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Poject 32 Slalom™ s a high-performance
three-wheel vehicle that banks into curves like a motorcycle. Up to its limit of
lean, occupants feel none of the sideways turn-forces experienced in ordinary
automobiles. And in very sharp turns taken at the friction limit of the tires,
lateral forces on occupants reach only half that experienced in a conventional,
non-tilting vehicle.
In addition to a more comfortable ride, tilting in curves
gives P32 superior resistance to rollover. Consider that a motorcycle has no
side-by-side wheels, yet it doesn't flip over in a turn. This is due to the
motorcycle's angle of lean, or tilt, which keeps it in balance with the vector of forces
in a turn. Project 32 Slalom takes corners in much the same way. By tilting,
P32 can zoom through corners, and match the rollover resistance of high-performance
four-wheel automobiles.
P32's patented suspension
breakthrough comes from Larry K. Edwards, founder and owner of
Transit Innovations. Edwards is responsible for other cutting-edge vehicle
technologies, as well. He led the Lockheed team that developed the Polaris
missile and the Agena D rocket, and later, served as Director of Engineering at NASA on
the Space Shuttle program. His land transportation designs include the
Gravity-Vacuum Transit system, a patented 400-mph underground tube train, and the System
21 monobeam urban rail system.
We joined the Project 32 development effort early on to create the preliminary vehicle
layout and styling, develop a 3-D computer model, and to help define design parameters
that would best take advantage of the vehicle's ability to lean into turns. The
vehicle's best asset, its ability to lean into curves, proved to be one of the biggest
styling challenges.
Edwards' wish list included side-by-side seating and enclosed rear wheels. But
side-by-side seating implies a body that is wide enough for two, which limits the ability
to lean and maintain adequate ground clearance. The problem was solved by keeping
the occupants close to the centerline, and using the radius established by the roll of the
body during lean to establish the shape underneath it. This resulted in a design
that maintains equal ground clearance throughout tilting movements.
The next challenge had to do with the enclosed rear wheels. The ballooned out
rear fenders solved the problem to give jounce clearance, even at maximum tilt. In
addition, they extend forward to provide extra room across the seating area while keeping
the body narrow up front for low aerodynamic drag. Slalom's shape was largely
dictated by mechanical necessities in the classic "form follows function" design
philosophy.
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