He's flush with ACES

Pete Larsen says, "Build it, and they will come" -- albeit slowly -- for his handcrafted, custom-made ACE Cycle-Car that sells for about $50,000.

The three-wheeler is classified as a motorcycle and is meant to reference the 1930s with a romantic image and vintage look. Larsen says the ACE is a serious sports vehicle, high-performance and capable of 120 mph with a V-Twin Harley-Davidson motor and a five-speed automotive transmission, plus reverse.

Having built motorcycle sidecars since 1990, the industrial designer and fabricator began working with tape and plastic foam eight years ago to mock up the ACE.

The prototype took five years to develop. So far, he's built six and sold four. He builds the vehicles in a 1925 industrial building on Rainier Avenue South. Each takes six to eight months to complete.

The ACE, Larsen says, is "a piece of kinetic sculpture; it's theater an attitude."

About the name, "when you're behind the wheel, you're the ACE," Larsen says.

Alan Berner: aberner@seattletimes.com