Trimuter
A Gasoline or Battery-Electric Three Wheel Car
 

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Trimuter was introduced on the cover of Mechanix Illustrated magazine in February, 1980. Within months, Trimuter car clubs began to appear across the country, a few states changed motor vehicle code to accommodate the three-wheel design, and prefab bodies and chassis soon became available from independent manufacturers. When Mechanix Illustrated changed their logo to become Home Mechanix in 1985, Trimuter retained its position as the most popular project in the 75-year history of the magazine.
         Trimuter differs from its forerunners by having three wheels instead of four - one front and two rear. This distinctive layout leads to the car's striking and efficient wedge shape. It also means that Trimuter is a motorcycle and not a car in the eyes of the federal government. This saves on license fees and makes vehicle inspections less stringent. Other benefits include a chassis that is lighter, more simplified, and slightly more efficient than an equivalent four-wheel chassis. In addition, Trimuter can be built as either a conventional gasoline powered car or a battery-electric vehicle. The body and chassis are designed to accept either power system, and plans provide complete details for both. The ICE version, powered by a 16-hp, two-cylinder industrial engine, delivers 50 miles to a gallon of regular gasoline - about the same as a large motorcycle. The electric version uses ten 6-volt batteries and runs 60 miles on a charge. Either version can top 60 mph. Cost to build the car will be more for the electric version, which is due mainly to the cost of batteries. Figure about $3,500 or so for the electric version and about $2,500 - $3,000 for the gasoline version.
         Trimuter was featured on the cover of Mechanix Illustrated magazine, February 1980, and it was used as a background vehicle in the movie Total Recall. The body is built of the same FRP/urethane foam composite used to build the other vehicles in the series. For more information on the body construction method, click on One-Off Construction Using FRP/Urethane Foam Composite.
 

* ICE: Internal combustion engine
** EV: Electric vehicle