The Solo Electric Three-Wheeled Car Is Coming to the States

Three-wheeled cars have always been something of an oddity that’s hard to classify. On one hand, since they’re technically classified as motorcycles, the licensing rules are relaxed and you get better gas mileage. On the other hand, there’s no full-scale safety testing and there are two different three-wheeled cars on The 10 Worst Cars Ever Made. Canadian manufacturer Electra Meccanica is looking to change that perception with the upcoming Solo electric car. The most important aspect of this “car” is the fact that it looks like a car from the front as the single wheel is in the rear, which also prevents it from tipping like the Reliant Robin. This design configuration also makes it operate just like a car with familiar steering and braking as you go from 0-60 mph in 10 seconds on your way to a top speed of 80 mph. Performance figures aren’t really the point of the Solo, though. It’s all about giving you the ease of parking and gas mileage from a motorcycle with the creature comforts of a car (air conditioning, Bluetooth stereo, rear-view camera, an actual trunk). When you factor in the reduction in your personal carbon footprint and an estimated price of less than $20k this is actually a vehicle we might see on city streets later this year.