CYCLECAR INNOVATOR
PETE LARSEN AND LIBERTY MOTORS
STORY | Michele Graaff
PHOTOGRAPHY | Karl Noakes
Our earliest understanding of freedom often began with three wheels. Teetering on tricycles, then on to bikes steadied with training wheels, we began to understand the power of our own mobility. We realized the speed at which we could make it to the end of the driveway. We learned how it feels to hit a curb, to pick gravel from a tender kneecap. On trikes and bicycles, we earned our first story-worthy scars. In those moments we dusted ourselves off and learned how to set our own course.
Seattle automotive designer Pete Larsen is a man who understands the connection between driving and identity. He has spent considerable time on two wheels (plus sidecar), even traveling Europe on a vintage BMW motorcycle. But we will get to Pete’s story in a minute. Demanding our attention now, as it would on the road, is Pete’s ACE, resplendent in the shapely, retro curvature of fender and bonnet. The glow is not a trick of photography, light, or paint. The mid-engine, flat six, three-wheeled ACE, quite simply, emits magic.
MORE THAN POMP AND GLEAM
When you first see the ACE beneath the clean light of Pete’s south side shop, you ache to run your hand over the engine cover. Then, you want to hear the thing roar to life. The ACE’s reverse-trike stance is low and planted, inches from the ground. The lineage of classic open-wheel race cars echoes throughout the design, cloaking the contemporary features of a serious road machine. Fluted air venting and visible—beautiful—suspension components emote movement and grace. Without turning the key, the ACE promises power and speed. And indeed, the ACE delivers. This isn’t just car show pomp and gleam. When the key turns in the ignition, the Honda GL 1800 engine bellows from behind the cockpit. There is a sense of solidity in the rumble, of pure anticipation. A quick throttle burst dispels any doubts. What feels like an early-era speedster is as agile and instantaneous as the modern motorcycle foundation it was built upon.
Who is the man who has quietly crafted one of the most unique yet innately recognizable vehicles we’ve seen? Pete Larsen started his teenage driving life barreling around in modified British sports cars. For him, driving was all about the experience of being connected to the road, visceral and freeing. It didn’t take long for him to find that joy on two wheels. “Riding a motorcycle takes the driving experience to the nth power.”
Pete entered university naturally inclined toward mechanical engineering. His professional path wound its way into design of all kinds, from wood sculpture to landscape architecture, then to fabrication and welding. All of this work would eventually coalesce with his love of driving something fast—preferably without a roof or windows.
When large-scale planning and design projects became harder to find, Pete relied on his fabrication skills to hold a steady position. He was repairing giant shipping containers in Tacoma when he became intrigued with a design idea. Honing in on his love of motorcycles, Pete developed a custom-made, vintage-inspired sidecar for his Harley Davidson.
“Sidecars are right on the fringe,” said Pete. “That’s why I love them. They’re edgy. You’re right out of an old movie when you’re riding a bike with a sidecar. Same with a Morgan 3-Wheeler.”
Other Harley owners agreed. During a summer road trip to the biker mecca, Sturgis, South Dakota, the sidecar gained so much attention, Pete and his wife Patty went home with enough orders to change their lives. Pete made the decision to leave his job and focus full-time on the Liberty sidecar.
FROM SIDECAR TO CYCLECAR
The progression of practice and curiosity brought about Pete’s first custom cyclecar. The original ACE took cues from the Morgan Motoring Company trikes of the 1930s, while adding the flare and sportiness of a hot rod (powered by a Harley motorcycle engine). The combined artistic and performance upgrades caught the eye of designers at Morgan. Eventually, Pete agreed to the acquisition of his Liberty ACE design. Today, Pete’s ingenuity is the foundation of the current Morgan M3W found zipping along curvy countryside roads around the world.
Morgan’s acquisition of the original ACE brought another decision point in Pete’s life. He remained centered in his affinity for the open-wheel life and returned to his early inspirations— Grand Prix cars from historic endurance races, such as the 1938 Auto Union Type D, the 1947 Porsche 360 Cisitalia, and the 1940 Alfa Romeo Tipo 512. A new Liberty cyclecar soon appeared from a lump of modeling clay.
Renowned British automotive journalist Andrew English takes the ACE for a spin.
Pete began rudimentary CAD modeling from the mock-up. Realizing his limits, he discovered a kindred spirit in Pascal Golay, an expert CAD designer and auto enthusiast, who worked for Rhino 3D. Taking Pete’s rough drafts, Pascal smoothly digitized the vision. The new ACE emerged, beating with the heart of a race car while evoking the spirit of twisty-road touring finesse.
LIBERTY MOTORS
One can get a sense of Pete and his craft within minutes of entering his spare, tidy workshop. The day we visit Liberty Motors, the space is quiet except for the cantankerous rattling of a train passing across the street. Crisp, white painted walls and smart black trim are the backdrop for the Alfa Rosso Red ACE.
The unassuming footprint of the 100-plus-year-old shop holds a rich history—he and Patty restored the space using archived blueprints of the original building. Workstations are drafting tables, organized with pencil and paper, a protractor and ruler—no computer to be seen. The inner workshop houses toolboxes, welding and fabrication equipment, and a spray booth. It’s a space laid out with an eye for process and flow. For the most part, Pete assembles each ACE entirely alone. Some elements of the cyclecar come to him prefabricated based on his designs and molds, by local vendors: laser-cut chassis tubing, composite body parts, paint and upholstery. Every part, connector, fit, and function has undergone Pete’s meticulous process. Good builds take time.
“I fabricate the chassis and suspension in batches so that those parts are on the shelf ahead of any order, which takes about six months to complete.”
The new ACE evokes the golden ratio of pleasing symmetry. This visual impact parallels the intentional mechanical choices of its underpinnings. The TIG-welded tubular-framed chassis braces the 1,800cc, liquid-cooled engine, transmission, swingarm, and fuel tank of the Honda Gold Wing. All of this is bundled into a package of roughly 1,000 pounds, prime sized for a responsive 135 horsepower and 127 lb-ft. of torque. Pete chose an efficient five-speed sequential transmission, further emphasizing the rocket-like dynamism of the ACE. Add a co-pilot to the cozy cockpit and it’s a Sunday drive like no other.
Recently, renowned British automotive journalist Andrew English visited Pete, taking the new ACE for a spin along scenic Seattle back roads. His review was stellar: “Climb out and you immediately want to get back in. Immaculately built, quite beautiful and terrific fun, this is the sort of car you reluctantly walk away from, wondering how you can make it yours.”
Race car driver Juan Manuel Fangio once said, “You need great passion, because everything you do with great pleasure, you do well.” The more one gets to know Pete Larsen and his ACE, the more we realize that this is a man who has quietly made automotive history, perhaps not fully expecting that he would. The new ACE reminds us to remain endlessly curious, to reframe the past into something different, and maybe more beautiful. For many of us, the thrills of discovery no longer happen with our faces in the wind, balanced on three wheels—but maybe they should.
Learn more about Pete Larsen and the ACE at libertymotors.us
