ImPaq™ – The Folding Car
(Drawings will be provided as the project progresses)
This is a REAL folding car, based on recumbent trikes which are well-proven, VERY comfortable, and are the fastest-growing segment of the bicycle industry. We can easily and comfortably widen the market for pedal power vehicles tremendously, and thus offer a unique TRANSPORT SOLUTION, especially for cities. With electrical assist they can be practical in ALL areas.
Starting in 2016, I decided to work on ideas for a practical microcar. After test riding about 4 different recumbent trikes while visiting family in the USA, I was impressed at how FUN and comfortable they are! But they take a lot of space to store, and have no rain protection. I – and the world – needed something better, easy to store and for all kinds of weather.
After some thought, I built a prototype here in Costa Rica that showed it could be folded in four seconds, but the process was interrupted for years by family health problems. Still, I have continued refining several aspects of the ImPaq™ design, and will start building a second prototype in 2025. The much improved version is a bit larger, has double rear suspension units, an adjustable seat back, much more storage, a quick-folding body with windshield, and other improvements.
The average car occupancy is 1.5 people, and the average speed in cities is 20 to 30 miles per hour (30 to 45 kph). So, 2/3 of the time a trike can replace a 4000 pound (1800 kilogram) electric car, using 1/20 the energy, 1/3 the space on the road, 1/20 the parking space, and much less strain on our planet and our lives.
The ImPaq™ is an efficient and practical personal transport for MANY MILLIONS of people around the world. We can supply that huge market by small efficient local factories operated as franchises. With our design, we can even fit FOUR cars, ready to unfold and ride, on each standard shipping pallet, with a great savings in shipping costs.
Why Trikes?
When pedal-only our trikes are SAFER, more FUN and more PRACTICAL than bicycles, with a cost similar to other recumbent trikes, or a high-end bike! The optional body is easy to install on any ImPaq. They do not require licenses to operate, up to 250 Watts in Europe, 750 Watts in the USA, or even 5000 Watts in Costa Rica! When fitted with electric assist, our trikes are:
ONE TWENTIETH (1/20) the WEIGHT of an electric car.
ONE SIXTH (1/6) the COST of an electric car.
TWENTY TIMES (20X) as EFFICIENT in energy use compared to an electric car!
Are trikes the MISSING LINK between bicycles and cars?
YES!
But some would say that missing link would be motorcycles. NO. Motorcycles can be used ONLY by those who can both ride a bicycle AND also drive a car. The combine the WORST of bicycles and cars: noise pollution, air pollution, fuel costs, balance problems, vibrations, licensing, decreased safety and weather vulnerability.
Pedal/electric trikes – and ESPECIALLY the ImPaq – can be used by anyone who can ride a bicycle OR drive a car! We combine the BEST of bicycles: good exercise, zero pollution, low cost, little or no licensing requirements, low vibration, simplicity, light weight, quiet operation, possible local fabrication and connection with the outdoors with the BEST of cars: comfortable seating, no balancing needed, greater cargo capacity, increased safety and weather protection.
Why FOLD?
Cars are 90% air, why NOT fold them! Ours is very unique because of its folding mechanism that allows it to be folded or unfolded in under 5 seconds for the open version and around 10 seconds including the fabric body, and stored in the space of a chair, eliminating parking and theft problems. Any ONE car garage can now hold TWO cars! And any corner becomes a garage!
Also its unique design adapts very well to a folding fabric bodywork with a windshield that makes it the first folding microcar that is practical for all weather conditions. It is a FOLDING PEDAL/ELECTRIC CAR! (the folding mechanism and some other features are to be patented and will not be shown).
Our first ImPaq model has full suspension and a large luggage capacity of 20 kilos or a child of up to one meter height. We live in a mountain area, so our prototype has two 1000 Watt motors in the front wheels and 1.5 kilowatt hours of lithium batteries, making it a 3-wheel-drive all-terrain folding micro-car that can accelerate quickly, climb 20% slopes and go up to 100 kilometers with electric assist, with a top speed of 55 kph (34 miles per hour). Most versions for sale will have either a 250 Watt (Europe) or 750 Watt (USA) rear motor to comply with local laws.
It folds quickly to 50 x 75 x 120 centimeters (20 x 30 x 48 inches), allowing it to go through any doorway, rolling on its own wheels, and stores vertically in a space 50 x 75 cm (20 x 30 inches). It uses mostly standard 20 inch bicycle parts easily available locally worldwide, mounted on our unique frame and body, convertible also in seconds for open or closed riding.
Our second trike version will be the ImPaq Micro. It will have only rear suspension (more than most trikes) and uses 16 inch wheels, making it smaller and lighter, without a body – as with most trikes. This is a great vehicle for daily exercise or even commuting to town or work. It can also be electric, if so with a single motor in the rear wheel (250 Watts for Europe, 750 Watts for the US market). It will store vertically in a space of only 50 x 60 cm (20 x 24 inches), and will fold to 50 x 60 x 75 centimeters (20 x 24 x 30 inches = total 74 inches) so qualifies on most airlines as simply an oversize luggage.
The two versions will work VERY well with pedal power, with pedal-only speeds of around 25 kph, and are for people of ALL ages, since there is no need to balance them. It is easy to add an electric drive with one or two motors to increase speed – even up to 50 kph, range, and practicality, at an additional cost depending on the system (Falco, Shimano, Bosch, Bafang or others).
We hope to finish and test the prototype during 2025, and offer them for sale in Costa Rica and internationally on www.indiegogo.com and later Amazon.com. Our prices and features will be favorable compared with our competitors, which do NOT fold conveniently or quickly, if at all. Expected retail for the Turis is $3,995 with $1,500 more for the folding bodywork, and for the Turis Micro the expected price is $2,995, with electric power for either at varying costs , usually near $1,000 to $2,000, depending on customer desires.
Ian Kos, an engineering student at Northeastern University, who helped with the design and building of the ImPaq prototype in 2016.
To compare with other trikes, see:
http://www.industrialbicycles.com/Recumbent-Trikes.