First Six Wheeled Car: Covini C6W

Italian manufacturer Ferruccio Covini’s radical six wheeler, the C6W, has been in the pipeline since the mid 70’s… though due to safety concerns and engineering costs – the concept has only recently seen the light of day.

Covini began work on the six-wheeler with backing from larger companies to help finance its development. Among it’s many features, the obvious is “Why 4 front wheels?” According to Covini, it’s safety concerns. Two front wheels at each corner means a front tire blowout will not cause the vehicle to lose control. Plus the extra stopping power from more rubber on the road is another plus.

Covini also claims there is also less risk of aquaplaning because the two foremost wheels clear the water for the ones behind and allow better road adhesion.  Comfort is another consideration – less unsprung weight at each wheel allows the suspension to control wheel movement better and the overall ride benefits from more evenly distributed reaction forces in the suspension.

The drop in the individual unsprung weight of each wheel also offers much better grip and better directional stability with a well-matched set of tires, a six-wheeler can be expected to have higher cornering speeds than a four wheeler. Overall, this is a weird design that probably won’t make it to production – but it’s certainly a ‘cool car’ in our book.

*Update – this car will be going into production. Read more here.