Cute car!
It's no Ferrari, but the Sparrow still turns heads
By Christopher Tan
A BRIGHT-ORANGE three-wheel electric car has been turning heads
here. The toy-like Corbin Sparrow - the only three-wheel car
registered in Singapore - does not resemble anything else on the road here.
With a top speed of 110kmh and a range of 30-50 km, Mr Diebley's
vehicle runs on lead-acid batteries which cost less than $1 a day to
charge. It is registered as a car here, as it exceeds the 400kg limit
for a motorcycle. -- STEPHANIE YEOW
'Is this a bike or a car?' asked an onlooker at a photo-shoot
arranged by The Straits Times on Wednesday.
The Sparrow is considered a motorcycle in some countries, but is
registered as a car here..
Traffic literally slowed to a crawl as the Sparrow made its way
down Balmoral Road, taking up no more space than a Harley-Davidson.
'How much is it?' asked a group of women passing by in a car.
Owner James Diebley, a teacher at the Singapore American School,
imported the car - the only single-seater here - from California-based
Corbin Motors back in 2001. He tried to convince the authorities to
let him register it preferably as a motorcycle. After a long and arduous
process, he got approval to register the zero-emission vehicle as a
car in September last year and has been driving it for about a year now...
As for why it is not registered as a motorcycle, the Land
Transport Authority explained that the Sparrow exceeded the 400kg
maximum weight for a motorcycle.
It weighs about 700kg and 'has several car-like features such as
a steering wheel, an enclosed body and doors', said a spokesman.
The Sparrow is powered by 13 lead-acid batteries which drive an
electric motor connected to the rear wheel via a belt. It has a top
speed of about 110kmh and a range of 30-50km. Mr Diebley has clocked
some 4,000km and daily power-charging costs have been less than $1.
Getting it here, however cost him close to $80,000 after taxes -
equivalent to a compact Japanese model.
'I didn't do it because I wanted a cheap car,' Mr Diebley said.
'I did it because it's interesting.'
And interesting it has been. He has been getting more attention
than a celebrity. 'I've had people chase me down the highway.'
'One guy ran down between cars at a stop light to slip his phone
number written on the back of a parking coupon into my car, then
quickly ran 10 cars back to get into his car before traffic started rolling
again.'
He has even had two vehicles tailing him back to his home; and
had notes left on his car from strangers who were either interested in
buying it or in becoming an investor. His car has appeared on a local
Internet forum as well. 'It's like getting my 15 minutes of fame every
time I drive it,' he said
View BBCode
Cute car!
It's no Ferrari, but the Sparrow still turns heads
[img]/img/pool/bg/1/29-0054364.jpg[/img]
By Christopher Tan
A BRIGHT-ORANGE three-wheel electric car has been turning heads
here. The toy-like Corbin Sparrow - the only three-wheel car
registered in Singapore - does not resemble anything else on the road here.
With a top speed of 110kmh and a range of 30-50 km, Mr Diebley's
vehicle runs on lead-acid batteries which cost less than $1 a day to
charge. It is registered as a car here, as it exceeds the 400kg limit
for a motorcycle. -- STEPHANIE YEOW
'Is this a bike or a car?' asked an onlooker at a photo-shoot
arranged by The Straits Times on Wednesday.
[img]/img/pool/bg/1/26-6864c84.jpg[/img]
The Sparrow is considered a motorcycle in some countries, but is
registered as a car here..
Traffic literally slowed to a crawl as the Sparrow made its way
down Balmoral Road, taking up no more space than a Harley-Davidson.
[img]/img/pool/bg/1/27-8853de5.jpg[/img]
[img]/img/pool/bg/1/28-472b5b2.jpg[/img]
'How much is it?' asked a group of women passing by in a car.
Owner James Diebley, a teacher at the Singapore American School,
imported the car - the only single-seater here - from California-based
Corbin Motors back in 2001. He tried to convince the authorities to
let him register it preferably as a motorcycle. After a long and arduous
process, he got approval to register the zero-emission vehicle as a
car in September last year and has been driving it for about a year now...
As for why it is not registered as a motorcycle, the Land
Transport Authority explained that the Sparrow exceeded the 400kg
maximum weight for a motorcycle.
It weighs about 700kg and 'has several car-like features such as
a steering wheel, an enclosed body and doors', said a spokesman.
The Sparrow is powered by 13 lead-acid batteries which drive an
electric motor connected to the rear wheel via a belt. It has a top
speed of about 110kmh and a range of 30-50km. Mr Diebley has clocked
some 4,000km and daily power-charging costs have been less than $1.
Getting it here, however cost him close to $80,000 after taxes -
equivalent to a compact Japanese model.
'I didn't do it because I wanted a cheap car,' Mr Diebley said.
'I did it because it's interesting.'
And interesting it has been. He has been getting more attention
than a celebrity. 'I've had people chase me down the highway.'
'One guy ran down between cars at a stop light to slip his phone
number written on the back of a parking coupon into my car, then
quickly ran 10 cars back to get into his car before traffic started rolling
again.'
He has even had two vehicles tailing him back to his home; and
had notes left on his car from strangers who were either interested in
buying it or in becoming an investor. His car has appeared on a local
Internet forum as well. 'It's like getting my 15 minutes of fame every
time I drive it,' he said ____________________________
Jack
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