"tapzz" (tapzz)
07/15/2015 at 07:05 • Filed to: ellenator, seat ibiza, skoda fabia
4
22|
"tapzz" (tapzz)
07/15/2015 at 07:05 • Filed to: ellenator, seat ibiza, skoda fabia | 4
| 22 |
It looks like any Fiesta sized compact, until you check the back: hello dually single rear wheel.
Once you’ve recovered from your flashback to the BMW Isettas of the ‘50s, we can move on to explore WTF.
It’s essentially about driver’s licence rules. I’ll spare you the detail, but the basic rule in Germany is: you can’t drive a proper car unsupervised until you’re 18, but you can drive a motorised something that is less likely to kill you and maim others at 16.
In Germany, that ‘something’ used to be a light 125cc motorcycle if you were prepared to get a driver’s license for it. Those made 11 Kw (14.7 hp), and maxed out at 80 km/h (50 mph). Good enough for country roads, and they were legal on the Autobahn. Yes, the same Autobahn were M5s and 911s lunge for the horizon at unlimited speeds in the fast lane, and big rigs doing 90 km/h in the slow lane.
Since a rule change in January 2013, another category became legal, however: “three wheeled vehicles with symmetrically positioned wheels and a cylinder capacity over 50cc and designed top speed of over 50 km/h and a power output of no more than 15 Kw”
The first person to notice the effect was Auto Ellenrieder, Germany’s largest Piaggio importer, who noticed a sudden demand for larger Apes among young people. This makes perfect sense to a Jalop, I’m sure we can all agree, but less so to the parents of said teens, who noticed a total absence of any safety equipment whatsoever in the adorable scoottrucklets.
So Herr Ellenrieder got creative, and took a hacksaw to the rear axle of a Seat Ibiza and a Škoda Fabia, detuned their engines to 15 Kw (20 hp) and so the “ !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ” was born. Yes, really.
By the looks of it, the beam axle hubs simply got inverted, and because the wheels are so close as a result, they legally count as a single wheel- just like the Isetta way back when. The conversion costs €4200.- ($4600.-) and can be done on new or used cars. The whole thing goes no faster than about 80 km/h, but you’ve got four dry seats, airbags, a roof, and cheap insurance.
Me? I’d be going Ape.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
(Photo credits: Auto Ellenrieder; !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , CC-by-SA 3.0 at Wikimedia for the BMW Isetta)
Cé hé sin
> tapzz
07/15/2015 at 07:09 |
|
You can in fact drive at 17 in several countries in the EU.
|
tapzz
> Cé hé sin
07/15/2015 at 07:14 |
|
I knew you could in the past, but I thought that the EU harmonisation meant that it was 18 everywhere now. I’ll correct, thanks
|
Cé hé sin
> tapzz
07/15/2015 at 07:14 |
|
If you want to drive at 15 in Sweden, you need a tractor. This is a tractor. Yes, really. It complies with the requirements.
duurtlang
> tapzz
07/15/2015 at 07:16 |
|
That’s just, no. No. Let your damn kid drive a bicycle or use public transportation.
m2m, apex detective
> tapzz
07/15/2015 at 07:19 |
|
... who noticed a sudden demand for larger Apes among young people.
Now that’s a weird sentence if you don’t know the context.
When reading about these first, I kept wondering how reversible the whole thing is. Seeing that the detuning is merely a software matter and that they don’t really cut up the car, do you think they can undo the conversion if desired?
|
tapzz
> Cé hé sin
07/15/2015 at 07:21 |
|
To my astonishment, that works in the Netherlands too. This Chelsea tractor really is a tractor :
|
tapzz
> duurtlang
07/15/2015 at 07:23 |
|
Yup, the 50cc moped I had was already stretching it, in hindsight...
|
tapzz
> m2m, apex detective
07/15/2015 at 07:27 |
|
Those Italian bees (ape) are too punsome for their own good in English :-)
That’s a good question though: the company conspicuously makes no claim, but I’d imagine that it’d be much more cost effective to sell your Ellinator on than to spend another €4k reversing the damage conversion.
kanadanmajava1
> Cé hé sin
07/15/2015 at 07:35 |
|
In Finland 15 year old can drive a tractor or a moped vehicle (converting a tractor from a car isn’t possible here). Both require a driver’s license though. Couple of years ago the four wheeled mopeds were also introduced. They existed before in some European countries but the were mostly driven by elderly people who had already lost their regular driver’s license. And these four wheeled moped vehicles are more expensive than the cheapest new cars.
Usually these look really silly and my example is quite nice looking compared to the rest.
|
duurtlang
> tapzz
07/15/2015 at 07:37 |
|
Normally, if you have a behemoth like that with a diesel engine you pay about €200
a month
in ownership tax in the Netherlands. Now? Zero. It isn’t allowed on roads with a speed limit over 80km/h though, if I read the ad correctly. You also don’t need to pass inspection, as it’s not a ‘car’ anymore.
I do believe they’re trying to mend this huge loophole in legislation. I sure hope they do.
TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut
> tapzz
07/15/2015 at 07:46 |
|
My mind is currently full of WTF.
|
tapzz
> duurtlang
07/15/2015 at 07:48 |
|
Amen. It’s even worse than the ‘grey license’ rule benders of the ‘90s.
For the tractor trick you apparently also have to have “coarse profile” tyres, and a towing hitch...
KnowsAboutCars
> duurtlang
07/15/2015 at 07:59 |
|
These are way better than moped cars though. Although it might have been a good idea to increase rear track length.
|
duurtlang
> KnowsAboutCars
07/15/2015 at 08:05 |
|
Sure they’re better than moped cars, everything is better than those hateful shitboxes. Still, with the above modification you get overly expensive vehicles with reduced capabilities, and for what? To dodge license, safety and tax legislation. I’m not a fan.
|
Cé hé sin
> kanadanmajava1
07/15/2015 at 08:30 |
|
Oooh, a voiture sans permis!
popular in rural France and you see them in Paris too.
Tohru
> duurtlang
07/15/2015 at 08:51 |
|
How about no. We are car enthusiasts first and foremost, and you’re suggesting public transportation over an automobile?
People with your mindset are the reason car ownership among youth is dropping.
|
duurtlang
> Tohru
07/15/2015 at 09:06 |
|
How so? Were talking about kids who are legally too young to drive a car and other people without a drivers license, kids who are now capable of driving a vehicle that (due to a loophole) doesn’t have to comply to the normal safety legislation any normal vehicle will need to comply with. Like having decent and functional brakes.
Not being okay with this has
absolutely zero
to do with car ownership amoung young people, and even less with dropping car ownership.
Schaefft
> tapzz
07/15/2015 at 10:15 |
|
Wtf, never heard of this before. I think I much rather drive a 125cc bike for one or two years than spending 4200 Euro on shit like this and ruin my car. Also how do you detune an engine to 20hp, and how would the car even move with such a ridiculous power rating.
|
Tohru
> duurtlang
07/15/2015 at 10:20 |
|
In the US you can get your license as young as 14 years and 6 months ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver%27… ) and legally drive whatever they want. Many states (mine included) do not have safety or emissions testing at all. So you’re freaking out about something that is perfectly legal here.
|
duurtlang
> Tohru
07/15/2015 at 10:35 |
|
I’m not freaking out, I’m merely pointing out the facts of the situation here. Which is where these vehicles will roam the streets. My initial post, which you replied to, was a reply to the inferior yet severely overpriced (+€4200) vehicle.
That it would be legal in some country halfway across the planet is interesting (honestly), but hardly relevant to the situation here. Moreover, I doubt many car enthusiasts past their teens here would support the, imho, very unattractive situation of 14 year olds behind the wheel and no safety inspections.
|
tapzz
> Schaefft
07/15/2015 at 10:38 |
|
The only answer I can think of is that you’ll likely start with a used supermini, and then sell it two years on for a decent price- given how much the conversion costs.
You can, just about, get by with the power, but only if you have a much lighter vehicle, I think. Specifically: I can see myself forgetting about motorways and rocking a classic 18 hp Citroën 2CV, but those weigh about half as much as the VW group superminis. It’s also worth remembering that the weight rating on the three wheeler is 300 kg less than the regular car version...
Mercedes Streeter
> Tohru
07/30/2015 at 12:52 |
|
I hate to agree, but I do agree with him in regards to licensing. What the law across the pond effectively states is that if you want to drive a vehicle under proper driving age, you have to drive something with a moped engine and a hilariously low top speed.
America doesn’t have these regulations. Our kids can drive basically anything their parents are allowed to drive.
At which point (especially when this period of time is just 1-2 years), it’s significantly smarter and cheaper to equip the kid with a real moped, public transport, or a bike.