Voiturette has two meanings, depending largely on date. Before World War Two the word applied to light-weight racing cars such as the Bugatti Type 13 and the original ERAs, but in the years following the end of the war it came to refer to a type of small French three-wheeled cyclecar.
In the very late twentieth century the word was revived for a French vehicle designed for use by people not younger than 16 years of age. Its an extremely light car that weighs less than 350 kilograms (770 lb) empty and will take a load (i.e., passengers) of mass not more than 200 kilograms (~440 lb). Further, its top speed is limited to 45 km/h (~30 mph). Such vehicles are also called "motor quadricycles", or, less exactly, "motor tricycles". The driver's licenses that permit their use are those for category "B1". The European Union has decreed that all lands subject to its rule must accept these as alternatives on the market, and could only modify the driver's license requirements to drive them. The British did not like having to accept such a thing on its roads.
Category:Car classifications
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