They were bold and strange. Some were interesting and unique, others served a specific purpose, and some looked like a school project assembled in the backyard.
The automotive world is littered with bold and weird attempts to make vehicles different from the typical car. Luckily, most remain (ed) as concept cars, but some seem to have slipped through the net of government regulations and found their way into the streets. Interestingly, some of these cars weren't made by startup companies but by renowned carmakers such as Ford and General Motors.
That said, have you ever spotted a strange car that had you scratching your head or bursting out with laughter? Well, here are the weirdest cars ever made in the most bizarre ways imaginable; they'll make you smile.
9 1956 BMW Isetta
Yes, we know it looks like a headless beetle on wheels or a bug with a fridge-like door. Produced in 1955, the Isetta was the weirdest car, unlike anything seen before. Forget about the egg-shaped design and the bubble-like windows, and let's focus on the accessibility of the interior. The whole front end was a door, and yes, the dashboard and the steering swung open with the entire single door. In the event of a crash, which probably would leave the occupants squashed, the exit would be through the canvas roof.
Everything was awkward with this car. All the same, the bubbe-car caused a stir (still does) and was the top-selling with over 161,000 units sold. A fully restored Isetta can top up to $ 40,000.
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8 1962 Peel P50
Produced by Peel Engineering Company, the microcar earned the Guinness World Record title of the smallest production car. It weighed 123lbs. The car had no reverse gear and was maneuvered manually using the handle at the rear. Also, the mono-eyed little car could only sit one pax and a grocery bag.
Still, some fanatics love weird things, for this small car fetched a whopping $176,000 at a Sotheby's auction. Notably, the vehicle is still in production but, of course, with improved reverse gear and all that comes with a modern car.
7 1953 Firebird I XP-21
The design was impressive to kids, that is. Otherwise, the style was impractical. The jet fighter on wheels had a bubble-like canopy and a single-sit co*ckpit. Assuming the front end was the hood, the car looked like a giant bullet on wheels with the exhaust pipes mimicking an airplane's engine. Too much weirdness was going on here, and the successors were no better. Luckily, all were concept cars.
The Firebird I came about due to General Motors' research for gas turbine engines started in the '40s. By the early 1950s, the production of the engines began, and GM dumped the first into Firebird I with 370 hp. The intended top speed was 200 mph, but the Firebird's tires lost traction at 100 mph when the test driver shifted gear during a test drive. Allegedly, the top speed of the successors was 200 mph.
6 1970 Ferrari 512S Modulo
From the side view, the body seems to have been mounted on a bow-like chassis with a canopy-style glass shield sliding to allow entry into the cabin. There's more weirdness in this one- all the four wheels were partly covered. From far, you'd confuse it for a spaceship.
The Ferrari 512S Modulo debuted at a 1970 Geneva Motor Show. It seems the designer, Paulo Martin, was not aiming for beauty when he sketched the Modulo. Only one was made and later sold to an American car enthusiast, James Glickenhaus, in 2014.
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5 1974 Vanguard Sebring Citicar
What the er- Yes, we know. This one was nothing more than a cheese-wedge powered by an electric motor the '70s were supposed to embrace in the wake of the oil crisis. The awkward style didn't leave much to be desired in the interior in terms of space either.
Frankly, the Vanguard Sebring Citicar was a horrible sight that would make small kids cry or laugh you out of the road (kids can be cruel). Its mediocre performance of 36 mph didn't help much. The production of the Citicar stopped in 1979, and with the emergence of electric cars, this one remains a historical relic.
4 1999 Fiat Multipla
There's no denying the design is weird, and there's a lot of confusion going on here. First, the Multipla gives the impression of a small car on top of a longer car molded together. Then, you'd think Fiat placed something heavy on the hood to compress it, and the multiple-eyes for headlights scattered everywhere do not make things better.
Nevertheless, the Fiat Multipla was a practical family car produced between 1998 and 2010. It featured two rows with a seating capacity of three in each. Although The Telegraph likened the Multipla to a "psychotic cartoon duck," it was spacious and excellent to drive.
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3 1999 Honda Fuya-Jo
Intended for the younger generation who loved the nightlife, the Fuya Jo, also known as "Sleepless Night," was low enough to make revelers skate through the city. And sufficiently tall to allow them to stand and dance their way from venue to venue. Also, the dashboard mimicked a club theme.
Okay, we agree the concept of the car was bold, but we can never forget the dramatic short hood and that it gave the impression of driving in a phone booth.
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2 1989 Nissan S Cargo
We refer to the Nissan S Cargo as a small, boxy, and quirky car that should never have seen the light of day. It was too tiny for even small cargo. Everything about the design was weird.
Based on Citroen 2CV, the Nissan S-Cargo debuted at a Tokyo Motor Show in 1989 but without Nissan branding. A 1.5 E15 inline-4 engine powered the 3-speed automatic car. The production of the Nissan S-Cargo run for three years, with 8,000 units produced.
1 2017 Karlmann King
There are so many overlapping shapes on this one they can cause diplopia. The manufacture of the most expensive SUV globally started in 2017 in Italy and the United States. Powered by a 6.8L V10 engine producing 398 horsepower, the heavy machine can only manage 87 mph.
The Karlmann King features a coffee machine, optional bulletproofing, a flatscreen TV, a laptop, and a fridge, among other desirable features. But still, the exterior design with multiple shapes is quite something.
NEXT: The Karlmann King: This $2 Million SUV Was Built Upon The Ford F-550
