Yahoo Autos This Wild Concept Imagines a Three-Wheeler That Leans 52 Degrees
Sometimes you see a transportation concept so wild, you can't help but be awestruck by it. The Narrow Tilting Vehicle with Non-Tilting Wheels (or NTVWNTW, for short) is one such concept. It marries the enclosed body of a car with the tilting ability of a superbike, and it's all sorts of wacky.
The NTVWNTW is the work of Flordia invetor Frank Knisley, and only exists in scale-model form currently. Knisely's also considering calling it the Project 52. It uses car tires in an motorcycle-esque arrangement of two, a car-like arrangement of four, or Knisley's favorite, two in front and one in the back.
The passenger compartment is fully enclosed and uses hydraulic actuators to tilt up to 52 degrees. Sensors measure road conditions and G-Forces to adjust the tilt angle on the fly. In an email to Road & Track, Knisely explained his logic.
"The whole purpose of the design is to direct the cornering force at the center of inline or between side-by-side wheels at the contact surface for ultimate traction at an imaginary pivot axis, for vehicle equilibrium, like a running horse"
Knisley isn't the first to attempt an ultra-narrow vehicle, or a car that tilts, but no one has married the two ideas quite like this. The thinking behind the NTVWNTW is that it offers the benefits of a motorcycle–lane splitting, efficiency,and quick handling, in this case–with the safety of a car.
Knisely also believes that he can use the tilting cabin concept to help trains corner more quickly. He also wants to build a Le Mans racer using the same concept.
Is this concept feasible? Perhaps not, but the logic here is very intriguing. We'd certainly love to take a prototype for a spin.
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