Malcolm Newell's Tilting Three-wheeler (TTW)

This experimental machine was built in the early 1990's. Malcolm believed that this layout would give superior grip to a conventional 2-wheeler and allow the full performance of the device be exploited with a greater level of safety than was possible with a two-wheeler.

The device was built on the assumption that the best possible handling and road-holding would be achieved by using two wheels at the front, like a Morgan, rather than at the rear like a Reliant, but Malcolm's creation had the added advantages of a very narrow track, combined with front wheels that move independently, thus allowing the machine to lean through corners.  The suspension assemblies for the two front wheels are linked by a rocker so that as one wheel rises the other moves downwards.  This arrangement reduces the risk of over-turning, which would be inevitable with a conventional vehicle with a similarly narrow track width.

This prototype used a early Honda VF750 shaft-drive engine.  

Malcolm allegedly ran this machine on the lanes around his Wiltshire home in order to test the layout as the design evolved, however the project was unfinished at the time of his death and, although others vowed to continue with it, it has subsequently suffered the fate of so many of his creations and been lost to obscurity.

Since this time there has been a considerable rekindling of interest in tilting three-wheelers with both Mercedes and BMW building their own, (largely unsuccessful) versions, and more recently the 'Carver' has become the first commercially available model which successfully demonstrates the potential of the TTW package and this has been followed by teh very successful Aprillia MP3 and it's variants.

As always, it seems that Malcolm Newell was exploring unconventional personal transport solutions years or decades before they were adopted by the big manufacturers.

Last updated 5th Feb. 2008