Carver One: Dutch Courage

By Feann Torr - 19/Mar/2007

Dordrecht, Netherlands — Being a lover of all things motorised - boats, planes, and especially cars and motorbikes - I was struck by a sense of bewilderment when I laid my eyes on the Carver One.

Followed by intense lust.

As the production version of this amazing vehicle was launched at the 77th Geneva International Motor Show, I realised I needed one. Combining the car and motorcycle world's with Dutch ingenuity is this utterly intriguing vehicle that utilises mechanical-hydraulic pumps to 'tilt' the car as it as goes round corners. 

Why drive when you can carve?

I've got to say it - this thing is mad. Totally mad. It just looks like so much fun, and plenty thrilling too.

Sadly though, at present there are no distributors in Australia. In fact the only Asia-Pacific reseller at the moment is located in Japan, so unless you have deep pockets and a love of leafing your way through paperwork and bureaucratic red tape, the chances of getting one Down Under are slim at this stage.

Still, this thing is cool, which is why we've dedicated a page to it. And if demand increases, there could be a Carver Club in Australia before the decade's out.

In practice this Dutch vehicle is usually classified as a trike, but depending on the country you within which you register it, you may need either a car or a motorbike license - most places require a car license though. 

No safety gear or helmet is needed when piloting the Carver One - it's makers have done basic crash testing and it's best to think of it like a race car. It's got seat belts and a rigid steel cage, and that's it. Suffice it to say, it'd be safer than a motorbike in the event of a crash.

Anyone who is fascinated by physics and engineering will dig this: it goes round a corner with the two rear wheels flat on the road, just like a car; the rear tyres are car tyres. Up front however, the single wheel and tyre is from a motorcycle, and together with the Carver's fuselage it's angle tilts like a motorbike to negate the overturning torque that is usually exerted on the front wheels of a car. 

So, while the rear section of the car - including the engine, the wheels, and the hydraulic system - sit flat on the road, the front wheel and cabin actually bank like a jet fighter or a motorbike through a corner. And the result? A flowing drive like no other, and according to some reports it's more fun than a Ferrari.

But how does it all work? 

Hydraulics, (pressurised oil). According to the Carver website, it uses an advanced Dynamic Vehicle Control (DVC) system, which involves a mechanical-hydraulic system that "distributes the driver's input or steering torque between the front wheel steering angle and the cockpit tilt angle". Got that?

This mechanical-hydraulic system tilts the Carver's fuselage depending not on how far you turn the car-like steering wheel, but how quickly. The steering style and physics that work on the front end are akin to those of a motorcycle, while the rear is a separate section that houses the engine and two car tyres. Very cool.

Power comes from a 660cc turbocharged, intercooled four-stroke petrol engine (the same one from the smart car? we're not sure...) that kicks out 50kW (68hp) @ 6000rpm in its standard state of tune. 

Carver Europe can coax more go from the engine, liberating 62kW (85hp) of power @ 6400rpm and 117Nm of torque @ 3600rpm, and though the company hasn't released performance vital statistics, but most reports and road tests put the 0-100km/h dash at around 8.5 seconds. Not fast, but not slow either.

The controls are car-like, with clutch, brake and accelerator pedals, plus a manual gear shifter, and the Dutch company says it is working on an automatic version for release later in 2007.

Fuel consumption is claimed at 6L/100km, which means the Carver One would be very cheap to run, and it has a top of around 180km/h (120mph), which is pretty good. There are ventilated disc brakes on all three wheels, and because the Carver One isn't super heavy it's supposed to have strong deceleration. No ABS though.

One also wonders about the suspension rig on the Carver One, and how compliant it is. How would ruts in the road would affect its attitude half-way through a corner at full throttle - that is, tilted right over? There are a number of French and British YouTube videos that show the Carver One from both inside the cockpit and outside, but most of the footage seems to have been recorded onsmooth, high quality roads.

It's also a 2-seater, so you can share the thrills of leaning up to 45º with a friend - or an enemy if you like. You could even pick up a hitchhiker and freak the bejesus out of them - but I should mention that there's bugger-all room for luggage their luggage, so you may have to torch that.

Standard features of the Carver One include a removable hardtop roof for summer time fun, there's the leather-covered Momo steering wheel, plus there's electric windows, a built-in class III remote control alarm with remote control power door lock, quad instruments cluster (engine temperature, fuel gauge, speedometer/odometer and tachometer/rev counter), dashboard 'carving' LED indicators with audible signals, heating/ventilation and a windshield defroster, plus front and rear seatbelts, a 12V socket and tyre repair kit.

There are a couple of options that Carver Europe offers with this vehicle - and yes, there's currently only one model with a production run of about 500 per year. The options include things like special paint jobs, different wheel packs, a trendy rear spoiler, leather/suede upholstery, there's even a roll-up soft top, plus additional dashboard instruments, radio/CD/MP3, custom-made luggage, engine tuning and yes, even a navigation system.

Carver Europe talks about surfing through roundabouts and snowboarding round corners in this thing, and I must admit the more I learn about this thing, the more I want to have a go. And how much? Well, if you imported one from Europe they'd set you back a fair wad of cash - about £28,000 for the kit and then who knows how much in taxes, import duties and what not. So that roughly translates to about $70,000 without all the shipping costs and ADR compliance tests. 

Excuse me while I call my bank manager...

Related articles:
- Carver Website