- [Glenn] Out of all the weird looking vehicles on the road,
on the water and in the sky.
These retro vehicles are sure to turn heads.
This is Glenn and here are 15 crazy retro vehicles
you won't believe existed.
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- [Announcer] Number 15.
- [Glenn] Paul Lewis from Denver, Colorado
had a big idea for a futuristic
three wheels vehicle in the early 1930's.
From his design, we get the 1937 Airomobile.
The aerodynamically styled model
was created by the same group
that designed the 1936 Lincoln-Zephyr.
The Airomobile is front wheal drive
and can easily reach speeds of 80 miles an hour.
Lewis toured the USA on a promotional tour
covering over 45,000 in the vehicle,
which averaged over 45 miles per gallon.
Unfortunately, Lewis was unable to secure finical
backing for production
and the car never made it out of the prototype stage.
If you wanna see this vehicle it remains on display
in The National Automobile Museum in Reno, Narvada.
- [Announcer] Number 14.
- [Glenn] It's a car, it's a boat, no wait,
it's a car that's designed to look like a boat?
Taking it's inspiration from the nautical world,
the Runabout was suppose to the combine the beauty
of European design with the practicality of a pick up truck.
With the open design of a roadster.
The Runabout came with a 2,946cc V6 engine,
which produced about 200 horse power.
The car was made using hard wood, just like in a yacht
and needed extra steel bracing for rigidity,
so it was rather heavy.
It did have a jet ski that you could tow
in the back the car however.
This car definitely had an interesting style,
maybe that's why it never made it out of the concept stage.
- [Announcer] Number 13.
- [Glenn] The Optica made it's first flight
in December of 1979.
A light aircraft designed for low speed observation work,
it was also a low cost alternative to helicopters.
It was powered by a 160 horse power engine
and had a max speed of 132 miles per hour.
It had a bubble like cabin, which offered 270 degree
panoramic vision to the pilot and passenger.
It's powered by a ducted fan, which makes it
exceptionally quite, which is saying a lot
for a 27 foot long plane, with a wing span of 39 feet.
Around 22 of these aircraft were made
with 10 being destroyed in an arson attack on the company.
The company recently came back under control of John Edgley,
with rumors to bring back Optica production,
as early as 2019.
- [Announcer] Number 12.
- [Glenn] If you're looking for weird cars,
well I've got one here for ya.
The Capsula was an ambitious move
to design a modular vehicle.
The capsule cabinet could be changed
to work better with your needs.
The vehicle could transform into a commercial vehicle,
an ambulance, a fire truck and even a school bus,
with the quick change of the capsule.
It had storage compartments under the capsule
built into the chassis between the wheels
for easy, out of the way, convenient storage of luggage.
Although, all of the cars kinda look like a box on wheels,
attached through a Lego platform.
Maybe that's why it never made it to full production.
- [Announcer] Number 11.
- [Glenn] Now I know this little car looks like a
battery operated one, that you would buy for your children,
but I wouldn't trust them to be driving this around.
Most of the mechanical parts, including the engine,
came from a few different Fiat models.
It also had a four wheel, Independent suspension system.
The engine is in the back,
while supplying power to all four wheels for as much
off-roading as you're willing to take in this vehicle.
Only 600 of these little vehicles were made
and only about 50 are still around.
It might be hard to get your hands on this one,
but we have seen some for sale, for around $50,000.
- [Announcer] Number 10.
- [Glenn] This one person city car
was nicknamed The Raincoat.
It's powered by a 150cc engine, giving it a top speed
of around 30 miles an hour
and it was a three wheeled design.
The car is so narrow that you could actually
drive it into your house, right through your front door.
Given of course,
you don't have stairs leading into your house.
The engine and front wheel can turn 180 degrees,
you know, 'cause, the car didn't
have a conventional reverse gear.
The top of the car is made from canvas as a safety measure,
if the car were to flip onto its only door,
then you could just bust out through the top.
If you're wanting this car, well, it is on display
at the DAF Museum in the Netherlands.
- [Announcer] Number nine.
- [Glenn] Designed originally on the theme of
cars for the year 2000
and debuted at the 1992 Turin Motor show,
the Biga is a very interesting concept.
Cut down to bare essentials, this minimalistic vehicle
wasn't made for everyone to own.
The Biga was made as part of a
project aimed at traffic management.
Using a personal car recorded in a database,
users would be able to burrow the car
from a designated parking space, use it
and then park it in another dedicated parking spot.
Kinda like how big cities are doing it with bikes,
but with, you know, with a tiny car.
With only one door in the back
and four seats inside, this car really did cut down
on all the extras.
This is another one that never made it to full production.
- [Announcer] Number eight.
- [Glenn] Marcel Leyat has build around 30 different
propeller different cars but only two still exist today.
While this car looks like it might pop out some wings
and just take off, this propeller stays grounded.
The massive propeller was driven
by eight horse power engine.
While eight horse power seems lacking,
the lightweight wooden body, aluminum wheels
and lack of conventional vehicle engine,
this little car could scoot.
Some of the vehicles made
could travel over 100 miles per hour.
While Layet was convinced that propeller driven cars
were the way of the future,
it seems not everyone was in line with that idea.
But one of the vehicles is on display,
at the Museum of Automations in Grenoble, France.
- [Announcer] Number seven.
- [Glenn] At first glance this might look like the Popes
Sunday driver, but don't count on this vehicle having
bullet proof glass.
The clear doors aren't even glass,
they're made from acrylic.
To give the driver a clear view of the road passing
beneath them and to provide the feeling of freedom
that you get from a motorcycle.
It also had different configurations for the vehicle.
It could be all enclosed with canvas top up,
it could be a convertible with it down,
you could even fold the wind shield down
to feel the wind on your face.
It had only enough room for two people
and a very small amount of luggage,
but then again, the car was only made for a few.
The Motomachine was an exclusive car that was only
made available to Gurgel's share holders.
- [Announcer] Number six.
- [Glenn] Constructed by students
for the Aeolus Race in the Dutch town of Den Helder,
the Ventomobile is definitely a crazy vehicle.
The giant propeller on the back of this mad three wheeler,
is able to be turned into the wind
and with the pitching of the blades
it can be adjusted to the wind speed.
With its light weight, only about 300 pounds,
it was able to travel at 64% of the winds speed,
with it blowing directly at them.
The giant propeller is 6 1/2 feet in diameter
and supplies the vehicle with six kilowatts of power.
The students ended up winning first place for this design.
This one won't be roaming your city streets on a windy day,
that is unless you get out there and build one.
- [Announcer] Number five.
- [Glenn] No, this isn't some massive pill-bug
from Starship Troopers nightmares,
this is the 1951 Hoffman.
This three wheeled car is considered by some
to be the worst car ever made.
Made after the war from basically any spare parts around,
the vehicle was very cramped and many of the design features
left us scratching our heads.
The starter button is placed down by your hip.
The windows are moveable through a leather strap
attached to the bottom.
The gas filler is located on top of the car,
with a tube that feeds through the cabin.
And the shift pattern is linear,
with neutral in between each gear.
Rear wheeled stirring is the biggest blunder
in a three wheeled vehicle.
Fortunately for other drivers on the road,
there was only one of these ever made.
- [Announcer] Number four.
- [Glenn] The 1992, BMW Columbus was introduced
to mark the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America.
The car was christened a sailing ship for dry land,
making it one of the weirdest vehicles we've ever seen.
The car was 20 feet long,
so it definitely felt like you were driving a boat.
It was fitted with a 500cc V12 BMW engine,
pushing out 300 horse power.
It had seven seats, with the option of nine,
since the interior could be modified.
Each passenger seat was hooked up to a TV
with a connected cable and a VHS system.
The raised drivers cockpit is said
to give the drivers greater visibility of the road,
at the cost of looking silly.
With it's massive size,
this car never made it to full production.
- [Announcer] Number three.
- [Glenn] The Sea Ranger looks like something
straight outta a science fiction novel.
Built on a Mercedes Unimog chassis,
this car is extremely capable in rough terrain.
The cabin is entirely water tight
and the Sea Ranger is also an amphibious watercraft.
There's a seat positioned on top of the vehicle,
near the back, next to an radio antenna,
that was made for easy fishing off the roof of your car.
Although, it seems more like a gunner seat on a spacecraft.
It made it's debut at the 1980 Hanover Fair
and while it drew quite of bit of attention,
there just wasn't for it to be manufactured commercially.
So for now we just get to admire it
at the Kalani Design Museum in Kensington, London.
- [Announcer] Number two.
- [Glenn] This 28 foot long monster
is a rare sight to behold.
The only Oldsmobile to be professionally built
into a limousine was the Tornado.
And it was the named the AQC Jetway 707.
The 707 could fit 12 to 15 people inside it.
It had nine doors and twin axle in the back,
making it the first stretched limousine to use them.
It had a Vista Cruiser style roof,
with integrated sky lights for extra fancy head room.
It also had an enclosed cargo area in the back.
The car is surprisingly, front wheel drive,
which we're guessing, made it easier to stretch the car.
Anywhere from 50 to 150 of these cars were made,
but not many survived.
Though we did see one sell for around $5000,
but that was without a motor.
Before we show you our favorite retro vehicle,
don't forget to comment down below
and let us know which one was your favorite.
- [Announcer] Number one.
- [Glenn] This little beaut',
started out life as a 1955 Ford.
Then crazy man and custom car builder extraordinaire
Gary Fioto, chopped it, slammed it
and slapped on a few other parts
and made this space age looking vehicle.
It's crazy bubbletop is actually the biggest bubbletop
ever created for a vehicle.
All the body panels are hand formed using 18 gauge steel.
Powered by a Chevy 350 V8 that is exposed through the hood,
this car is definitely a show stopper.
All the door handles also electric,
so no handles on this bad boy.
And even the bubbletop is lifted by motors.
As much as we know you want this car,
it's actually a one of
and was sold auction in California for over $360,000.
- Hey guys, this is Cassie,
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