Meet the Tritan A2 Aerocar, an Aerocraft-Inspired Three-Wheeler That Used To Deliver Pizza

The era of flying cars is drawing closer now, but back in the 1980s, it was still a fantasy. Even fast-food delivery companies like Domino Pizza were probably dreaming of sending pies to their clients by air, so they got the next best thing - an aerospace-inspired three-wheeler with a profile very similar to a small jet aircraft.

Called the Tritan A2 Aerocar, the unusual machine was conceived as a quick, safe, and economical pizza delivery vehicle. The pizza chain commissioned the vehicle from a small, now defunct automobile maker based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, called Tritan Ventures. The vehicle was designed by James and Douglas Amick. The latter is known to have been experimenting with fuel-efficient, trike-based vehicles since at least 1969.

Tritan Ventures originally unveiled the A2 Aerocar in 1984, aiming to offer a highly aerodynamic vehicle for extreme fuel efficiency. So, they built it with a lightweight body and an aircraft-inspired shape for less drag. Its aircraft-inspired shape resulted in a drag coefficient of just 0.15, less than half that of conventional automobiles of the day. To give you some perspective, a 1985 Corvette coupe had a drag coefficient of 0.33, and the Toyota MR2 boasted 0.35.

The vehicle features a monocoque design on a three-wheeled layout and an "Amick Arch" linking the sides at the rear. All these factors resulted in a drag coefficient of only 0.15, less than half of what conventional vehicles of the day achieved.

Moreover, the largely fiberglass construction results in a curb weight of just 900 pounds, and the arch-shaped airfoil at the rear provides excellent aerodynamic directional stability, causing the vehicle to slide if turned too sharply.

The beating heart of the Tritan A2 is a 440cc air-cooled Syvaro rotary engine capable of a 30-horsepower output. The futuristic appearance, combined with an 80 mpg fuel efficiency and a top speed of 95 mph (27 kph), made the A2 Aerocar a revolutionary machine that caught the eye of Domino's Pizza. The pizza chain was already famous for its 30-minute pizza delivery guarantee, so it only made sense for them to look for an efficient machine to add to their fleet.

Besides serving as an efficient means of delivering hot pizzas to the company's clients, the vehicle was such an unusual sight on the streets that it immediately grabbed news headlines, resulting in free publicity for the pizza chain.

The enclosed fiberglass monocoque is spacious enough to seat two people in tandem and has a fighter jet-like forward sliding canopy that allows them to enter and exit the vehicle. The units used by Domino's Pizza were finished in special livery with the company's colors and logo and were fitted with pizza ovens that could keep several stacked pizza boxes in the back to keep the clients' orders hot until delivered.

Though Domino's initial plan was to purchase 180 A2 Aerocars and deploy them at various locations across the United States, only ten prototype units were ever produced, and only seven are known to still be in existence today.

Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan ordered the A2s for a pilot program in Ann Arbor, where the company is headquartered. However, they didn't proceed with the plan. It's not clear for how long Domino's used the ten Aerocars, but eventually, the pizza chain donated them to automotive museums across the country.

At least two of the seven surviving examples are now in private hands, and one of them is coming up for sale. The Tritan A2 Aerocar shown in this article is said to have been restored, but the listing doesn't mention when exactly that happened.

What we do know is that it still wears the correct Domino's livery with a red and white paint job and blue accents. It is powered by the original SP-440 Syvaro rotary engine, which has been rebuilt. The pizza oven in the back is missing, as Domino's is said to have removed them before donating the A2 Aerocars.

The 1985 Tritan A2 Domino's Pizza delivery vehicle is set to go under the hammer in early November. There is no price guide for it, but a similar model sold in 2019 for $44,800. This particular unit comes with its own customized Aluma motorcycle trailer that will allow the future owner to easily move it around. Built in 2022, the trailer is still perfectly capable of hauling motorcycles.

Though the performance of Tritan's A2 Aerocar wasn't that impressive, its futuristic design and slippery aerodynamics were elements of novelty that made it a fascinating machine.