Velorex
[1] Beginning in 1936, two brothers František (1914–1954) and Mojmír (1924–2011[2]) Stránský, the owners of a bicycle repair shop in the market town of Parník (today part of Česká Třebová), began the design of a small, cheap three-wheeled car, inspired by three-wheelers from Morgan Motor Company.
The post-war Czechoslovakian auto industry was unable to meet popular demand for vehicles, resulting in long waiting periods and quotas.
In 1950, the Stránský's workshop was transferred to Velo, a small manufacturing company in Hradec Králové, later renamed to Velorex.
Problems in design and manufacturing, as well as the inability to compete with higher-category cars (including the cheap Trabants), made the four-wheeler a commercial failure, and its production was stopped in 1973.
Spare parts for Velorex vehicles were first produced in the Solnice plant, and then in Rychnov nad Kněžnou after 1975.
In the mid-1980s, India tried to obtain a license to produce the three-wheelers; the deal failed because the original tooling no longer existed.
About half of the production was exported to Eastern Bloc countries (Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, East Germany) - 7,540 vehicles in total.
In Czechoslovakia, the demand exceeded the supply and the new cars were sold only to the disabled after thorough examination by an official commission.
Velorex was built on a frame of welded steel tubing, with bodywork consisting of vinyl (called "Igelit") stretched over the cage and attached by turnbutton fasteners.
For the Dutch market it was detuned further to 23 BHP @ 5,252 RPM to cater for Holland's unique emissions requirements at that time.
An adjustable friction type steering damper was fitted under the headstock on some machines, though this later proved to be unnecessary due to the good handling characteristics of the unit as a whole.
The Velorex Type 710 featured a more streamlined shape, resembling a jet fighter cockpit with a large forward opening perspex windshield, plus an interior space with plenty of leg room.
[1] Motoscoot, a motorcycle reseller from the Czech Republic, plans to produce modern three-wheeled sport car named "Velor-X-Trike" (initially "New Velorex").
