Will Martin's 3-Wheeler Design Blog

I've been kicking around the idea of building a 3-wheeled car for a while now and I've decided to start this blog to document my progress.

My main design goals for the car are:

• "Simplify, then add lightness." - This quote from Colin Chapman summarizes my design philosophy.  I want to keep everything on the car as simple and as lightweight as possible.  Lighter cars handle better, use less fuel and cost less to build.  As Amory Lovins explains, reducing weight from the car has a snowballing effect, lowering the requirements of the suspension, freeing up yet more weight.  Above all, my goal is to shave every last gram out of unsprung mass in order to improve the vehicle's handling.
• Keep the weight low and centered - Second in importance behind keeping a car's mass low is distributing the mass as low as possible and as close to the center of the car as possible.  This results in a low roll center and a low yaw polar moment of inertia, which improve the vehicle's handling.  This means pushing the wheels out as far as they will go and moving the heaviest items, like the batteries and driver, to the center of the car.
• Three-wheeled -  I've always loved three-wheeled cars.  By reducing the complexity of the vehicle, they help fulfill the first two design goals.  In the United States, three-wheelers are also classified as motorcycles, which greatly reduces the safety requirements, thereby reducing complexity and allowing further fulfillment of the first two design goals.  Three wheelers also allow for the possibility of tilting the vehicle into corners - something I'd like to incorporate into the vehicle's design.  The correct design for three-wheelers is two wheels in the front and one in the back, as seen on Morgan cars.  This allows for maximum control under braking and cornering.  The "wrong" way to design a three wheeler is the opposite way - two wheels in the back and one in the front - as displayed by the abysmal Reliant Robin.  My car will incorporate the former layout.
• Open cockpit - as Robert Pirsig explains in his book “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," being out in the open on a motorcycle gives the rider an overwhelming “sense of presence."  By keeping the cockpit of the car wide open, I hope to keep this sensation alive.
• Electric powertrain - With peak oil and climate change as the two biggest challenges of my generation, I see electrification as the future of car design.  Besides being more sustainable, an electric powertrain also greatly simplifies vehicle design by eliminating the transmission, exhaust system, and fuel tank .  Electric batteries and electric motors can be air-cooled, allowing for elimination of the cooling system.  Furthermore, an electric powertrain can provide 100% of its maximum torque at 0 RPM, allowing for faster acceleration off the line.
• Cradle-to-cradle design - I want to design the vehicle from the outset to be completely recyclable and built from sustainably sourced materials.

My main inspirations are:

• Dennis Palatov of Palatov Motorsport - dpcars.net and palatov.com - for documenting in extreme detail on his blog his process of designing and building cars from scratch.
• Heikki Naulapää, designer of the Aprilia Magnet - naulapaa.com - for designing one of the most beautiful three-wheelers I've ever seen.
• Jay Rogers of Local Motors - localmotors.com - for proving that with the new tools of the internet age, such as crowdsourced design and 3D printing, anyone can start their own car company.
• Elon Musk of Tesla Motors - teslamotors.com - for bringing electric cars to the masses.

I fully anticipate that this process will take years.  It took Dennis Palatov four years to go from design to the first drive of his DP1 car and nearly 10 years to go from design until his first sale.  I'm hoping, however, that by putting my design process out in the public domain that I will receive helpful advice and guidance as Dennis has, speeding up the process.