09:18 25-05-2026

Spira: A Three-Wheeled Electric Car on Abandoned Railway Tracks

Matt Spears built a tiny three-wheeled EV with a foam body. He repaired it and drove on abandoned railway tracks. A unique simple electric mobility project.

When people talk about electric cars, the conversation usually centers on range, charging, and software. But sometimes a project comes along that seems to belong to a different reality. One such project is the Spira, a tiny three-wheeled electric vehicle with a foam body. Its creator, Matt Spears, decided to take it not onto the road, but onto abandoned railway tracks in the western United States.

The Spira itself is hardly your typical car. It's very light, looks more like a homemade go-kart, and doesn't bother with conventional car expectations. There's no luxury, no big screens, no complex electronics—just a simple setup with three wheels and an electric motor producing about 5 kW.

The first run on the rails ended quickly when it hit an obstacle. The front axle took some damage, and the experiment was cut short. Rather than abandon the idea, Spears brought the Spira back to the workshop and got to work. He sourced parts from a go-kart, adapted wheels, tweaked the chassis, and dialed in the brakes.

After the repairs, Spira hit the old rails again and drove with much more confidence. It handled broken sections and rough patches, gradually turning a playful idea into a real working experiment. It's far from perfect and not exactly safe by production vehicle standards, but it's alive and genuinely intriguing.

This project will never make it to a dealership or serve as a replacement for a normal EV. Its value lies elsewhere: it's a reminder that electric mobility doesn't have to be expensive, heavy, or packed with tech. Sometimes, it's just a light motor, a weird idea, some abandoned tracks, and a person curious to see what happens.