RE: Carver One

[GingerNinja]

kentviking said:

GingerNinja said:

kentviking said:

could be the cheapest way to commute into London...45mpg, no congestion charge and free parking in motorobike bays....I could be seriously tempted.

That's a whole lot of parking and congestion charge savings to cover it's initial £27K cost over a more conventional small car.

yep...less than 5 years of fun to pay for itself....45 weeks a year of at least £25 per day for parking and congestion charging...before even taking into account the fuel efficiency savings and the fact you should be able to weave a bit in traffic.

I'm not entirely convinced this thing will fit in a motorbike bay anyway - it's very long, and if ou stick out too much, they'll ticket you.

[skint_driver]

Fabulous looking machine - would love to have a go.

Am not sure about the price/marketing though. Get the price under 10K and they would sell tens of thousands. The drivetrain is from a relatively cheap car, so why not?

[corradoboy1983]

It's defo not a smart engine, since it would either be a 599, or a 698.
I personally love the look of this car! Purely for the unique driving experience! Looks like a right laugh! Saw one on the road the other day actually...

Anyone know where I can get a test drive? ;-)

[kentviking]

GingerNinja said:

kentviking said:

GingerNinja said:

kentviking said:

could be the cheapest way to commute into London...45mpg, no congestion charge and free parking in motorobike bays....I could be seriously tempted.

That's a whole lot of parking and congestion charge savings to cover it's initial £27K cost over a more conventional small car.

yep...less than 5 years of fun to pay for itself....45 weeks a year of at least £25 per day for parking and congestion charging...before even taking into account the fuel efficiency savings and the fact you should be able to weave a bit in traffic.

I'm not entirely convinced this thing will fit in a motorbike bay anyway - it's very long, and if ou stick out too much, they'll ticket you.

that's very true but there are some huge parking zones for motorbikes in Finsbury circus...it would definitely fit in one of those, and at the time I arrive at work I would definitely get a space!

[GingerNinja]

kentviking said:

GingerNinja said:

kentviking said:

GingerNinja said:

kentviking said:

could be the cheapest way to commute into London...45mpg, no congestion charge and free parking in motorobike bays....I could be seriously tempted.

That's a whole lot of parking and congestion charge savings to cover it's initial £27K cost over a more conventional small car.

yep...less than 5 years of fun to pay for itself....45 weeks a year of at least £25 per day for parking and congestion charging...before even taking into account the fuel efficiency savings and the fact you should be able to weave a bit in traffic.

I'm not entirely convinced this thing will fit in a motorbike bay anyway - it's very long, and if ou stick out too much, they'll ticket you.

that's very true but there are some huge parking zones for motorbikes in Finsbury circus...it would definitely fit in one of those, and at the time I arrive at work I would definitely get a space!

....dont' forget the doors open like they do on a car, so you'd have to get right on the end of a bike bay....

...so realistically, this negates it from being able to park in bike bays for 99% of the time.

[dern]

The major benefit of commuting on a bike is that you can filter past the traffic and you aren't going to get that with the carver. Can't think of any practical applications to be honest but it does look like a good laugh.

[apprentice]

Deja vu too... I am currently grinning inanely as I read this article - recalling the test flight I took in the Mole Valley demo in 2003. I can feel my palms sweating right now; as I too induced the violent snaking - as totally alien sensory inputs battled with my brain in effort to comprehend the totally unique and very peculiar dynamics.

Ted on his original test-drive summed it up quite nicely, with... "the ingredients of misplaced fear and hilarity".

To try an justify the price, is in my opinion, missing the point entirely.

Please do not depart this planet without piloting one!!

apprentice

[kentviking]

Dear Mr GingerNinja

try as you might to put me off the idea I will merely elaborate on my last post to say that it would be no problem 99.99% of the time for me to park this thing in one of several rather large bike parking bays in Finsbury Circus....the time I get in there are only one or two bikes in the whole circus, so finding a place where I could park it up to the edge of a bay and open the door would not be a problem in my case...though I concur it could be a problem for others.

[Yrv 130 turbo]

corradoboy1983 said:

It's defo not a smart engine, since it would either be a 599, or a 698.
I personally love the look of this car! Purely for the unique driving experience! Looks like a right laugh! Saw one on the road the other day actually...

Anyone know where I can get a test drive? ;-)

It is Daihatsu Copen engine and it can be tuned alot in japan they have had upto 140- 160 bhp,when i had mine standard spec is 67 bhp put it on rolling road it was 82 bhp and it was quite nippy and no lag.one thing Daihatsu can makeis small turbocharged engines that push a out good bhp.

[mrmaggit]

Don't forget that the Grinnall Scorpion is also Congestion Charge exempt, and costs a considerable amount less than £27k.

And is enormous fun to drive. (I also drive a Griffith 500, the Scorp' is more fun).

And the Scorpion is British Built.

[AARONM3]

I'm a big fan of the Grinnall Scorpion- never had a chance to test drive one though. What model is yours?

[GingerNinja]

kentviking said:

Dear Mr GingerNinja

try as you might to put me off the idea I will merely elaborate on my last post to say that it would be no problem 99.99% of the time for me to park this thing in one of several rather large bike parking bays in Finsbury Circus....the time I get in there are only one or two bikes in the whole circus, so finding a place where I could park it up to the edge of a bay and open the door would not be a problem in my case...though I concur it could be a problem for others.

Alright fella! However, you have to admit that you're one of the very few people where this makes any sense as a practical application....

For that money, you could have a GSXR 750 for £8K for those summer days, and still have £19K left to get something 4-wheeled and more useful.

I do think the Carver is a fantastic thing, but just £12K too much......

[CivPilot]

mrmaggit said:

Don't forget that the Grinnall Scorpion is also Congestion Charge exempt, and costs a considerable amount less than £27k.

And is enormous fun to drive. (I also drive a Griffith 500, the Scorp' is more fun).

And the Scorpion is British Built.

Well the Carver's in the uk are put together by ProDrive in Banbury

[jeremyc]

Here is Ted's original road test, from back in 2003. There was a bit of discussion then as well.

Mind you, it was 'only' £22K back then .....

[apprentice]

jeremyc said:

.....Mind you, it was 'only' £22K back then .....

That was what Carver NL were intimating for the base model, however the UK specced model with bits and pieces added, was up around the £27-28k mark.

I am also reminded that Moleys were conducting about a gazillion test drives a week, but their conversion ratio was pitiful!!

apprentice

[xiphias]

FestivAli said:

Sounds like an absolute laugh, so naturally I want one. All it needs is winglets to hold the missiles and I'd top gun any bastard sitting 10 kays under the limit on a single carriageway...

Fox 3!

Fox 2 surely?

[kentviking]

GingerNinja said:

kentviking said:

Dear Mr GingerNinja

try as you might to put me off the idea I will merely elaborate on my last post to say that it would be no problem 99.99% of the time for me to park this thing in one of several rather large bike parking bays in Finsbury Circus....the time I get in there are only one or two bikes in the whole circus, so finding a place where I could park it up to the edge of a bay and open the door would not be a problem in my case...though I concur it could be a problem for others.

Alright fella! However, you have to admit that you're one of the very few people where this makes any sense as a practical application....

For that money, you could have a GSXR 750 for £8K for those summer days, and still have £19K left to get something 4-wheeled and more useful.

I do think the Carver is a fantastic thing, but just £12K too much......

You are, of course, totally correct...its just that despite holding a full bike license the wife and 4 kids have prevented me from being able to use it (edited to say on safety grounds, not seat requirements)....I have a moped in the garage that's used once a year to get the service/MOT done and maybe on only one or two other occassions in the year. I am not defending the price (it is expensive) but in my (near unique) case a carver would actually pay for itself vs driving a car to work (not vs a motorbike).

Edited by kentviking on Friday 22 September 11:11

[RTH]

It is not exempt from the congestion charge. It does not officially qualify for free parking. It is a variant of the Copen engine. There is an optional extra chip/boost pressure upgrade giving about 20 BHP more which can be factory ordered. The standard clutch /drivetrain does not lend itself to boost pressures in excess of that level whilst retaining reliability so is not recommended. If you spec the car with all the factory options it is up to £33,500. They are currently, just started, in production of the new Carver One which has 80 % component changes from the 4 prototype cars currently in the UK. Prodrive are involved as consulting engineers and have had considerable input and it is being built in an all new Prodrive factory in Germany. World wide production target at present is 600 units per year. With approx 1/3rd of that for UK

more details

www.carver-uk.com

[GingerNinja]

Well this is confusing:

# What type of licence plate will I receive with the Carver One?

For tax reasons, the Carver One is classified as a motorcycle (or trike) in most countries. In most EU countries the Carver One receives a licence plate with the same format and numbering as a car. In Belgium, however, the Carver One comes with a motor cycle licence plate. In the Dealer section you can find country-specific information that is updated as it becomes available.
# What driver's licence do I need to drive a Carver One?

In Europe, a car driver's licence is required to drive a Carver One.
In the USA most states require either a car licence or a motorcycle licence. In the Dealer section you can find country-specific information that is updated as it becomes available.


...so is it officially a car or motorbike or trike in this country? I guess the answer to that will dictate whether it's congestion charge excempt, although I've no idea whether trikes are actually excempt or not....

[RTH]

It does not fit in to a neat catagory. Road tax in UK is £60.00 p.a as a trike standard car number plate on the rear , no number plate required on the front of the car. In the channel islands for instance they do not recognise it as a tricyle as their upper unladen weight is 500 kgs and the Carver weighs 670kgs (similar to an early Elise )

Application for congestion charge exemption was lodged and refused