You’ve likely never seen a car like the new electric drive Spira, which debuted at the L.A. Auto Show. The enclosed three-wheel electric trike is steered with a tiller with an exterior that looks like a toy car covered in styrofoam. It carries two passengers (but just barely).
The body is constructed of recyclable light foam, fiberglass and plastic. Top speed is 75 mph. The gas version is priced at $6,000 and the electric version is $10,000. Watch this 30 second video from the Weekly Driver for a demonstration.
Your next dinghy, perhaps?
West Palm Beach was the home of the Sparrow, another 3 wheel “car”. It generated much interest but was unable to sell enough prototypes to reach affordability. Top speed was 55 so it was officially “street legal”. Will the Spira be “street legal ” or only a glorified golf cart?
In 1948, when I first moved to Long Beach, CA, many older people got around in an open, three-wheel electric vehicle that steered with a tiller, similar to this one. I don’t think they were street-legal, but the sidewalks in the area where we lived all had curb cuts at the intersections, so people could use them on the sidewalk.
England had a car like this, they kept tipping over.