Vanderhall Venice: US tricycle with motor from a German model

Created: 01/17/2022, 10:48 am

By: Sebastian Oppenheimer

Actually, tricycles are only for small children.

Unless they come from the US manufacturer Vanderhall, for example - they are the toys for big boys.

Beverungen – Florian Schade knows his way around flashy cars.

It's not for nothing that the horsepower fetishist from the Weserbergland region earns his money as a wrapper and has repeatedly made it to the Motor Show in Essen, for example.

But what he gets out of the garage in Beverungen today also outshines his motley VW Arteon, and should a Lamborghini, Ferrari or McLaren get lost here in the provinces, the super sports cars will also become shadow players.

Schade has taken over the German sales for the American small series manufacturer Vanderhall and is now asking for the first exit with the Venice, which costs at least 32,490 euros, as reported by 24auto.de.

The Vanderhall Venice is a toy for big boys - but not cheap either.

© Benjamin Bessinger/SP-X

Vanderhall Venice: US tricycle with motor from a German model

At first glance, the open two-seater is reminiscent of the Morgan three-wheeler.

Like that quirky relic from England, the Venice is a trike with two wheels in front and one in back, and between them a dugout canoe for two people who crouch low on the tarmac, crouching with difficulty behind a glass windshield.

But firstly, the Venice, with a length of 3.65 meters and a width of 1.75 meters, has enough space for a morally harmless coexistence even without a marriage certificate, and secondly - and that's much more important than the little bit more comfort, the heated seats, the Bluetooth Sound, cruise control or the fierce LED burners behind the radiator - unlike the Morgan, the Venice has front-wheel drive and the massive roller on the wide swingarm in the rear only runs behind. Although it is not quite as agile and there is a little lack of thrill, the dance with the inverted trike is not quite as risky either: instead of riding on a knife edge, you can easily surf there with the Venice and follow it few meters even the Weser-Uferstraße feels a bit like the Pacific Coast Highway.(Messerschmitt is bringing back cabin scooters – the retro electric car is being built in ...)

At first glance, the open two-seater is reminiscent of the Morgan three-wheeler.

© Benjamin Bessinger/SP-X

Vanderhall Venice: base model delivers 185 hp

The soundtrack is played by a 1.5 liter turbo, which we know as a brave four-cylinder from the Opel Insigna.

But Vanderhall tickles a bit more life out of the otherwise rather tired GM engine.

Not only that the basic model offers 185 hp and upgrades to 220 or 250 hp are also possible with new chips.

In addition, the turbo hisses and puffs with every burst of gas like a viper before the attack and then blows off the pressure just as spectacularly.

(ElectraMeccanica Solo: Curious electric car for commuters)

The Vanderhall Venice is powered by a 1.5 liter turbocharged four-cylinder known from the Opel Insigna.

© Benjamin Bessinger/SP-X

Vanderhall Venice: The tricycle is slow to rev up

However, the driving behavior only fits the riot to a limited extent: Because even if the 1.5 liter at 280 Nm should have an easy time with the just 640 kilos of the Venice, a lot of the vigor is lost in the shallows of the six-stage GM automatic transmission and it takes time a bit until the tricycle gets up to speed. In any case, toxic is different. But with a little patience, things will get down to business. The wind howls around your ears, your hand automatically puts itself over the silver billiard ball next to your knee, with which you – clack, clack one up, clack, clack one down – set the pace for the gears. And with every passing minute, the corners of your mouth go further up. If you can't keep your grin under control, you'll quickly become a flycatcher at a top speed of 240 km/h and later have to fumble the carcasses out of the gaps between your teeth.

Even if the Venice is something like the Maybach among three-wheelers for Morgan fans, the Americans have a heart for older men with stiff bones and wide hips.

If the Venice is too narrow for you, they also sell the Carmel for a good 10,000 euros more.

It is cut a few centimeters wider, instead of climbing over the parapet, you climb through doors that are hinged on the back.

And because the weather on the Weser is not quite as reliable as on the Pacific, there is even a kind of hard top for the Carmel that is placed over the two seats.

The Vanderhall Venice is a trike with two wheels at the front and one at the back that can accommodate two people.

© Benjamin Bessinger/SP-X

Vanderhall Venice: An electric version is also available

Although the idea of ​​the tricycle is quite old, the roots of the Vanderhall can be traced back to the first Morgan three-wheeler at the beginning of the last century. But the Americans didn't just make it a more comfortable car with slightly - well - more predictable handling. They also move with the times and therefore have an electric version at the start, which has now apparently become unavoidable. Although it is currently being completely turned inside out and equipped with its own engines, it promises two times 52 kW/70 hp for just under 47,000 euros, up to 170 km/h and a range of around 300 kilometers.

But that's not the only big innovation they're working on over in Provo, Utah.

At the same time, the Americans are also working on a primitive off-roader, which – of course also electrically – will be launched as the Brawley next year as a mixture of Jeep Wrangler and Toyota Land Cruiser at prices starting at $35,000 with over 400 hp and a range of more than 300 kilometers should go.

But then in Provo it is no longer the case that all good things come in threes.

But then the message suddenly reads: Four wins.