Carver One
Aaron Weddell checks out the tilting three-wheeler -- he rather likes it
Carver One
Southend sea-front, the year is 1986 and, thanks to an Oscar-worthy tantrum, I have managed to free a couple of shiny twenty pence pieces from my father’s pocket.
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I make a beeline for the shiniest and most elaborate cabinet in the whole place -- Outrun. Not only is it a chance for me to drive my first Ferrari, aged only six, but this is no ordinary game: the cabinet tips and lurches in response to the steering wheel inputs, making it an even more exciting prospect.
I deposit my 20p, pick Magical Sound Shower for my driving music, select manual gears (it’s not real driving otherwise -- I knew even then) and ten seconds later the cabinet rocks backwards in response to my full-bore blast off the starting grid. Fifteen seconds later my dad is pressing the ‘Motion Stop’ button in response to my terrified shrieking.
Déjà vu all over again
Fortunately 12 years later I found that Sega hadn’t really captured the reality of driving and subsequent journeys were, in the main, shriek-free. But as the shutter of écurie25’s Old Street premises raises and I see the Carver One emerge blinking into the sunlight I start to think that this might be Southend 1986 all over again.
You see, the Prodrive-produced Carver One is a tilting car. Yup, tilting is the new upright -- hot on the wheels of tilting trains Carver has brought us the tilting car.
There are two main sections to the vehicle. The engine is a four-cylinder 659cc turbocharged lump punting out 68bhp and 74lb-ft to the rear wheels -- this equates just over 100bhp per ton based on the dry weight of 670kg. Not exactly a featherweight considering it’s only 3.4m long and 1.3m wide but enough to endow it with respectable performance of 115mph top-end and a 0-60 of 8.2 seconds. Surprisingly, considering the compact dimensions, there is also a traditional five-speed manual gearbox.
The second section is the actual cabin which actually seats two -- being a MWV (Man Wide Vehicle) the seating is arranged one-behind-the-other which makes me think that perhaps a leather flight jacket and aviator shades may have been more appropriate attire than jeans and T-shirt.
Visually the car strikes you as something that's leapt from the pages of Judge Dredd into reality -- it really is that different from anything else on the road. As I reach for the door handle I am shocked back into the real world as there appears to be the chrome handle from an MGB or some such as a means of entry. A jarringly old school touch on such an ultra-modern vehicle.
Luxury?
Once inside though the driving position is somewhat unusual yet functional -- it feels a bit like I’d sitting on a dining room chair in front of the chunky Momo steering wheel but in order to accommodate two adults in any kind of comfort in a relatively short wheel base it is a necessity. Interior accommodation is relatively luxurious with leather trimmed door panels -- although there is only one door, on the left-hand side, as the right panel houses the gear stick -- leather seats, CD player and electric windows.
Safety equipment is noticeable by its absence -- there are no airbags nor electronic safety nets but then it is essentially a hand-built car and, even with Prodrive handling engineering and production as of the start of this year, build targets are projected at only 500 units per annum. That said, the structure itself is very rigid with a steel cage construction.
Time to put my trepidation to one side and to see how the Carver performs where it matters. On the road.
On the road
Up to 7mph the Carver remains fixed in the upright position making normal manoeuvring exactly that, so the first few moments familiarising oneself with the controls are pain-free. Spying a gap I ease out into the light early evening city traffic and as I accelerate past the magic speed while turning left, I experience my first taste of the Dynamic Vehicle Control.
The DVC adjusts the slant angle of the cockpit to the speed and acceleration of the vehicle enabling a jet fighter-aping 'tilting before cornering' -- the technical explanation offered by Carver is that ‘the driver's input or steering torque is distributed between the front wheel steering angle and the cockpit tilting angle. This distribution is automatically adjusted to varying speeds and road conditions to ensure an optimal balance at all times. At lower speeds the steering torque is directed to the front wheel angle and the passenger compartment remains upright. At higher speeds the steering torque is mainly directed to the tilt angle of the cockpit and rear wheel steering.’
The real life consequence of the DVC technology is that the car leans, you laugh like a maniac and people in the street stop and stare.
Initially I automatically react against the leaning and try and counter it by adjusting my steering inputs, which means I end up wobbling down the road rattling from side to side in a most ungainly manner. Still the laughing continues but it feels as odd as unicycling though the traffic for the first ten minutes or so.
Back end out
Leaning activates one of the cars most accessible features -- activating the series of LEDs, which illuminate relative to the lean angle four green, and four red left and right. My personal best over the week I had the Carver was just shy of maximum attack angle, with three of the four red LEDs complete with a cacophony of warning buzzers. And believe me, that took some doing although in time I am sure you could become more at ease with the handling and push things further still. If you go into a bend a little too fast, there's the tendency for a little apparent understeer to be thrown into the mix -- it’s something you have to adapt to as in reality it seems there it seems that as a curve tightens you just need to dial in a little more lock than you would first thing required.
On loose surfaces the rear pushes wide like a normal RWD motor although it has to be said that it’s not really a vehicle in which you should constantly be pushing the limits due to the question mark over exactly what may happen if you really overcook it in a major way.
One of the main points of concern I have to start is that the DVC allows tilting outside the normal wheelbase -- something that sounds potentially fraught in theory but in practice is not actually a problem due to the jet-fighter style canopy offering great all-round visibility. The lack of a rear view mirror takes some getting used to if you're not a biker.
After a period of familiarisation in city traffic it’s out onto the more open urban roads and the Carver really starts to come into its own. The turbo gives great mid-range flexibility with the maximum torque being available from just 2,750rpm. Out and out power isn't in the supercar league or even up with current crop of hot-hatches, but it's plenty brisk enough when coupled with the immediacy of the handling. You can flick from left to right with the transition from maximum angle each way in just one second, so weaving in and out of parked vehicles down narrow streets soon becomes second nature -- you could be chasing MIGs through the Grand Canyon rather than popping down to Tesco. Although heading down to the supermarket might not be a great idea due to the lack of luggage space unless you are flying solo and can use the passenger seat for storage as there is no space other than a tiny parcel shelf for suitable only for -- er -- tiny parcels.
The Carver is certainly not for shy and retiring types -- everywhere you pilot it eyes follow you. It’s not just car-types that notice it either, parked up at a country pub even old ladies stop to drink in the details. Visiting the petrol station is no longer a five minute activity as you are regularly mobbed by interested parties wanting to know quite what the Carver is -- on a couple of occasions I was pursued by other drivers to my destination just to have a chat.
Falling in love again
The main drawback is the cost -- £27,650 (inc VAT) for the base model is a lot even after taking two decades of inflation into account. But one b-road blast later I’m rummaging around down the back of the sofa cushions… to drive the Carver is to fall irrationally in love with it.
Considering the proliferation of speed cameras and the rising cost of petrol it almost makes perfect sense despite the practical limitations. 45mpg on the combined cycle and each journey comes complete with the thrill of a driving experience unlike no other and at any speed faster than 7mph.
Unfortunately Carver ownership is a long way off for me as my search yields barely enough for a game of Outrun at today’s prices. Perhaps now I’m ready.
- Thanks to www.ecurie25.co.uk
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.
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!
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.
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).
Again right, but experience is proving different...Ive just spoken with the UK dealers and while officialy the vehicle is not exempt they have found that they have yet to be fined for driving it into the zone without purchasing a ticket....the presumption being that the plates are photographed but when the fine processor checks the vehicle they see on the database that it is taxed and registered as a motorcycle...so maybe you "should" be charged, but you are likely to get away with it. If this thing starts to become popular though I can't imagine that loophole will not be picked up on.
Similarly re parking bays...the guys have been testing it by leaving it in free motorcycle bays and also discussions with traffic wardens who without fault have so far seemingly accepted that the motorcycle license renders it usable in the bays
One further benefit (useless to me, but not to some) is the fact that as the Inland Revenue classify the vehicle as a cycle under the road traffic act there is NO COMPANY CAR TAX to pay.
It will also be cheap to maintain...with servicing costs every 6k miles or 12 months that is likely to be in the £200-£300 territory
Does this mean you could dump a load of cash in a Carver as a company car and get away without paying BIK tax on it?
that's exactly what I understand it to be...apparently the same with any "company" bike!...call the distributor for details.
I'll be going out for a spin on Friday in one...will report back.
Initial impressions:
looks...wow...like something from the next century...wouldn't be surprised to see Luke Skywalker stepping out of it...got more looks and photographs on a 15 minute test drive than 2 years of Noble M12 ownership (but then I did drive the latter at ungodly hours in country lanes!). This was the pre-production version and certain things will change (like side air scoops to both sides not just the one!). I think the lights would benefit from being fared in and the front end would slightly better rounded than flattish...but that is just being picky...it looks quite simply like nothing else on the roads. Quite fancy one in matt black with black wheels and tinted windows...stealth carver...Should also mention that the electric windows drop down the whole way and the roof is removable (though not stowable with a passenger...although a soft top alternative is available)...with all that air breezing through it would feel very much like a bike with a wheel and no helmet required.
Being driven:
Paul took the wheel for the first part and showed me its capabilities in a traffic ridden and rain sodden central london. Have to say though that in slow speeds it was very smooth and comfortable even in the back...though after 30mins my legs were beginning to get a little uncomfortable...2 up would be for short journeys only (or plenty of brakes on a long journey). The whole experience seems very weird at first but you soon get used to it...and it brings a smile on every bend. Despite the conditions Paul managed to demo acute lean on plenty of roundabouts...it should make 45 degrees (but not advisable in the wet...we made it to about 40)...the back end would kick out if pushed too hard, but thankfully Paul was not trying to scare me till my trousers were tainted...but he showed me sufficiently what it could do. After half hour Paul let me have a go at the wheel.
Driving:
The controls are all car like. Momo wheel, standard instrumentation. 5 speed +reverse manual gearbox situated on the right(only one door on the left). Handbreak also down in the footwell on the right...so pretty much like a LHD car is laid out...though it feels more like an aircraft cockpit.
The controls all felt quite normal and natural...the gear lever was a little notchy and I struggled to find 3rd a couple of times, but it all felt quite natural. The clutch bite was also simple to find and feather with the throttle to hold on the few gentle slopes I had to contend with.
Pulling away the carver felt far more poky than 70bhp has any right to, despite holding two relatively large chaps inside (sorry Paul)...an upgrade to 85bhp is offered, but the standard seemed plenty enough to start...only with time and experience might I be tempted to upgrade. While in charge you notice that the smile reverts to a lot of giggling and laughter as you get used to the whole experience. I am certain however, that even when "used" to the carver it will be difficult to stop enjoying the experience...smiles per mile it must rank up there among the best of vehicles.
Under 5mph the carver stays upright and in my inexperienced hands it was all a little twitchy at first as the car seemed to hunt for the direct upright position...I did, however, get smoother over time and despite the brevity of my time at the wheel I experienced enough to know that driving smoothly should come with practice.
10mph and above it seemed well composed and a lot easier to keep smooth. The corners too take some practice to get right as one has to choose the appropriate "angle" of attack and maintain a consistent power to keep it smooth...again, sufficient improvement was gained in a short space to know that smooth driving should come with practice....then I can well imagine going on the hunt to light up all the red indicators for maximum lean.
I now need to have a few serious chats (and maybe a small test drive) with the wife (...shouldn't be a problem convincing the kids) and then I can seriously see myself popping along to Paul for an order - the only downsides for me and my needs are the price of the vehicle (which seems a little steep for 660cc, even with all the technology attached, and the sacrifice of some newspaper reading/sleeping time on the commuter train).
I will report back if I end up going for it, but I won't be making the decision for a few months.
I've taken the cheap four wheeled route and acquired a ridulous value Tvr Griff for a fraction of the asking on one of these. I may still want to try one out, but maybe a little while after the initial customers have ironed out any problems
Has it not struck anyone else that if you look at the Piaggio MP3 and Gilera Fuoco 500IE it should not take a genius at either of these companies to stretch their new 3 wheeled mopeds into fully enclosed commuting mobiles (a la BMW...but more so)...to be retailed at 10% the price of a carver, and with cheaper insurance and fuel economy...and guaranteed exclusion from congestion charging and parking issues (rather than the inconclusive claims of the carver)...not inconceivable to predict that we may be witnessing the dawn of a new commuter vehicle space in the personal transport arena to postpone the take up of electric vehicles.
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