CLEVER

The narrow body endows it with some of the manoeuvrability and congestion avoiding capability of a motorcycle, whilst offering comparable weather and impact protection to a car.

[1] It runs on compressed natural gas, achieving a predicted 108 mpg‑imp (2.6 L/100 km; 90 mpg‑US) per gallon fuel efficiency.

As of December 2012[update], research into alternative tilt control strategies for the CLEVER vehicle is still on-going at the University of Bath.

[2] CLEVER features a two-seat tandem layout, a single front wheel, tilting cabin, and a two-wheeled rear engine module.

The front wheel is suspended by a leading four bar linkage with a single Öhlins spring/damper unit and uses a hub-centric steering system.

The DTC system provides excellent stability at low speeds but during vigorous manoeuvres at higher speeds the system's torque output exceeds that which can be reacted by the non-tilting rear module; as a result the inside rear wheel lifts, this can lead to the vehicle rolling over.

In extreme conditions it will also initiate a countersteering action whereby the front wheel momentarily steers in the opposite direction to that intended by the driver.

The vehicle cell suffered deformation in the forecast area, the driver’s door could be opened without any problems after the crash.

The CLEVER Vehicle Prototype without bodywork, June 2013.
Side View of the CLEVER Vehicle Prototype without bodywork, June 2013. Note the miniature hydraulic actuator (partially obscured by the cabin frame) and the intermediate steering arm used in the active steering system.