From the archives of Bob Montgomery
THREE WHEELED CARS: The history of three-wheeled automotive devices is curious. They seem to have evolved from two distinct directions: firstly, the earliest attempts to produce a practical self-powered vehicle for which they appeared to offer a simple approach. Secondly, cycles had evolved considerably by the time that thoughts turned to powered cycles, and in such cases the attraction of a third wheel for stability had its attractions.
Thus, in the early annals of automotive history the tricycle motorcycle had a distinct part to play.
In fact, Cugnot's steam carriage, built in 1769 and generally regarded as the first self-propelled vehicle, was a three-wheeler driven by its single front wheel. Likewise, Karl Benz's first vehicle, built in 1885, was also a tricycle steered by its front wheel and driven by a belt drive to its rear wheels.
It would seem that a majority of the earliest self-propelled vehicles were three-wheelers, including Leon-Bollée in France and Knight in Britain.
Undoubtedly, three-wheelers offered several engineering advantages over four wheelers. The first was their simplicity and light weight - important when your engine produces only a handful of horse power! They tended to utilise simple belt or chain drive and thus were compact, lightweight and of relatively high mechanical efficiency.
But it was these very virtues which condemned the three-wheeler to be typecast in a rather uncomplimentary fashion. As power outputs grew, the inadequacies of belt and chain drive became more apparent and represented the weak points of designs which were growing ever bigger. The development of the differential opened the way for four-wheeled cars which grew bigger and more powerful than chain or belt drive could ever have handled successfully.
So it was that the three-wheeler, after a first blaze of glory, became relegated to a second division of motoring's hierarchy, a plaything for the less-well-off motorist.
There were notable exceptions, of course.
The Leon Bollée three-wheeled voiturette of 1898 was probably the fastest vehicle that could be bought in its day, and enjoyed a reputation as a sporting vehicle.
It had its two wheels at the front where they provided the essential stability, although the poor passenger sat between them with his legs sticking ominously far out the front without any protection whatsoever. Nevertheless, the Leon Bollée was one of the most successful tri-cars of all.
The other, and most successful tri-car of all was the British Morgan. Like the Bollée, the Morgan had its two wheels at the front and developed an excellent reputation as a swift, good-handling sportscar for those of modest means. Its continued success in competition from the 1910s up to the 1950s assured its reputation and, happily, Morgan is still making desirable sports cars, although today's Aero Morgan is a far, far cry from the company's origins in three-wheeler motoring.
Despite the success of these two vehicles other successful three-wheelers have been few and far between down the years - one exception being the little chain-driven Messerschmitt economy car.
Perhaps the most extraordinary three-wheeler was Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion built for the 1934 World's Fair in New York. The Dymaxion was full of innovative features but an unfortunate accident doomed it, like all tri-cars, to be a footnote in mainstream motoring history.