Polaris Slingshot Rollover Crash (w/ Video)

By the conventional wisdom of the internet, the Polaris Slingshot is inherently stable because it has two wheels in the front. Confused? The conventional wisdom regarding the stability of three-wheelers in online forums goes a little like this: two wheels in back = bad. Two wheels in front = good. That’s been the prevailing loudest argument from the Elio and Polaris crowds, anyway. Usually in response to people like me who want to see vehicles like the Vespa Ape-based Tuk-tuk or Deltawing eventually make it onto US roads. But what if the conventional internet wisdom is, you know, crap?

About a year ago, it seems like someone decided to put that thinking to the test. They began by setting up a slalom-style test at the IIHS testing facility in Virginia. Next, they added a decidedly three-wheeledPolaris Slingshot to the equation. Finally, they shut off the stability control.

What do you think happened?

Polaris Slingshot Rollover in Testing

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This was not intentional. (It happened at) the IIHS facility in VA. The stability control was turned off. Obviously, this did not turn out the way they wanted it to.

The test didn’t go very well for Polaris, and didn’t exactly support the conventional thinking found on a number of three-wheeled fan sites. Despite that, however, the test crash did not fundamentally alter my personal belief that three-wheel vehicles are perfectly safe. All it should do, I think, is emphasize that there are no shortcuts in engineering.

That’s just me, though. What about you? Watch the video, above, for yourself then let us know what you think of the Polaris Slingshot and its scary rollover in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

Source | Images: 646906GTO, via r/eliomotors