Last year we had the chance to drive the latest creation from a Utah-based company called Vanderhall. Vanderhall doesn't build cars, it builds what it calls 'Auto Cycles,' basically a three-wheel vehicle with two wheels at the front and one at the rear. The Vanderhall Venice was an insanely fun experience with a starting price of just under $30,000, and now the company has come out with a new model that brings the price even lower and the cool factor even higher.
It's called the Venice Speedster, and it is making its debut this weekend at the 2018 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The Speedster will be a limited production model with a lower starting price of $26,950 ($3,000 less than a standard Venice). The $3,000 savings does come at a cost, as the Speedster deletes the passenger seat, hoop, and hump from the standard Venice, making it purely a one-seater. All Speedster models will be painted Silver Vintage Metallic with optional black rally stripes and will be fitted with bespoke 18-inch wheels.
Like the standard Venice, the Speedster is powered by a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that is sourced from GM. This same engine produces 138 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque in the Chevy Sonic but has been tuned to produce 180 hp and 185 lb-ft of torque in the Vanderhall. In a vehicle weighing less than 1,400 pounds, this means 0-60 in less than four seconds. Like other Vanderhall models, the Speedster sends its power to the front wheels through a six-speed automatic with a shiftable gate. This may sound like a recipe for disaster, but anyone believing the front-wheel-drive layout and automatic transmission makes this car tame clearly hasn't driven it.
The engine may be from a Chevy Sonic, but it sounds like it was ripped from a Formula Drift car - the turbo wooshing is simply intoxicating as you row through the gears on the sequential shifter. The Vanderhall Venice Speedster is now available for preorder and the process costs just $250. The company has also teased new R variants of the Venice and Venice Speedster, which are expected to arrive as 2020 models.
