My best hope would be for a current three wheeler manufacturer like Harley, Spyder, Slingshot to consider offering an enclosed option and I wonder why they haven’t considered it. Heck I can’t even get a full enclosure option on the currently in production three wheeler that prototyped and marketed open, partial, and full enclosure options over the 12+ years leading up to production.
There are two tremendous issues about makers with products like the Slingshot, Can Am, Vanderhaul, etc etc.
These are sports-market products with high margins and low volumes. A non-sports autocycle product completes against these products especially when sourced at the same maker. Add the fact that the initial investment is considered to be higher and riskier, those makers are even less likely to give it a go than a producer that already makes non-sports vehicles. And we know how resistant standard brands are to that change. They all need some stronger insentive to justify the business investment.
If the Elio were produced, or the Bex-Built hits the American market enough that it challenges these existing sports-precieved products, then yes those guys may well feel pressured enough to respond, and make a model with enclosed cabin or other upgrades.
They do have to do one other change(s) that they are resisent to. First redesign for front wheel drive. Second, adapt to the space requirements for a cabin.
Vanderhaul would require a complete new engineering process to accomlish the cabin, and everyone else needs about that deep of a redirection to accomplish the front-wheel-drive 'imangineering.'
The Bex, Elio (or Aptera) would have to scare them a lot to force such considerations.
Consider for example the Bombardier Can Am motorcycle. At the time, they fully knew about the COOP2000 prototype by Pierre Either in Canada (can't even look that up anymore)((OOPS: This did work! But only went back to this web-forum.. google on 'pierre COOP2000 prototype')) Which was intended as exactly the same platform type as the Elio or Bex. (but never built out one with a cabin) It was one of several potential autocycles for future commuting sturing the public up (in Canada) at the time.
But Bombardier turned all that energy (that they could siphon off) into a sports product as the Can Am. They would never consider crossing over into a COOP2000 clone. Thier perception is that they consumed part of that energy and interest off from any COOP2000 type product, and the later died down into irrelevance as a result. I think Vanderhaul and the Slingshot people are all well aware of these issues.
I'm sure they are watching the Solo,
Daymak Spiritus(September 2023
) and others very closely.
(my personal problem with the Spiritus? It does nothing better than a cheaper 4wheeler can do, Aptra at least can run 100% solar)
Anyway, my current bet is on 'The Bex'. And he will have an open shot at this until 5 years after he is big enough to challenge the current market thinking.
( Guy, thinking about three wheelers? )