In mid-1973, I was lucky enough to go on a tour of the Rupp Industries manufacturing plant in Mansfield, Ohio. While I don’t remember seeing a Centaur, although they must have been well along in the development process, I remember falling in love with the Ruppster, a small dune buggy. The Centaur was Rupp’s answer to a question no one asked: what would happen if one combined the economy of a motorcycle with enough automotive features to provide some comfort for the rider/driver? And more than that, it was street legal! This dilapidated Centaur project is located in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, and is advertised for sale here on Facebook Marketplace. No price is given; you are invited to make what I’m guessing will be very low offers.
The Rupp Corporation was founded in 1959 by Mickey Rupp, who started manufacturing Dart Karts. The company grew throughout the 1960s, and by 1969, Rupp employed over 400 people and produced mini-bikes, ATVs, and go-karts, as well as five models of Sno-Sport snowmobiles. From what I can tell, the Centaur was originally supposed to use a VW Beetle engine and transmission, and many surviving Centaurs of the ~1,200 produced in 1974 and 1975 have been converted to the flat-four drivetrain. Unfortunately for Rupp, they were never able to reach an agreement with Volkswagen to provide the engines and transmissions, so production proceeded with a vastly less powerful Kohler snowmobile 340 cc Kohler two-cylinder engine and a snowmobile-derived transmission. The resulting vehicle could reach 55 miles per hour with the engine screaming, but longevity suffered, and problems abounded, not just with the engine. Owners (including Elvis Presley!) reported cracking fiberglass bodies and other reliability issues that led to the discontinuation of the Centaur after just over a year of production. As a side note, Elvis’s actual Centaur changed hands in 2019 for $23,000!
The seller reports that this particular Centaur was found half-buried on land their family purchased. It’s missing the engine (no great loss from what I read) and needs, well, everything!
Even the dog looks puzzled as to the purpose of this car/cycle combination! This would be a tremendously ambitious restoration project, but you wouldn’t be without help. Centaur ads, brochures, owner’s manuals, workshop manuals and parts catalogs are all posted online, and there’s the requisite Facebook group of enthusiasts here. I suppose one could locate an original Kohler engine, but enthusiasts report repowering Centaurs with car, motorcycle, and electric drivetrains.
While it might look pretty sad right now, enough original parts like the rear bumper remain that it might inspire some enthusiast. Back in 2017, Barn Finds featured a really nice Centaur that had been repowered with a 440 cc Kawasaki engine, and at the time, some of you reported seeing Centaurs and similar trikes in your areas. Have any of you ever ridden one? Share any stories and thoughts you have about this oddball in the comments!
I saw a lot of Rupp products over the years but they were mostly minibikes and snowmobiles. I heard that they were developing some interesting ideas but nothing ever made it out to the Chinook Belt.
I look at this and wonder where they got the Earles-type front forks. I saw lots of them on Greeves motocross bikes and Beemers from the 60s. It would be interesting to see what happens after the new owner takes it and gives it a good home…
He should feel lucky if someone hauls it away without charging him. The pine needles in the interior is an indication of the value he places on it, that would have taken a couple minutes, at most.
Steve R
Mmmm, 1/4 car, 1/4 motorcycle, 1/2 nature.
I am glad they let us know it is a project.
Maybe it was half-buried for a reason…
Like Geo, saw’r a lot of Rupp minibikes and snowmobiles, but very rarely any kind of vehicle like this. To be fair, this wasn’t good at anything, and limited areas to ride these. ATVs were not far away, and builders threw everything they could think of, hoping one idea would stick. ATVs were these clumsy 6 wheel monstrosities, this was a sporty change, but didn’t take. How the handlebar got broke is anyone’s guess. Nice they included it.
Now, fast forward to today, I bet someones eyes lit up, “ALRIGHT!!!, Finally, a body”, ( and other parts), surely unobtainium by now, and that my friends is priceless,,almost. I read, ol’ Mikey had high hopes, and these were priced at just over $1700 bucks new. For another $100, you could have a Kawasaki Z1, for comparison. It’s a shame this ended up like this. Pahhts, just pahhts, as the awesome Bob Tasca would say.
Junk!
So, it’s just a weekend project?
Like Lancia Beta Coupes, very cool on the design board/paper. But quite lacking in the actual use world. There have been several “trikes” in this configuration, and I see one once in awhile. ( usually “not”running or being used) In fact I can probably go drive by two right now. Usually parked besides a mobile home. I like the body design as it has some style. But I never thought of this design as practicle. And I suppose that’s the point. At least the Can Am style 3 wheeler (2 in front and 1 in the rear) is practical as daily transportation if the weather cooperates. It looks like a fun challenge to make it “safely” drivable. (What to use for power, and safely tie it all together. Needless to say, this will never pass crash testing!
Like Lancia Beta Coupes, very cool on the design board/paper. But quite lacking in the actual use world. There have been several “trikes” in this configuration, and I see one once in awhile. ( usually “not”running or being used) In fact I can probably go drive by two right now. Usually parked besides a mobile home. I like the body design as it has some style. But I never thought of this design as practicle. And I suppose that’s the point. At least the Can Am style 3 wheeler (2 in front and 1 in the rear) is practical as daily transportation if the weather cooperates. It looks like a fun challenge to make it “safely” drivable. (What to use for power, and safely tie it all together.
Looks like a death wish , kamikaze machine to me if you ever get that heap a going. Maybe parts, definitely scrap .
Agreed Paul X just a POS and a waste of hard earned money and valuable time.
55 MPH? I suspect that a little above that aerodynamic lift would come into play. Buzzing along at 55 mph and all of a sudden you get hit with a 30 mph head wind gust. OR an 18 wheeler traveling the other way at 80 mph. Life could get really interesting for a few seconds. ( which would feel like hours)
The gods have reclaimed the Centaur…..
My family had a snowmobile dealership at the time this came out. We got one from Rupp, We drove it around a bit, but like my brother would say, It was scary to drive. It was low to the ground a car drivers couldn’t see you. What really killed the project though is that they were perhaps a year early.
The Kohler’s were air cooled. The guy who eventually bought it kept bringing it back because the engine would overheat and suck the drive seals into the trans. They needed a sealed system to run.
A year later, liquid cooled engines hit the market. That would’ve helped.