Cheetah travels up to 110 km/h
VW Up as a tricycle – a car for 16 year olds
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At the age of 16, driving is still forbidden in Germany. Unless you're behind the wheel of a tricycle. That could also have been a VW Up.
With the “small” A1 motorcycle license, you can drive a car from the age of 16. At least when it is a lightweight vehicle or a tricycle. The German manufacturer Geparda offers the latter based on the VW Up.
Geparda visually fills the empty wheel arches of the VW Up with covers painted in the vehicle color.
(Photo: Cheetah)
To ensure that the VW Up is formally considered a three-wheeler, Geparda makes some modifications. The most important measure concerns the rear axle, where the two wheels are not located at the ends of the body as usual, but rather at a minimal distance below the rear of the vehicle. This turns the twin tires into one wheel and the vehicle into a tricycle. A stabilizer on the front axle and special springs on the rear axle are intended to ensure solid driving behavior.
Even in difficult situations, the tricycle does not tip over
On the Geparda website there are videos of driving dynamics tests in which the tricycle, more precisely the L5E vehicle, does not tip over on its side even in difficult situations. Basically, the conversion also offers factory-installed safety technology with ABS, ESP and airbags, which promises a significantly higher level of safety compared to most L6e and L7e vehicles.
Although the rear axle is equipped with two wheels, they are formally considered one wheel thanks to their relative proximity.
(Photo: Cheetah)
In addition to the chassis conversion, the performance of the gasoline engine must be limited to 15 kW/20 hp in order to receive approval as an L5e vehicle. Although the one-liter three-cylinder engine performs significantly less than intended ex works, the Geparda should reach speeds of up to 110 km/h. The manufacturer also promises harmonious power development.
“I have already traveled with the prototypes to Hamburg, Munich, Zwickau, i.e. all over Germany,” said Geparda founder Holger Görtz to the “Frankfurter Neue Presse” in February 2024. The vehicle would have also been on an ADAC test site, and a few things would have been changed after that, says Görtz. The Bad Homburg-based company is currently offering two converted VW Ups with around 25,000 kilometers on the clock at prices around 23,000 euros.
