Zap! Xebra 3-wheeled Electric Vehicle photographed in the wild!

I recently spied this beauty on Sloat Boulevard in San Francisco and forced my good friend Dani to capture it on video for me.

Check the US importer's Web site for more info:

http://www.zapworld.com/

Note that the answer to the question posed in the video, "Why does it have such a small license plate?" Should have been obvious to me: Anything with less than four wheels is legally considered a motorcycle, and must be registered as such.

I have a sick fascination with three-wheeled cars. I say "sick" because they're generally awful. If I was going to buy one, I'd get the gasoline-powered Wildfire, which at least theoretically has the potential to almost be operated at freeway speeds:

http://www.wildfiremotors.com/

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Zap!
• three-wheeled
• EV
• zero emissions
• vehicle
• Wildfire
• Xebra
• electric car
• Zapcar
• Zipcar

[SuperBumProductions]

Dam American COPIED THE RELIANT ROBIN TRULY A BRITISH! CAR!

[FormerlyFlightsuit]

@SuperBumProductions The Xebra is imported from China, where it is only one of many, many three-wheeled car and truck designs.

[lustreboy]

haha that's brilliant!! reminds me of the UK's Reliant Robin, which is the laughing stock of the roads, but goes like shit off a shovel in a straight line!

not so good on the corners though

this things a funky little moke ;)

[FormerlyFlightsuit]

Ah, the Reliant Robin! Now that is one very interesting piece of automotive history right there. Regarding the inherent handling issues of three-wheeled cards, check out the videos on the Zap Alias, which addresses that concern by putting two wheels up front and having a single rear wheel that's about as wide as a steamroller's!

[lustreboy]

wow, that Alias is one mean machine eh? I want one!!!

[FormerlyFlightsuit]

Modern cars are way too heavy, due to all the government-mandated safety equipment. Look at the average economy car today, compared to back in the 1980s, and you'll see that even the smallest, thriftiest cars are 500 to 1000 pounds heavier than their predecessors. This is one reason it makes so much sense to build a 3-wheeler that's not technically a car in the eyes of the government.

[ZAPalias]

It was at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this year and interest is building. There are about 4 models built and the competition vehicle is being built for the Automotive X Prize.

[medeirosginny]

Love it! I drive a 100% 2006 Electric ZAP Xebra

too. It is my only auto, and boy do I save $. For my driving its "perfect". I put about 700 miles a month on mine. You may check out my video's on youtube. blue skies/Ginny

[medeirosginny]

Love it... I drive a 2006 ZAP Xepra 3wheel truck. It is my only auto! also on youtube blue skies/Ginny

[FormerlyFlightsuit]

The new sports car looks fantastic, and as somebody who's owned a two-seat sports car in the past, I must say I was pleasantly surprised to see that this new machine has a third seat in the back. That will really enhance the car's usefulness. Hopefully the Automotive X Prize will do for Zap what the Ansari X Prize did for Scaled Composites.