Santa Fe Slingshot will offer three-wheeled vehicle rentals
Aug. 14—Just two months ago, Grey De Bella rented his first three-wheeled Slingshot "autocycle" in Sun Valley, Idaho.
By July 1, he owned a 178-horsepower, 2,100-pound Polaris Slingshot. By Aug. 1, he had his rental insurance and was ready to rock and roll with his Santa Fe Slingshot Rentals business.
"This is very quick," De Bella said. "We jumped on it right away."
De Bella jumped on his Santa Fe Slingshot Rentals business so fast that the business location won't be ready for another four months. For now, rental pickups and drop-offs are at De Bella's other business, Grey Matter, 539 Harkle Road.
Ultimately, Santa Fe Slingshot will operate out of the former Squeaky Clean Car Wash building, 1900 Cerrillos Road.
The building now looks like a war zone relic — just walls remain. No roof, no windows, no doors. All the outdoor cement and asphalt for cars has been removed, and abundant weeds have populated the half-acre grounds next door to El Rey Court.
The car wash building looks prime for demolition, the exterior still decorated with peeling water-drop paint design from the car wash, the interior graced with large-scale graffiti. But the 2,940-square-foot block structure built in 1990 is staying and will become home to the future slingshot fleet and the rental office.
"The building is structurally sound," De Bella said. "The building works for us. [The car wash] trenches are getting filled in. Most of the windows will be filled in."
De Bella's parents bought the property at the beginning of 2022 as an investment after De Bella found the property. It had housed Squeaky Clean Car Wash from 1984 until 2020, when it never reopened after the first coronavirus closures.
Hacienda Court and later Hacienda Motel operated at 1900 Cerrillos Road from about 1950 to 1980, according to The New Mexican archives and the Hudspeth City Directory.
"All the car wash equipment was left, down to the candy dispensers," De Bella said.
"Somebody left their lunch," added Lauren Aguiler, De Bella's girlfriend and business partner.
So far, he had one customer in his first week-plus — his father, local jeweler Joe De Bella — but the website is up, santafeslingshot.com, and De Bella is ready to rent.
"I was the first one to rent it," Joe De Bella confirmed. "I grew up riding motorcycles. For me it was freedom. It was a wonderful experience. We went to Madrid, up to the ski area. The greatest thing is the color."
Grey De Bella chose neon lime, a color he plans to stick with as he builds his fleet, possibly up to six Slingshots. A Slingshot is classified as an autocyle with two wheels in front, one in back, entirely open to the elements.
"There's nobody that does this type of vehicle rental in Santa Fe," Grey De Bella said. "When you are out in the open, it's a different experience than being in a car. It's a different engagement with the surrounding environment. The experience speaks for itself. It's fun to drive. It feels like a go-kart."
Santa Fe Slingshot Rentals offers a two-hour rental for $200, four hours for $300 and eight hours for $400. There is a $1,500 deposit that includes an insurance deductible.
"We have a couple recommended tours," De Bella said. "Taos for four hours, Madrid for two hours. Up to the ski area, that's going to be a big one. Another thing we have going is weddings. A bride and groom can drive away with the cans behind them."
De Bella's other business is the polar opposite of Slingshot. De Bella opened Grey Matter in November 2019 as a float spa and infrared sauna.
"Slingshots are loud and invigorating," De Bella said. "The spa is the complete opposite."
The float spa was as much for him as a business venture. He tried one out in Denver.
"I've done everything imaginable for pain management," said De Bella, who was paralyzed in a hit-and-run motorcycle accident in 2009. "The first time I floated, I was blown away, the way I felt physically, mentally. It's a very internal reset."
The float spa is a tank with 10 inches of water and 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of pharmaceutical-grade Epsom salts — a similar salt ratio to the Dead Sea, De Bella said.
"It's great for pain relief, stress relief and anxiety," he said.
He also added an infrared sauna, where infrared wavelengths create heat and penetrate into the body.
"It raises your core temperature," De Bella said. "The infrared penetrates your body. It has detox benefits. The traditional sauna is more topical on the surface."
Just as he paired float tank and sauna, on Cerrillos Road, he plans to pair Slingshots and food trucks.
"The plan is to do more than just Slingshots," he said. "The is just the first thing that came to fruition. We have all the space in back. We plan to do something with food trucks."
For now, though, it's one Polaris Slingshot.
"At this point, we're getting started with this one unit to get through the winter," De Bella said.
