July 3rd, 2023
By Aswirbaad Das, Govind Kolady
The industrial revolution truly paved the way for the automobile industry. There emerged new ideas, new technology and new car designs. Some for the better, and others not much so! Let’s have a look at 8 of the most unusually designed cars ever made.
The Bond Bug was a 70s style icon and the brainchild of the prolific designer, Tom Karen. Produced by parent company Reliant, this British three-wheeler used a 32 horsepower engine and had no doors–the entire greenhouse would tilt forward for access to its two seats.
Image source: Wikimedia Commonss
Half car, half boat and half not good as either a car or a boat, the Amphicar sure was strange! On the water, it could barely manage 11 kilometres per hour, and on land, it took around 40 seconds to accelerate to 97 kilometres per hour. Production of the Amphicar, however, stopped in 1963.
Serving one of the most important people in the world, the Popemobile features a large, modern, bulletproof-glass cupola that offers accessibility and visibility for the Pope during public visits. The Popemobile has now evolved from a fossil fuel variant to an all-electric variant.
Image source: Wikimedia Commonss
The grandfather of all the electric cars of today, the 1942 ‘electric egg’ concept car was created by industrial designer Paul Arzens. It was designed partially because of a gasoline shortage in World War II and could run up to 100 kilometres on a single charge.
Image source: Wikimedia Commonss
This peculiar car is designed by Italian refrigerator manufacturer Iso. And, just like in a refrigerator, Iso kept the door of the car in the front end as well! Later, after licensing it to BMW, it was then re-engineered into the 1953 BMW Isetta.
Image source: Wikimedia Commonss
A boon in today’s congested roads, the Peel P50 is the world’s smallest production car that was originally designed by the Peel Engineering Company in 1962. Instead of a reverse gear, it has a handle at the rear that allows one to physically manoeuvre the vehicle when required!
Image source: Wikimedia Commonss
Dubbed ‘The World’s First Minivan’, the Stout Scarab was designed and built by engineer William B. Stout in the 1930s. This vehicle, shaped like a scarab (beetle), was also among the first ones to have introduced fibre body construction and air suspension to the automobile market.
Image source: Reddit
In 1921, French biplane designer Marcel Leyat created this ‘propeller car’ because he believed that conventional cars were too heavy and not aerodynamic. However, due to the tremendous noise and safety risks it posed, he could only create 30 and sell 23 of them.
Image source: Wikimedia Commonss