The Auto Rickshaw is a monumentally stupid vehicle that just barely works. Driving it across all of India is, therefore, a monumentally stupid idea.
We can’t wait!
The auto rickshaw, to scale.
Whilst researching the Rickshaw Run, we did our most basic homework (reading the Adventurists website), and found that the Auto Rickshaw sports many excellent features, designed to make traversing hundreds of miles spectacularly difficult.
A former Rickshaw Run team (Jaisalmer Taxi Service – 2013) put this great video together to demonstrate the Auto Rickshaw’s unique charms:
Amongst the many great features:
- 7 Horsepower Engine
- Three tiny tires
- No airbags
- No seatbelt
- Lever start
- Horn (essential)
- Awkward foot brake
- Rudimentary electrical system
- Full of dents
- Full of rust
- No legroom
- Worthless little mirrors
- Cracked windshield
- Crap for headlights
- Overheats
- Prone to fail
- Slow as hell
- Stalls easily
- Everything leaks
- Parking brake doesn’t work
- Puny
- Shitty turn radius
- Flimsy roof rack
- No protection from the elements
- Top heavy
- Poor suspension
- Nimble
- Temperamental
- Temperamental
- Temperamental
- Temperamental
- Tips easy
- One hell of a good time
In other words, the perfect vehicle for an adventure!
If you’re wondering how the Auto Rickshaw came about, look no farther than this gentleman:
The Birth of the Rickshaw: “These wonders of the motorised world were invented by a chap called Corradine D’Ascanio who we were delighted to discover also invented some quite resplendent flying machines (one we note has three wheels) and designed the Vespa scooter before his career topping moment of bringing the Piaggio Ape to humanity in 1947. Later this trusty marvel was licensed to a little known Indian company by the name of Bajaj.”
Corradine D’Ascanio – Father of the Auto Rickshaw – Laughing in your face for thinking about crossing India in one.
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