The Urban Jet

The idea is compelling: a tilting three-wheeled vehicle that corners like a motorcycle but steers like a car. It’s been done before, in the form of the Dutch-built Carver One, but that company went bankrupt because its products were expensive and chewed through front tyres like a fat kid at the Cadbury factory.

Yet despite the narrow track titling vehicle concept being a hard sell, another company is attempting to create an 'urban mobility' trike.

And it’s electric, so you can hold onto those carbon credits.

The company is Cherban, and it’s concept vehicle is called the Urban Jet. As the name suggests, it’s fast, perhaps too fast. It’ll pull 100 kays from standstill in a claimed 3.5 seconds, and has a top speed of 240km/h (150mph).

Tipping the scales at 350kg, the Urban Jet is heavy for a motorcycle, but very light compared to an average compact car. Close to half the vehicle’s mass (142kg) is taken up by a large polymer lithium battery, which energises an electric motor that drives the rear wheels.

Cherban reckons the battery should be fully charged after 150 minutes using an American 110V socket. And how long till you run out of batteries and have to get it towed? About 350km, which is pretty decent for an electric vehicle.

Measuring 3.4m long this ain’t no scooter, but at just 85cm wide it’s very slim. The seating is longitudinal, so the passenger sits behind the driver, who controls the vehicle via handlebars rather than a steering wheel that other leaning trikes have favoured.

Inside the vehicle basic creature comforts are planned, such as seats and windows, plus a fancy-looking eight-inch LCD monitor hooked up to a infotainment and telephony system working with iPod and 3G connectivity. It is unclear whether air-conditioning will be offered.

This lightning quick vehicle hasn’t been built yet, but it’s designers reckon the two-seater vehicle will lean up to 45 degrees into corners and will be super light and potentially bulletproof, making it an ideal vehicle for Columbian politicians.

Occupants will be surrounded by an Aramid fibre shell - the same stuff used to make armoured vests, though using such materials would raise the price of the Urban Jet, making it less of an attainable weekend toy and more of a plaything for the absurdly rich.

The curious concept will be sprung by an anti-dive, a-arm front swing arm, while the two rear wheels are suspended more like a conventional car, with independent wishbone suspension. Disc brakes front and rear take care of deceleration and can also mildly recharge the batteries.

If they build it, we’re sure there’ll be plenty of punters wanting to ride it, but it depends on price, and these contraptions seldom come cheap. BMW developed the Simple and Clever concepts which are similar in execution to the Urban Jet, but even a company with deep pockets has not yet committed to such a design.

At this stage the Cherban is still looking for investors to come on board. A good start would be changing the company name -- it sounds like a malignant rodent.