zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
You Can Buy This Ridiculous Trike From Racing Legend Nigel Mansell
You Can Buy This Ridiculous Trike From Racing Legend Nigel Mansell-January 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:09:24

A photo of the red Modulo trike with the caption "what the heck is this?"

Do you ever find yourself in search of all the vehicles you’d buy if you ever won the lottery? Well, if you do, an upcoming RM Sotheby’s auction has a load of beautiful cars that you might want to consider. But alongside the supercars and racing machines is this weird trike that used to belong to Nigel Mansell.

As part of on May 14, the luxury auction house is rolling out a bunch of cars from Nigel Mansell’s personal collection and offering them out to the highest bidder.

The sale includes driven by Mansell in the 1989 F1 season, and famously gave Ayrton Senna a lift on at the 1991 British Grand Prix.

Clearly, the former Formula 1 driver has built up a pretty impressive collection of cars over the years. But among the former race cars is this, .

A photo of the side of a Modulo three-wheeled car.

This weird looking trike is a vehicle I’d never heard of before. Made by fledgling company Italian Cars, the Modulo looks a bit like someone stuck the front from a bad copy of a Ferrari F40 to the back of a BMW motorbike. Think of it as .

If, like me, the Modulo is new to you, let me tell you a bit about its history.

The Modulo was conceived by designer Carlo Lamattina, who as being “unfashionable, modest and not exciting to drive.”

With that in mind, Lamattina set out to make , the economy of a motorbike and the driving experience of a low-slung performance vehicle.”

Sounds like an ambitious aim, but the resulting vehicle is exactly what you see here.

A photo of the front of a red Modulo three-wheeled car.

It seats two, a passenger can sit directly behind the driver, and is powered by a K75S motorcycle engine that produced 74 hp. This is coupled with a five-speed manual gearbox that sends power to the singular rear wheel.

This power plant was paired with a chassis that weighs 850 lbs, meaning that the Modulo could reach up to 125mph. And, its trio of disc brakes, independent front suspension and shock absorbers meant the trike could handle pretty well too.

Despite these lofty performance figures for a 90s trike, it still feels like an odd choice of vehicle for . But there’s an explanation for that as it turns out that Mansell never actually bought the car. Instead, he was instead gifted it by the Modulo’s designer.

According to RM Sotheby’s, Mansell was presented with his Modulo by Lamattina in 1992 after qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix. In that race, ahead of Senna. But it was Senna who would eventually take the win after Mansell retired from the race.

We’re not suggesting the Modulo had anything to do with Mansell’s poor race result. But, if you do end up buying this, maybe don’t gift it to anyone competing in a race anytime soon.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
Ford Has Reportedly Given Up on the Fusion Active
Ford Has Reportedly Given Up on the Fusion Active
Ford shocked everyone in early 2018 when the company announced it would . Eventually, every passenger car except got the axe. But then came the rumor that would return as a Subaru-style high-riding sedan. Now, if a report from is to be believed, that’s no longer the case, as...
Jan 1, 2026
At $4,500, Could You Make This 2004 VW Golf TDI Your War Wagon?
At $4,500, Could You Make This 2004 VW Golf TDI Your War Wagon?
One of the receipts pictured in the ad for today’s TDI Golf is for pink coolant and “Airhead Xtremes Bites candies.” With a bunch of other replacement parts as well, let’s see if this TDI might itself be a sweet deal. Okay, look. I know that at $185,000, last...
Jan 1, 2026
The 2024 Mazda CX-90 Will Offer a Plug-In Hybrid
The 2024 Mazda CX-90 Will Offer a Plug-In Hybrid
Mazda has been a bit slow to come around to electrification. The . Rather than go for another EV right now, the brand is taking a hybrid approach: Mazda that the all-new 2024 CX-90 will have a plug-in hybrid variant with a bit of added performance. While Mazda didn’t...
Jan 1, 2026
At $185,000, Is This 1958 Facel Vega Excellence an Excellent Deal?
At $185,000, Is This 1958 Facel Vega Excellence an Excellent Deal?
Based on its baroque styling, one could easily mistake today’s Facel Vega for a contemporary Cadillac. There’s no mistaking its party trick pillar-less doors, however. Let’s see if this flamboyant cruiser’s price does the trick too. In today’s market, any seemingly clean and mechanically sound car or truck that...
Jan 1, 2026
The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Haute Voiture Is Not Made for us Meager Car Buyers
The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Haute Voiture Is Not Made for us Meager Car Buyers
I always thought the was the ultimate, top-most expression of luxury from Mercedes-Benz. Man was I wrong. The German luxury automaker took it’s Maybach S-Class a step further into unreachable luxury, debuting a very limited edition that makes the standard sedan pale in comparison. Enter the . Literally translated...
Jan 1, 2026
At $13,995, Is This 2011 BMW 750i Sport a Deal You Could Appreciate?
At $13,995, Is This 2011 BMW 750i Sport a Deal You Could Appreciate?
With regard to depreciation, only the Nissan Leaf and BMW’s i3 have dropped faster than models like today’s 750i. That means this sparingly used (85,000 miles) luxury sedan is now within reach of us paupers. Let’s see if that makes it an uber deal. It’s safe to say that,...
Jan 1, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved