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Elio's tiny car gets 84 mpg and costs only $7,300 - here's what it was likehttps://www.businessinsider.in/elios-tiny-car-gets-84-mpg-and-costs-only-7300-heres-what-it-was-like/elio-brought-its-prototype-vehicle-to-our-new-york-office-we-parked-it-curbside-and-chatted-for-a-bit-and-watched-the-elio-draw-a-crowd-must-have-been-the-color-/slidelist/57383497.cms2017-02-28T05:03:56+05:30

Elio's tiny car gets 84 mpg and costs only $7,300 - here's what it was like

Feb 28, 2017, 05:03 IST

Elio brought its prototype vehicle to our New York office. We parked it curbside and chatted for a bit — and watched the Elio draw a crowd! Must have been the color ...

Mobbed!

The vehicle has only three wheels and two seats, arranged tandem style. The base price is $7,300.

The styling is aerodynamic, including fairings over the front wheels, which project out from the chassis for stability.

The rear is svelte and tapered.

Elio Motors was started by Paul Elio in 2009. Its headquarters is in Arizona, but its manufacturing facility is in Louisiana. The vehicle is powered by a good old-fashioned three-cylinder, 55-horsepower gas engine. Top speed is claimed to be over 100 mph.

Obviously, I wanted to drive it.

So I slipped behind the wheel and got used to the stick shift and the clutch. That's right: It's a manual car. This is one of just a few prototypes, so I wasn't expecting a production-ready level of refinement.

And away we go!

I just went around the block. The clutch took some time to get comfortable with, but the Elio immediately put me in the mind of a classic racer from the past. I totally wanted to get this thing on a track!

I was impressed. Cheap cars with style and personality are great. Elio's plan is to make motoring more affordable, and to that end it has created an inexpensive vehicle that doesn't use any exotic technology but still gets over 80 mpg. Its goal now is to put the Elio into production and avoid having it classified as a motorcycle, which in a lot of states means a special license.

And earlier this year, I met up with the Elio again, this time at the Detroit auto show, where it was surrounded by cars with FOUR wheels.

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