The World's Strangest Vehicles

"QUANTUM SHOT" #164(rev) Link - article by Avi Abrams The Very Opposite of "Soccer-Mom Minivans"! "Automotive wrongness, some of it so wrong it emerges on the far side of the veil as a new kind of right..." --Jay Lake Sometimes simply getting from point A to point B... is not really the point. Some people want to do it in style, with a certain panache, pride and lots of attitude - while others want to set their vehicles as far apart from the norm as possible (without crossing into the ridiculous). Some of the vehicles depicted here were made for show only, but some appear to be roadworthy and maybe even... groundbreaking? Let's start with the Mini-Cooper Limo with a Pool!! - this six-meter long Mini XXL features detachable sunroof and a whirlpool for two people. See another cool Mini-Cooper stretch in this video. (images via) So, if you have a mobile jacuzzi, then how about a mobile Barbeque - HEMI Powered, no less! Or perhaps, you can fashion your mobile barbeque in the shape of a gun and put it on your truck (which seems to be quite a popular idea): (images via) This is... the Surface Orbiter, a hand-built amphibious vehicle designed by Rick Dobbertin: (images via Dobbertin Hydrocar) "New Yorker Rick Dobbertin built the amphibious Surface Orbiter out of a milk truck in order to cross the world via land and sea. It took him 4 years, $175,000 and 14,000 man hours to complete." (more info) (images via) The "Stout Scarab" from 1936 is the epitome of the "Art Deco" style and requires an article on its own: (image via) Dave Major's Aerocar 2 (Propellor Car) is outfitted with a six-cylinder WWII Lycoming aircraft engine (left image below). On the right you can see the beautiful wooden car, built by Friend Wood (talk about appropriate last name). His Tryane II is built in the same way as wooden boats are usually built - and looks wonderful after 2000 work hours invested into it: (images via 1, 2) Here is the marvelously wacky ZZR Made for the 1960's movie classic "Out of Sight" movie by the Barris company: (image credit: Barris) The famous Pacman Car, the original version from the 1980s (left image below). On the right is the weird "upside down" bus conversion, made for touring. See another topsy-turvy bus version here. Apparently these bus are quite popular with tourists: (images via 1, 2) This iconic shoe car is one of the "art cars" designed by Harrold Blank: (image credit: Harrod Blank) Here is a pretty crude, but still "fab" running replica of the Star Wars Landspeeder: (Source: Uberreview) Citroen DS in the "Fantomas" movie hides quite a few surprises: Is this a mafia car? (see left image)... and another outrageous steering wheel variation: (images via) Off-Road Wonders and "Monster Anything" Monster truck Mercedes? Why not (seems to be made in Russia). Some miserable-looking jet-truck racer is on the right: Here are a few more off-road conversions, some less successful than others: (images via 1, 2) This amphibious bus conquers deep, deep water. Similar RV conversions are made by Terra Wind company: (image via) Wheels replaced by skis prove to be one of the most popular (and effective) modifications: Three-wheeled and two-wheeled oddities Here is a two-wheeled (or maybe, technically "three-wheeled") "car thing" from France, manufactured in 1925-1928 by the Mauser company (better known for guns) and called a "Monotrace": (images via) Here is "Davis Motor Corp." car from 1948: (image via) Read more about such hybrids with training wheels in our popular article World's Worst and Ugliest Cars. More creative means of transportation: (image via) Is this for real? I can see headlines: "Wind-powered car blows across Mother Russia" - (image via) Finally, perhaps the strangest - the Ski-Lift Bus!, used on Mt. Hood, Oregon between Government Camp and Timberline Lodge: (image credit: VintagePhoto) Article by Avi Abrams, Dark Roasted Blend. CONTINUE TO PART TWO! -> READ PART THREE HERE -> ALSO READ OUR "AMAZING AUTOMOBILES" SERIES ->