The BMW Six is a sonic delight, but the gear whine and other unfiltered noises that make their way to ears is at times oppressive and makes one wish for a helmet and/or ear plugs. The Slingshot is a full second slower, which is the difference between merely quick and seriously quick. Campagna says it can scream through the quarter-mile in 12.6 seconds, and it feels that quick from the behind the wheel. With only about 1200 pounds for 160 hp to carry around, the T-Rex is a seriously fast machine. Once underway, the BMW powertrain is a veritable gem, erupting in a wonderfully stimulating whoop as it races toward its 8500-rpm redline. This provided a steadier and more efficient source of engines than relying on buying whole bikes. Cirbin had an engine supply agreement with Harley-Davidson for the liquid-cooled V-Rod Revolution motor, receiving whole powertrains from Milwaukee. The acquisition merged the two brands, with the Cirbin V13R adopting the Campagna brand and production relocating to Boucherville, Quebec. After Kawasaki replaced the ZX-11 with the ZX-12R in 2000, Campagna followed suit in 2002 with the bigger engine.Įxcluding a limited run of 10 vehicles in 2003 that used S&S V-Twins, Campagna stuck to Kawasaki engines for several years, replacing the 1200cc engine with the ZX-14’s powerplant in 2007.Ī year later, Campagna was purchased by Cirbin Motors, another Quebec company that built three-wheelers helmed by André Morissette and David Neault. In 1999, the T-Rex switched to a Kawasaki ZX-11 engine, adding a ram-air intake to the roll cage above the seats. Over the next two decades, Campagna went through several different powertrains in search of improved performance as well as steady supply. The first production T-Rexes in 1995 were equipped with Suzuki GSX-R1100 engines, with Campagna buying complete bikes and harvesting the motors. Me, at a thin 5-foot-8, slid right in, and no helmet is needed in California. Tall people who live in states or countries that require helmets in three-wheelers might have trouble fitting comfortably. That’s nearly half a foot shorter than a Ferrari 458, meaning generously sized drivers might want to hit a yoga class before trying to get behind the (removable) wheel. Campagna’s racing roots forced a low center of gravity, resulting in the T-Rex’s stated height of just 42 inches. The T-Rex was originally designed by Daniel Campagna, a friend and former mechanic for Gilles Villeneuve when the F1 driver was racing snowmobiles. But while the Morgan offers relatively easy ingress due to its roofless design (and the Slingshot even more so), the T-Rex challenges limberness by forcing a body to climb through and under a roll cage. The other price to pay for a higher-performance three-wheeled sports car is its dedication to lightness, which mandated a tidy footprint and, hence, a tight cockpit, though not nearly as cramped laterally as the Morgan 3-Wheeler we tested a couple of years ago. To those who decry the Slingshot’s PWC-like build quality and pedestrian powertrain, here’s the retort – and its attendant surcharge. Those who saw my recent review of the latest top-line Slingshot SLR will notice it’s half the price of the T-Rex. We tested the 16SP version, which adds adjustable dampers with remote reservoirs, a shorter-turn rack-and-pinion steering rack, uprated brakes and special wheels for an MSRP of $63,999. The MSRP for the T-Rex 16S starts at $57,999, and it’s a wild-looking vehicle (autocycle is the latest descriptor and a term adopted by 40 states, says Polaris’ Slingshot crew) powered by BMW’s wonderfully whooping inline-six-cylinder motor claiming 160 hp at its crankshaft from its 1649cc. Of course, like all great things, there’s a price to pay for the privilege. The visually arresting T-Rex isn’t practical or cheap, but driving it is the most fun you can have on three tires while holding a steering wheel. In fact, if anyone ever reviews one of these and doesn’t take it on a really twisty road, their findings will be worthless to anyone with a sporting bone in their body. That, as it turned out, was a smart choice, as the T-Rex is one of the most exhilarating motor vehicles you can aim down the road – the twistier, the better. Okay, so it’s got a steering wheel and bucket seats, but it’s classified as a motorcycle in many states, and we weren’t going to turn down a chance to drive a lightweight three-wheeled car powered by a six-cylinder engine from BMW’s K1600 touring platform.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |