One man and his ape!

02/08/2011

Kyle Coughtrey with his Piaggio Ape

Sixteen-year-old Kyle Coughtrey, from West Chiltington, has just finished his BTEC Level 2 Manufacturing Engineering course at the College's Crawley campus. Whilst there is nothing unusual about that, the vehicle he uses to commute the 45 mile round-trip often has other motorists doing a double-take on the A24!

Kyle, is the proud owner of a Piaggio Ape (pronounced "ah-peh", which is Italian for bee), one of a small number of the distinctive, sub-micro vans registered in Sussex. With the Ape achieving a top speed of 30mph, the journey to College can take over an hour each way!

Keen to get on the road from an early age, Kyle had originally hoped to get a moped, but the idea was ruled out by his parents, who were concerned about safety. As Kyle was keen for independence, and wanted to make his own way to college in Crawley, the inspired solution was the Piaggio Ape, which has three wheels rather than two, but is still legal for a sixteen year old to drive after taking the Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) test.

Despite looking like a scaled-down version of a flatbed truck, the vehicle's controls are identical to those of a moped, with the clutch and throttle operated by levers on the handlebars, and a distinct lack of a steering wheel! It has just one seat, but room for plenty of tools in the back, plus a handy cover for wet weather.

Having owned the 02 registration Ape for several months, Kyle has grown very attached to it and hopes to keep it even after he passes his driving test, once he turns 17 in April, although he admits he is looking forward to driving a vehicle with four wheels!

He says: "I really enjoy driving the Ape around and I quite often have other motorists waving at me or giving me the thumbs up - especially when I'm driving on the dual carriageway! I've never actually seen another one on the road, so I know it's quite unusual. Some of my friends really like the Ape, and others think it's a bit weird, but I love it, and think it's much more useful than a moped!"

Kyle recently finished his GCSEs at The Weald School in Billingshurst, alongside completing his two-year engineering course at Central Sussex College as part of the 14-16 Schools Links Programme. However, he hopes to return to the Crawley campus as an Apprentice Welder in September, which means that the Ape could be a regular sight at the College for the foreseeable future!