When we were children the Saturday morning cartoons and chapter books promised us that the future would be full of futuristic space cars and shit, but here we are in 2023 driving each day through a dreadful hellscape of bland greyscale crossovers. You can be the change you want to see in the world, or in the streets at least, by buying and then driving the heck out of this extremely rare car from 1985 that looks like a cross between a Star Wars spacecraft and an adult relationship-aid toy. It’s coming up for auction at the Mecum sale in Las Vegas next month.
We were promised cars like this Tritan A2 would become the norm, and society somehow turned 180 degrees and sprinted in the other direction. Could you imagine the world peace that would ensue if we all woke up every morning to slide forward the driver canopy on our three-wheeled dildo car and fired up a 440cc rotary engine to blast our way into the day? Whether you’re headed to the office, running errands, or delivering pizza, this diminutive aerodynamic pod would surely put a giant smile on your face.
The A2 was designed as a fuel-sipping commuter car, intended to sit two adults one behind the other. In 1985 Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan ordered ten of these weird machines to deliver to customers in the company’s hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The rear seat was removed and a small pizza warming oven was fitted to keep the pies warm. Allegedly the tiny rotary engine combined with a drag coefficient of 0.15, and a wind-sail rear wing conspired to deliver 80 miles per gallon, improving those pizza margins.
I saw one of these in person at Radwood once in Southern California, it may have even been this one. They certainly are strange little pieces of automotive history, and while they didn’t make much of a splash in terms of sales or influence, the Tritan is one of those things that gives everyone reason to let their guard down. This car attracts attention from everyone, whether they’re interested in cars or not. If that’s something you’re looking for, this is your chance to make it happen.
The seller told CNN that he bought this example in 2021 for $US25,000. There isn’t a pre-auction estimate, and there are hardly any sales to compare it with. An example sold at Bonhams in 2019 for a whopping $US44,800, but it’s impossible to know if the market for Tritan A2s has cooled until November 10, when this one crosses the block.
Image: Mecum
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