Their was a homebuilt 3 wheeler on Ebay a couple of years ago built for grins and giggles by a Ford Enganeer. it was Tadpole, Cro-Mo Chassis, bubble Canopy ( Sonerai or RV-4 homebuilt aircraft is my guess), Lotus 7 front suspension parts, and a Kawasaki 250cc engine in the rear.
He claimed 125mpg on the highway and was asking $12,000.
Yes this is do-able, CNG will make it even more of a quantum leap.
But you and I would agree, I think their price-point is way off. And, they are very coy about what engine etc they are using. My guess maybe Generac.
IMHO the people to pull this off who should buy the whole Shaboygan and it is a can-do culture is Polaris Industries. IMHO with their foray into electric / over-sized golf carts for the streets and their ATV DNA, they are natural, and I have been saying for EON's they are a threat to the big three that no one sees coming...
One more thing, can you see the Lotus 7 DNA in this thing? I can, and in other high mileage vehicles and conversations that I can't get into here....
Makes sense. They already have the Spyder trike.
But they weren't shooting for mileage, just a motorcycle experience for older folks. I'm sure they did their market research. I'm surprised that their research didn't tell them that there is a market for high-mileage, covered trikes. I would definitely go for one, if they can get anywhere near that price point.
I can certainly see “Super 7” in this Elio ... the engine seems made for turbocharging ... just get me a set of “R” compound tires and a week to tune the suspension! I could probably gain 50-70% on the hp and salvage 80%+ of the mpg by simply having dual modes in the computer or branch off to “sport” mode when the TPS registers greater than 50% or anytime the MAP sensor shows positive values... with no more than a 40-50 lb. weight gain. It would be SWEET with a CVT...nothing to upset the suspension mid corner.