Newly unveiled three-wheeled EV built for cutting through traffic hailed as a 'street-legal fighter jet'

An engineer in California has become fed up with LA traffic, so after moving out to Orange County, he’s developed a custom three wheel EV, dubbed a ‘street-legal fighter jet’, to cut through lanes at ease.

It seems quite obvious, but having no cars in front of your path would vastly reduce road rage.

But while watching motorbikes zip through lanes is enough to make you slightly envious, not everyone sees the appeal of the two-wheelers.

So why not add a third wheel and change the dangerous stigma of a motorbike into the safe haven of a reliant robin, and still get all of the benefits of cutting through traffic like a hot knife through butter… or a fighter jet through air?

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California Engineer is building a three wheel EV to cut through traffic

Everyone seems to be in a rush to avoid traffic, with a wealth of new vehicles coming to fruition to avoid sitting in the same old busy streets.

But not everyone can build flying cars and get patents like those in Dubai.

Instead, some savvy engineers are creating slimmer cars to filter between lanes and get home before the kettle has boiled.

That’s the attitude for California engineer Markus Scholten, who created the electric Trinova after being caught in LA traffic for two hours on his daily commute.

“Working in LA, I was sick of sitting in traffic every day while motorcycles split lanes and vanished into the distance,” Scholten said on Instagram.

“I promised my wife and kids I’d stay safe and not ride a bike…

“But they never said anything about a street-legal F-16 fighter jet.”

And so the Trinova was born.

The welder, who previously worked for BMW and Porsche, created a three wheel EV to fit a driver and two passengers (snugly), and it can zip around at speeds up to 120mph.

With two rear wheels for power and one front wheel for steering, the custom vehicle can slip through traffic like a bike and set off for the sunset (given that it’s within the 140-mile range).

The project has currently been undergoing crowdfunding to start producing the three wheel EV to the public, although it may take some time to get them hand-welded from his home in Cali.

How thin can you go?

The Trinova might be the first three wheel EV built in this manner, but it wouldn’t be the first car to have the same streamlined ethos.

AEMotion has also created a nippy and skinny ‘microcar’ that works in a similar fashion. Just 31 inches wide, the quad-wheeled car is set to hit the market in 2026.

Then there’s the world’s thinnest car, created in Italy. Under one foot in width, this chopped-up Fiat Panda is more of a gimmick as it can’t hit 30mph with its 24V e-scooter battery, but it would be a traffic cutter if it had more power.

But for this California engineer, his dream of ditching long commute times might well become a reality, as the three wheeler edges ever closer to having fully-fledged prototypes.

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