Polaris slingshot... why are we not talking about this?!?!?!

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:

What fits into this category? If you mean new to new, I don't think that there is anything. If you mean new to used, this isn't terribly relative as we have gone over the new vs used argument 1000x!

singleslammer wrote: In reply to Fueled by Caffeine: What fits into this category? If you mean new to new, I don't think that there is anything. If you mean new to used, this isn't terribly relative as we have gone over the new vs used argument 1000x!

I did mean new to used. I'd cross shop it vs a miata or used S2000. This is GRM after all.

The idea would be for $X you can have this or that.

At that price, you might get a low end Fiesta ST? It would be an interesting comparisson. I'd like them to try and quantify the "driving Experience" I imagine the slingshot is big on fun and thrills, but wonder about it's ability to actually move around corners. Would be neat.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: You know, I'd love to see a back to back test with this car and comparable $20K or less "open air" experience roadsters. Especially on a track.

Miata and S2k are roadsters, but not at all an "open air experience" in the same sense as the Slingshot. The closest four wheeled competitors would be to build an Exocet or a Westfield/Locost.

In reply to Driven5:

That might be true but there aren't many/any turn key options with similar attributes for the money. An atom would qualify but it is 3x the cost.

The Miata outperforms it in every category

^^^You brought a 1.5 year old thread back from the dead for that?

Yes, yes I did.

Racer1ab wrote: I just want to show up at an MSF class with one and see their reactions. I can has motorcycle license plz?

Good luck passing the figure 8 test with that thing..

I have seen a few in person. They are kinda cool, but look really cheap. Only way I would buy one is if I lived at the beach and wanted something cool to cruise around in.

They do look cool from the front

Storz wrote: They do look cool from the front

The couple I have seen on the street, the owners were not wearing helmets, despite it being registered as a motorcycle.

There is a custom chopper shop on the same street as my office. The owner there alternates between an orange on and a black 944. See it all the time and just cant get behind it.

I'm dragging this up as my introduction, since it hasn't been discussed much.

My experience with GRM was limited to the Georgia Tech Challenge team, including the supercharged 2UZ Miata, the MGB, and the Insight.  At the time, I had crotch rocket for speed; school and work later kept me off the bike before any (inevitable)  injuries. I bicycled to work (pre-COVID), and my family needed the truck, so I began to look for unique alternatives.  Unfortunately, my new locality charges registration as a function of total vehicle value every single year, in addition to annual emissions tests -- both of which are prohibitively expensive.

I already had motorcycle endorsement and helmets, and a Slingshot, registered as a motorcycle, is exempt from those registration valuations and emissions appointments -- and quite attractive at the $16k new I was initially quoted.  Dealer wouldn't honor that by the time I got there, and the $19k + fees definitely hurts the evaluation.

It's exactly what you'd expect for a $19k retail, negligible volume, 3-wheeled car from an ATV company, with all the attendant lobbying expense.  Everything is contract manufactured in China to the absolute lowest bid.  Everything on it looks and feels cheap.  The body is heavy plastic off a (cheap) ATV.  The wheels are heavy and the finish is okay at best.  I wouldn't trust the tires.  The ride is atrocious for a <1700lbm car.  I don't think they even bothered modeling for aero; it can't match the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky at half the weight; neither the hood nor occupants enjoy the wind past 75 or so.  I read both the big threads here before buying, and every skeptic was right.  It's not fast like a motorcycle; it's not convenient, comfortable, and practical like a car -- it's the worst of both, and price-competitive with neither.

But there's potential.  The design is solid.  Weight balance is an even 1/3 between each wheel.  Double-wishbone IFS with room for 6" of front shock stroke on standard bearing mounts.  The space frame is strong and rigid.  The mid-front engine is the LE5/LE9 out of a Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky making 173/166; that platform makes 275/300 in a Buick.  The Aisin AR-5 is rated to 258lbs-ft.  Modern throttle-by-wire, full vehicle stability and traction control, cruise control, and even GPS navigation.  Standard 5x4.5"/114.3mm hubs.  Bolt-on quad kits available.

I'd compare it to a much roomier, factory street-legal Exocet, except you can have a blast at 2/10.  The best review is that it "makes going slow feel fast."  So if you don't need the objectively highest speed/dollar to have fun, and the regulatory environment favors it, I think it is an interesting platform to experiment with.

Unfortunately, the aftermarket is boutique and the community is uninformed at best, so I've been spending more and more time here reading.  I hope to post a few relevant questions soon.

A well-built Locost will kick it's ass handily, but since there's no name value for the Locost, it'll sell for 1/2 to 1/3 the price. But frankly, almost any open car like an Exocet/Locost/Slingshot/Atom from a comfort perspective is  going to be more akin to a motorcycle than a car. So it's a specific taste. Most people would happily take a Miata over it. I've driven a Locost 1000 miles of twisty roads and it was a blast, but a blast in a manly damn-the torpedos way, not just a backroads romp.

So what's your anticipated use pattern? FUn replacement fro the crotch rocket that will get you to work on a regular basis? Track toy? Weekend fun "car"?

There's someone in town here that drives one a lot wit a lightweight removable roof looking contraption, seems like a good fairweather errand runner.

I had no idea someone made bolt on 4wheel kits, gotta look at that.

You realize here in Georgia the registrations were calculated exactly that way until 5 years ago? 

EDIT: Wow.

lot of money in that one.

Serious question - what track day groups let them run?    Has anyone seen one running at a track day?    Even with a 4 wheel kit?

The 3 wheel ones do have rollover problems, I know that Bosch's work on the ESC had a lot to do with preventing rollover. 

For $20k you could build a pretty wicked mr2 spyder that weighed similarly to one of these. (Or a considerably heavier mx5 :-p’)But That would be unreasonable right? Meanwhile I see these with some regularity. I dont get it. 

Also, if I’m doing a 3 wheeler, I’m doing a real one. 

I dreamt the otger night that I built a ktm 690smr three wheeler that was supermoto a/f, pretty low and turbocharged. I awoke possessed with the idea at 4am and googled around, finding that the place that makes these does a kit for those too, and that another company is turbo’ing them and making 150whp. Some nerf bars to protect the turbo and your feet, some r888rs and real low would be fun on the road. Weird out the cops too. 

low looks hilarious. 

In reply to NOHOME :

Think of the positive camber that guy's getting, though.

Disappointed in the lack of drift trike pix in this thread

PS--Cycletrader shows used Slingshots starting from about $13K.  You could do worse for the money.

If you want a fast 3-wheeler to track, you need one of these:

Double de price of the slingshot, but much more than double the speed.

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

A well-built Locost will kick it's ass handily, but since there's no name value for the Locost, it'll sell for 1/2 to 1/3 the price. But frankly, almost any open car like an Exocet/Locost/Slingshot/Atom from a comfort perspective is  going to be more akin to a motorcycle than a car. So it's a specific taste. Most people would happily take a Miata over it. I've driven a Locost 1000 miles of twisty roads and it was a blast, but a blast in a manly damn-the torpedos way, not just a backroads romp.

Agreed; any kit car will kick it's ass handily.  My first drive in the Slingshot was a 2000-mile, cross-country road trip, and it was far more spacious and capable (cargo, navigation, fuel & range estimate) than an Exo/Locost/Atom.  All different options on the performance-practicality continuum.

In reply to nderwater :

I want a Big Wheel!  I can relive the good ole days.

I've driven the Vanderhall Venice. Built as a front driver, it looks much more stable to me. My favorite has the be the now-discontinued single-seat Speedster, but that was even more impractical than the standard car.

ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) said:

So what's your anticipated use pattern? FUn replacement fro the crotch rocket that will get you to work on a regular basis? Track toy? Weekend fun "car"?

There's someone in town here that drives one a lot wit a lightweight removable roof looking contraption, seems like a good fairweather errand runner.

I had no idea someone made bolt on 4wheel kits, gotta look at that.

You realize here in Georgia the registrations were calculated exactly that way until 5 years ago? 

EDIT: Wow.

lot of money in that one.

It's my only powered vehicle; I bicycled to work on campus.  So, fun replacement for the crotch rocket and weekend fun "car."  My fun drive is a low-speed hillclimb, which aside from its true calling (drifting), may be the only discipline in which it is relevant.

There are factory ($3k) and aftermarket ($1.5k+) tops available; none are structural.  I've built a tube bumper, so at that price point, I'd try to fab a 4-point roll cage for a roof.

Perfect for running errands.

I have to admit that my opposition to authoritarian registration and emissions regimes are rooted in principle as much as practice (time & cost).