Weird Cars Thread

[lashto]

Maybe. Then again we could claim it isn't a car, but a tricycle.

car or tricycle it doesn't matter because anything that moves on high-heels, wins

@lashto a search for weird cars on any engine will bring up a ton of images. I did not see many of the ones here. Feel free to pick out the best ones you find and post.

Cannot do much more than posting those 'neverending' sources of images. Simply posting an image is easy but the really useful/interesting posts are the ones with extra details/history/etc ... no car expert here and cannot add any such interesting bits.
Keep it going though, very nice thread.

 

[Ilkless]

This is one of my favourite new channels, by Frank Stephenson, ex-BMW/Ford/Ferrari/Maserati/McLaren car designer. Really well-produced videos, great content that dissects car designs. Here he shows exactly why BMW's new grille design is so repulsive.

 

[Ron Texas]

@Ilkless the BMW grill alone qualifies it as weird, and I agree it's ugly. For the last several years BMW's in the US had the lowest resale values of the 4 German luxury car builders.

 

[Ron Texas]

Cannot do much more than posting those 'neverending' sources of images. Simply posting an image is easy but the really useful/interesting posts are the ones with extra details/history/etc ... no car expert here and cannot add any such interesting bits.
Keep it going though, very nice thread.

I have been trying myself to post the interesting ones. Some are my original photographs. I never did a broad search for weird cars to find my images. Houston happens to be a center for art cars. Unfortunately, the April parade was canceled due to the pandemic.

 

[Ilkless]

@Ilkless the BMW grill alone qualifies it as weird

That was what I was getting at. Saw it in real life on a new 4-series on the road as well, and it's still just as bad.

Back to more weird cars, I always admired Ken Okuyama's (Ferrari Enzo among others on the CV) coachbuilding operation in Japan. Some really quirky designs made in the same tradition as Touring or Pininfarina. His take on an Elise platform:

There's a camera on the rear fin that acts as the rear view mirror.

I also saw a couple of Mitsuokas in my neighbourhood before (photos from Google):

 

[Ron Texas]

@Ilkless the question is are we looking at a car which is weird or just different. Race cars are different, but form follows function. Art cars are usually weird, but are they weird in a significant way?

 

[Ron Texas]

1939 Duesenberg Coupé Simone Midnight Ghost

 

[Ken1951]

1925 RR Phantom I Jonckheere Coupe

 

[Shorty]

1939 Duesenberg Coupé Simone Midnight Ghost

View attachment 105116

That’s not weird. That’s beautiful.

 

[Ron Texas]

That’s not weird. That’s beautiful.

It's different and beautiful. I'm looking for some of my photos of vintage and race cars.

 

[Blumlein 88]

1939 Duesenberg Coupé Simone Midnight Ghost

View attachment 105116

I was wondering if it was a typo as Duesnberg folded in 1937. It isn't, but the car is a fraud. It was a Franklin Mint model and that is why the lady and some of the rest look computer generated. They never made such a car. Not that it wouldn't have been nice. It also didn't fit with the design ethos of Dusenbergs. Looked more like some of the Bugatti designs.

 

[Ron Texas]

I was wondering if it was a typo as Duesnberg folded in 1937. It isn't, but the car is a fraud. It was a Franklin Mint model and that is why the lady and some of the rest look computer generated. They never made such a car. Not that it wouldn't have been nice. It also didn't fit with the design ethos of Dusenbergs. Looked more like some of the Bugatti designs.

Nice sleuthing. It's still beautiful.

 

[Ron Texas]

Delahaye 135M by Ron Scubadiver, on Flickr

One of my original photos, take at the Houston MFA.

 

[Ken1951]

Delahaye 135M by Ron Scubadiver, on Flickr

One of my original photos, take at the Houston MFA.

The coachwork on some of the Delahayes rank among the most beautiful cars ever made.

 

[Wes]

those rear fis show that form follows what you think is function

 

[Shorty]

Somewhat less over the top than the Duesenberg, the Bugatti Tipo 57T from 1935:

 

[Wes]

Dr. Kamm is not amused by the Bugatti Butt.

 

[Ken1951]

Bill Cushenbery's Silhouette showcar

 

[Ken1951]

The Crucifier - another 60s era show car

 

[somebodyelse]

We saw a stock Sterling Nova back in #148. This is what happened when Syd Mead got hold of one:

More details at Jalopnik and pics at Classic Kitcars. He's been at it a while - here's one of his earlier creations: