The Carver is a 100% Dutch urban vehicle that unites the advantages of a car and scooter. The Carver drives smarter, faster and cleaner from A to B and offers an unprecedented driving experience thanks to a patented tilting system. In September 2018, the first Carvers get on the road. And although the Carver is not much bigger than a scooter, it fits two people and even some extra baggage.
The story of the Carver
The first spark
Every revolution starts with an insight and ours goes back to the nineties. The Dutch entrepreneur Anton van den Brink found himself stuck in a traffic jam in Paris. While sitting there watching the cars clogging the road he asked himself: Do we really need 2 tons of steel to get from A to B?
Less car more space
From then on Anton started to dream about a vehicle half the size and weight of a car. He envisioned a smart set of wheels with all the qualities of conventional vehicles without the downsides. It needed to be slim, fast, agile, comfortable, safe and very easy to handle.
Uniting incompatible worlds
Soon after this, a team of Dutch engineers, led by Chris van den Brink and his right-hand Harry Kroonen both aeronautical engineers, started to craft a narrow enclosed three wheeler. They challenged themselves to bring together the comfort and safety of a car with the agility and ease of a scooter.
The challenge
The big challenge of crafting an enclosed narrow vehicle (ENV) is to prevent it from toppling over when cornering. And since you’re driving in a closed cabin, you can’t use your feet for securing stability. The vehicle therefore had to balance independently.
The fix
After years of experimenting, the Carver-team discovered a magic fix: the Dynamic Vehicle Control (DVC™). This active tilting device couples the tilt angle of the vehicle directly to your driving behaviour. A smart and safe solution that sparks the sensation of flying the road.
Collectors item
The Carver One, a showcase for the DVC technology, was launched in 2003. It had a turbo charged 660 cc four-cylinder combustion engine and a top speed of 185 km/h. Despite raving reviews, it was far ahead of its time. Today it’s an exclusive collector’s item , more rare than a Porsche 918 Spyder.
Top Gear
In 2003 Top Gear got their hands on the Carver One. They immediately declared it ‘the best gadget of them all’. Jeremy Clarkson even claimed that he ‘never had so much fun in a car’. Except that it wasn’t a car, it was a Carver. The start of a mobility revolution.
Next generation
A new version of the Carver has been created. An electrically powered, smaller, smarter and way more affordable vehicle than the Carver One. Engineered to be the ultimate future-proof solution to the urban mobility needs of this generation.
Active tilting technology
The Carver tilts automatically to secure your balance on slopes, uneven surfaces and when cornering. The tilt angle of the cockpit is seamlessly adjusted to your steering and speed. This way the gravity is perfectly distributed at all times, allowing you to carve your way through traffic with ease and a lot of fun
Specifications
- Top speed: 45 km/h
- Max tilting angle: 45 degrees
- Range: 80 – 100 km
- Dimension: 88 cm width
The Carver costs € 7.990. Pre-orders are possible by making a € 750 down payment.
More info: https://www.carver.earth/
