‘I've never had so much fun in a car', presenter Jeremy Clarkson said about the Carver in the TV programme Top Gear. This ground-breaking vehicle, a cross between a motorbike and a car, was developed by Spark in collaboration with Carver Engineering. The Carver steers like a car, tilts like a motorbike in the corners and flies like a jet along the road. Above all, however, the Carver is an innovative future-oriented, sustainable concept. 

The Carver began as a figment of Anton van den Brink’s imagination; he marvelled about the fact that every year cars become bigger and heavier, while 90 percent of the time only one or two people are actually driving in them. This led to a new three-wheeled vehicle concept with the tilting sensation of a motorbike and the comfort and safety of a car. The narrow, lightweight cab, with two seats placed one in front of the other has minimal drag and occupies very little space on the road.

Styling studies
Based on this layout, Spark used styling studies to investigate possible structures for the exterior and the interior of the Carver. These design studies were followed by the definitive working-out of the exterior in 3D CAD. With this in place, the moulds for the body could be milled. The bold look of the Carver in combination with the unique tilting mechanism have been well-received world wide.

Underpinning the unique tilting mechanism is the patented Dynamic Vehicle Control (DVC) system by Carver Engineering. The rear section of the Carver, with the two rear wheels and the drive train, remains on the ground and is hydro-mechanically connected to the cab. During driving the DVC system distributes the turning of the steering wheel between the angular deviation of the front wheel and the tilting angle of the cab, depending on the speed and the acceleration of the vehicle. What’s more, the single front wheel tilts with the body of the car in the corners. In this way, the cab of the Carver can lean to a maximum of 45 degrees on both sides in the bends for optimal stability on the road. Apart from being a unique and spectacular vehicle, above all the Carver is a demonstrator of the technology of the DVC system.

Sustainable concept
The sustainable and future-oriented concept behind the Carver has been reflected in several concept cars and prototypes in recent years - narrow vehicles with two seats, one behind the other, and a tilting body. Indeed, the Carver was a model for the titling three-wheeled CLEVER (Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport), developed by a European consortium with car manufacturer BMW, and the Persu Hybrid from the US. Persu Mobility bought a licence from Carver Engineering in order to make use of the titling technology. Comparable concepts can be seen in the pre-production model Lumeneo Smera, the prototype NARO by the Narrow Car Company and Nissan’s concept car, the LandGlider.

In addition, the basic concept of the Carver One is being studied in emerging economies such as China and India, where the number of cars on the road will increase drastically in the coming decades. The original Carver One still has a legion of loyal fans who have come together in initiatives such as CarverOne Club Europe.

Flying car
Spark also owns a Carver, as company car and demonstration vehicle, to show that sustainability can also be cool and sporty. Furthermore, the Carver, with its tilt technology, forms the basis for the PAL-V, a ‘flying car’ that Spark has developed together with PAL-V Europe NV.