I have test-driven the prototype, and there seems to be no problem at all with the rear steering. On the other hand, because there are two front wheels, in principle a differential would be required, in fact only one of the two front wheels is actually powered. The concept here would have the same problem: complicated differential, or only one-wheel drive.

A more serious problem I see with the concept is the view through the canopy glass in the rain and at night. The Go-One velomobile, which also has a similar canopy adopted from a glider (sailplane) apparently has serious problems at night and in the rain, and many people have to drive it with the canopy partially removed under these conditions – the concept presented here presumably would have the same problems.

So in my opinion, it is certainly feasible, but has serious disadvantages, as the experience with similar existing velomobiles shows.

One thought. Every automobile and bicycle that humans are trained to use have front wheel steering (there’s a reason for this, and that’s a no-brainer) Rear wheel steering is now a mirror or inverse of front wheel steering in that, if you turn your handlebar or control wheel to the right, the vehicle moves left and the opposite happens when you turn your bar to the left. This can be confusing to a new person and may have significant learning curve, especially to be comfortable making quick moves in an emergency situation (such as when trying to avoid a collision)

Some also mentioned the possibility of a roll-over in a high speed tight bend cornering situation. That may be possible. The rear is only supported by one wheel. What the students should try to do is get a differential gearing for the front axle and see if that improves this problem.

Though I doubt rear wheel steering will ever work, I am glad that some people are still willing to play with the idea of covered cycles. After all, the majority of the population thought the automobile was a silly idea at first. Now they are accepted to the point of over saturation.

But we should note that the Thrust SSC is not designed to turn. It is a straight-line record machine.

http://www.lobosolo.com/velo/