. The electric three wheeler has the capability of traveling about 50 miles on a charge and hit 55 mph, and about 300 of them are planned to go into production the first year.

According to the article, “with today’s launch of the Arcimoto Pulse, […] Eugene took what local politicians describe as a first step towards challenging Detroit’s automaking dominance.” That’s a large claim, but we’ll see what happens after the first 300 of these trikes come off the line.

It’s hard to tell exactly what is going on with this three wheeler, but apparently it was designed specifically to safely transport women and children in Taiwan. How this open air trike does that beats me, but apparently it does it well enough to be called the Protector.

I don’t know about you, but it looks like a carriage from a carnival ride.

There isn’t much on this trike, just a good amount of concept art, but from what I gather it is an electrically powered three wheeler that was designed by someone named Ionut Predescu.

The seating arrangement makes me a little uneasy, especially when the article describes it as —

“Although, it is a single sitter the compartment behind the vehicle is compact for accommodating a passenger. “

Take a look at the picture towards the bottom of the article to see why I would never ride as a passenger in one of these concept three wheelers.

It’s always a disappointment when the manufacturer of a long anticipated vehicle goes bankrupt before they can fully get off the ground, and it’s no different with Carver Europe. The Carver One never even made it to America.

The article quotes Carver Europe director Willem Verheul as saying “Too few people wanted to buy the ingenious sports car at 50,000 euros. We had [planned for] about 300 vehicles sold per year, but in two years, only 200 were purchased” when speaking about the bankruptcy.

Luckily not all was lost, as the company that licensed the unique tilting system, Advanced Technology Licensing Company, is still in business. Hopefully we’ll see a new trike retrofitted with the system in the near future.

If you want to reminisce about the lost trike, check out the article for a slew of photos.

It’s called the Spira. Its lightweight and apparently it’s extremely safe as well.

“This odd little three-wheel two-seater weighs only 300-odd pounds (130kg) – that’s because it uses a super-lightweight reinforced foam for 90 percent of the bodywork. It gets well over 100mpg from its 110cc engine, it’s light enough to lift by hand, and the foam shell has huge safety benefits, both for the occupants and for the legions of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists that swarm the roads of Thailand. Oh, and it floats.”

The article goes on to describe the safety of the vehicle, saying “The millions of air cells in the foam act as tiny airbags in a collision, giving both the occupants, and whatever they’ve crashed into, a good degree of protection.”

Check out the article for some in depth info about the super lightweight trike. And if you don’t believe that it can be lifted by hand, take a look at the image gallery for proof.

Peugeot held a contest for aspiring car designers to submit concepts of what Peugeots will look like in the future. 2,500 entries later, the wining design, a trike of course, came from Carlos Arturo Torres Tovar, a 27-year-old designer from Columbia.

The article describes the concept, dubbed the Peugeot RD, saying –

“Apparently, tomorrow’s Peugeot will seat a single occupant, have three wheels and combine the ability to lean into turns like a motorcycle or scooter with the safety and security of a four-wheeled sedan. Of course, no auto concept for the future would be complete without an electric powertrain, and this one’s no different.”

What did he win? Along with a check for 10,000 euros and an Xbox 360, he gets to see “his Peugeot RD concept design come to life as a full-size clay model.” It isn’t a working model, so that means you wont be seeing it on the road… yet. Check out the article for some pictures of the Peugeot trike concept being featured at the Shanghai Motor Show.

Perhaps it’s the green paint in the picture, but the 3GEO three wheel concept car looks like a cross between a motorcycle, a car, and a grasshopper.

All jokes aside, the 3GEO has some functionality behind its funny looks. According to the article, “the simple and aerodynamic body ensures further fuel savings while making sure that the manufacturing process of the car doesn’t prove to be a burden for the company.” Perhaps they’ll make it in red.

Click here for the original article.

OK, so you aren’t exactly riding your trash, but this three wheel contraption is a standard, pedal-powered trike encased in a shell made from recycled plastic. Why the shell? According to the article –

“this three-wheeled commuter, dubbed the “Valetudo,” has been made for cities known for a heavy rainfall, like the Rio De Janerio, Brazil.”

The single piece plastic casing over the trike’s body prevents the metal parts inside from rust. Pretty nifty concept if you ask me.

As the title of this blog post suggests, the Peugeot HYmotion3 concept has a lot going for it. The article attempts to sum it up by relating it to a combination of the BMW C1, Piaggio MP3, and Toyota Prius.

“The BMW C1’s safety cage brought it an unprecedented level of crash safety. The Piaggio MP3’s two front wheels bring it unprecedented levels of stability. The Toyota Prius’s hybrid powertrain brings it unprecedented levels of fuel economy and low emissions.”

The HYmotion3 takes advantage of regenerative braking, a supercharged 125 cc engine, and three independently driven wheels to achieve 118 mpg.

For more details about this trike concept, and there definitely are more, take a look at the article.

According to the author of this article, driving the Carver One can be likened to a roller coaster. I don’t know about you, but I can’t decide if that makes me want to drive one, or makes me never want to get in one. Either way, the author goes on to say, “its compact design and fuel-efficiency makes the automobile great for a crowded, polluted urban driving environment without sacrificing comfort or control.” I suppose that helps the Carver One’s case.

This trike features a “Dynamic Vehicle Control” (DVC) system, which “uses electronic and hydraulic systems to bank the vehicle through turns making it very maneuverable in tight quarters.” It comes in a one and two passenger configuration, and is currently only for sale in Europe at around $44,000. Hopefully it’ll make it to stateside soon enough, though still no promises that I’d ever ride in one.

The Triac, a three wheel electric vehicle capable of highway speeds and a range of 120 miles, seems to have popped up out of nowhere.

Check out the article for a video of the trike in action. You’ll notice a caption on the video that reads “Available Now,” yet Green Vehicles, the company behind the Triac, has not made any official announcements yet. The price is expected to start at $19,995.00.

Though still on the drawing board, this single seat trike is to be “powered by a Honda RC51 V-twin 999cc engine and is listed as having a “theoretical” top speed of 233kph,” or just over 144 mph.

It definitely looks like this three wheeler was made to go fast.

Citing possible liability issues, Volkswagen has decided to scrap production of the GX3, a speedy trike capable of speeds of up to 125 mph which would have been registered as a motorcycle.

It would seem an unfortunate choice by VW, as the vehicle garnered a lot of attention at the LA Auto Show, not to mention it was a pretty snazzy looking trike.

BMW has designed a three wheel enclosed concept for city driving called the CLEVER, which stands for Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport. The CLEVER has active tilting technology to help the trike carve through turns. The article puts it like this —

“A problem with three-wheel vehicles with a symmetrical wheel layout is the tipping moment when cornering, which cannot be controlled at high speeds if the vehicle has a short wheelbase.

To solve this problem the vehicle’s center of gravity can be moved towards the center of the corner, for example by angling the complete vehicle—just as a motorcycle does when it corners.

The hydraulic active tilt system is electronically controlled and keeps the vehicle upright at low speeds.”

Apparently, it’s also pretty safe too. Check out the article for some crash test videos of the trike.