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CLEVER car built for narrow streets

Steven Morris — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

London: From Sir Clive Sinclair's much-mocked C5 to the much-maligned Reliant, the genre has something of a reputation to live down. But this week, engineers unveiled a machine that may redress the balance — a three-wheeled car that at a metre wide is designed to help the commuter squeeze through the narrowest of gaps and nip into the tiniest of parking spaces.

Funded by the European Union, built partly in the United Kingdom, and backed by carmaker BMW, it is being trumpeted as more environmentally friendly than the average vehicle, because it runs on compressed natural gas. In contrast to Sir Clive's effort and to some other modern microcars, its designers have been at pains to make it look sleek and nippy and ensure it appeals to the fashion-conscious. The car, called CLEVER (for compact low emission vehicle for urban transport — and a possible swipe at the Smart car brand) was launched at Bath University, one of the centres behind the three-year project. Its developers hope to see it on the streets of London, Paris and Rome within five years at a purchase price of £5,000.

It was being tested in secret at an airfield but on Monday it was put through its paces in the university's car park. The most striking feature is the way the chassis tilts like a motorcycle as the vehicle goes around a corner. The tilt system, designed by the engineers at Bath, is controlled electronically to make sure the car is balanced at all speeds. The driver does not have to lean as on a motorcycle — he or she simply turns the wheel and the car works out how far it needs to tilt.

The designers say it combines the convenience and fun of a motorbike with the safety and dryness of a car. Unlike many other attempts to create a small vehicle for the commuter, the body is enclosed in an aluminium frame and plastic coating.

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