This three-wheeler was ahead of its time, but nobody wants it
Traffic congestion is not a new problem for modern people living in urban areas nowadays only, it has emerged and has been a problem for a long time. So that many solutions have been tried to solve this, apart from public transport and carpooling, is by creating alternative motorized vehicles that are in a compact (small) size but reliable as a means of daily transportation.
1957 Jurisch Motoplan, a tiny three-wheeler prototype designed by a German engineer named Carl Jurisch. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/31EzjYL)
Like that we can currently see in the form of the small-sized vehicles from Lit Motors to the new single-seat vehicle designs are being worked on by the Japanese carmaker giants like Toyota right now. Turns out that the idea is not new, it could be seen in the figure of a charming one-seater three-wheeler made in 1957.
Only three prototypes of the 1957 Jurisch Motoplan have ever been built, and only one of them has survived. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/31EzjYL)
The vehicle in question is the 'Motoplan,' a single-seater three-wheeler is designed and built by a German engineer named Carl Jurish who believes that single-seat vehicles are the future of transportation. Besides being a talented engineer, it turns out he is also a motorcycle racer.
Previously, he had built his own motorcycle from scratch at the age of 23, as well as witnessed automobiles becoming immensely popular in post-war Germany. Then he looked for ways to redesign a car to make it more like a motorcycle. This futuristic vehicle appears with a full of innovative quirky designs.
1957 Jurisch Motoplan uses a 173 cc single-cylinder Heinkel engine and put out just under 10hp coupled with 4-speed manual gearbox. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/31EzjYL)
Yes, the vehicle was built by using an old motorcycle sidecar. Instead of a steering wheel, it had handlebars that looked more like controls on an airplane. Due to its really small size, so there is no room to pin a regular fuel tank, Jurisch designed the tank to be mounted at the back and pop up. Then the engine is installed openly like a puzzle box, with a canopy, tail unit, seat, and fuel tank that swivels up for easy access.
1957 Jurisch Motoplan can reach speeds of 55 miles per hour (88.51 kph) and presumably got good gas mileage as well. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/31EzjYL)
Only three prototypes have ever been built, and only one of them has survived. It uses a 173 cc single-cylinder Heinkel engine and put out just under 10hp coupled with 4-speed manual gearbox. When we talk about its performance, it can reach speeds of 55 miles per hour (88.51 kph) and presumably got good gas mileage as well. However, You could not hope it runs nimbly on the highway, due to it might look like a turtle in there.😆
1957 Jurisch Motoplan did not succeed in getting the attention of the automotive industry to produce it, because they thought the design was not attractive enough. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/31EzjYL)
When it was just finished, the designer took the prototype to a popular German auto magazine and asked them to take a look, but all he got was ridicule. Then Jurisch had also sent the car to a motorcycle dealer in New York, hoping to get better results.
But Americans preferred big-sized car models with tailfins, and even automotive advertising scripts at the time emphasized car length as a selling point. It seemed that 1957 was not the best time to sell tiny cars. Sadly, nobody wants Motoplan and no one was interested in their designs. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | FASTCOMPANY.COM]
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