Aermacchi Macchi MB1 Production of the Three-Wheeler Truck
Aermacchi like Piaggio was an Italian aircraft manufacturer, that at the end of WWII decided to start building a Three-Wheeler Truck. Also like Piaggio, they decided to go with a three-wheeler.
Production started on the Aermacchi Macchi in 1947 and carried on until the 1970s. However, production did not end in the 1970s as the rights to build the Macchi were sold and it was built by another company and renamed the BREMACH.
The Aermacchi Macchi was a big success which was down to the comfort of the ride and its remarkable reliability.
The front suspension was a revelation for the times as it was a design that was identical to the front trolley of their aeroplanes.
This style of front suspension gave a guaranteed behaviour which was something that had been missing from all road vehicles up until that time. It is the same style of suspension that is still used on the Piaggio Ape, TVS King and the Bajaj RE today.
Another major advantage of the Aermacchi Macchi was the reduced running costs because much of its design was borrowed from aircraft it was very reliable and hardly ever broke down.
The engine in this three-wheeled truck was a petrol (gasoline) 750cc flat twin 4-stroke and it produced 25HP. Sometime in the 1950s, this was upgraded to a diesel 973cc 2 cylinder air-cooled engine.
The gearbox had 8 forward gears and 2 reverse gears which bad it capable of carrying 1.5 tons.
There was also an articulated version which had a capacity of 2.5 toms.
The cab on the Macchi Three-wheeler truck was a two-seater cabin that was fully enclosed.
It came with a choice of bodies depending on what it was to be used for.
The main use of this three-wheeled truck was short-haul of goods or people and it was the use it was designed for.
#LTO this was never called a tricycle simply because it has three wheels, it was a truck because the number of wheels does not change what a vehicle is.