Post Listing Update: This Rixi did not meet reserve despite 40 bids up to $3,050 on eBay.
The Turner Manufacturing Company was founded in 1859 under the name of Thomas Turner & Sons. They built a wide variety of products: cars, machine tools, aircraft landing systems, diesel engines, recovery winches, truck gearboxes…the list goes on. They also made light delivery vehicles under a subsidiary named LDV, which stood for…Light Delivery Vehicles. LDV offered the Bivan (2-wheeler), Trivan (3-wheeler), and the Rixi, which is the rickshaw-inspired contraption you see in front of you today.
From what I’ve been able to research, the Rixi is basically a modified Trivan that had seats in the back to carry passengers in lieu of cargo. Top speed was approximately 30 miles per hour but comfortable cruising speed was 20. It was powered by a 168cc Turner Tiger two-stroke motor (paired to a 3-speed transmission) that was mounted on the front wheel. For more information, check out History Website.
Per the seller, this example (VIN: BT356) was “stored in a barn in the dry Central Valley of California by the same owner for over 40 years. It is very original, straight & rot free with light surface rust here & there mostly on the underside…The engine runs smooth & sounds great yet the float bowl in the carburetor is having trouble keeping the fuel flowing so the engine currently is running for just a couple moments.” These were not commercially successful when new and they’re very rare finds – the seller may not be exaggerating very much when he says this “may well be the last surviving LDV Rixi known to still exist.” The History Website cited above suggests that there’s only one known example of the Trivan, and it sold at a Bonhams auction in 2014 for $3,469.
If I was a rich man, this would be the new Bike-urious shop vehicle. But I’m not, so you can find this rare Rixi for sale in Aptos, California with bidding up to $1,009 and the reserve not yet met