The Three Wheel Revolution

Millions of urban dwellers around the world have adopted the scooter as their primary means of negotiating the crowded streets and limited parking of 21st-century cities. Given the scooter’s popularity everywhere from Rome to Bangkok, it may seem like changing to the vehicle’s design would be a fool’s errand. But three-wheeled scooters first designed in 2006 are finally starting to make headway in the North American market after garnering a dedicated following in Europe. While these three-wheelers may look a bit like a lunar module for the urban set, they combine the nimble steering and fuel economy of standard two-wheelers with the balance and stability of an automobile.

In hindsight, adding a third wheel may seem like an obvious way to give riders better balance. But creating a design that provided more stability without sacrificing a scooter’s capacity to tilt and turn was inherently complicated. Piaggio engineers came up with a patented suspension and steering system that does exactly that, allowing drivers to turn as they would in a standard two-wheeled scooter, but with a reduced chance of tilting too far and losing control. A locking system also kicks in when the scooter is at a full stop, so riders don’t have to bring their feet to the ground to stabilize the vehicle.

The market has been getting more crowded since Piaggio launched the three-wheeled MP3. In 2007, Can-Am, the Canadian manufacturer of recreational vehicles, added its own twist to the three-wheel concept with the Spyder, a motorcycle crossover with a front-end, two-wheel Y-axis powered by a 100-horsepower engine. Italian scooter-maker Quadro Vehicles first entered the fray in 2010, but recently introduced an on- and off-road scooter. In May, French automaker Peugeot released the Metropolis, a three-wheeler powered by a 400 cc engine.

These companies are betting on the same trend as Piaggio ­– namely, that three-wheeled scooters will benefit from a growing demand for a safe and fuel-efficient way to commute in congested cities. According to Piaggio, the U.S. scooter market grew by 8 percent in 2012 to 34,000 vehicles. With more brands introducing three-wheelers into the market, The Financialist highlights the new designs that could reshape urban commutes around the world.