As far as custom projects are concerned, we have seen our fair share of exciting developments. But when it comes to amazingly bespoke vehicles, this one is certainly off the charts, and not necessarily in the right direction. That’s because it has nothing to do with something like a deeply personalized Rolls-Royce. On the contrary, everything has been reduced to the most basic driving essentials.
Naturally, among the first reactions one can have when seeing this would be to promptly ask “what is it?!” We’re not entirely sure we can even answer that correctly, since the creator itself said the main goal was to “deconstruct the idea of consumable transportation styling: to see the light, the darkness, the air, the sounds, the world in 360 degrees.” Fancy words, but we can imagine the project had enough aesthetic grip to get included in a recent exhibition at the Peterson Automotive Museum.
It certainly looks out of this world – and we can’t even begin to wrap our heads around it, though it’s not the first time we’ve laid our eyes upon it. The “Consumer Car” was created back in 2016 by a Michigan designer and artist, its presentation making a sensation back in the day with the “box on wheels” look (I, for one, see it as a sofa with a mirror...) and the fact it’s not only drivable but also road legal!
Well, it turns out that’s a very important detail, as the “driving art” project has recently come up for sale in the Garage Kept Motors inventory. These guys are no strangers to eccentric cars, so they must have confidence they’ll be able to find the right buyer for this... thing. It’s not going to be easy, though, since the listing mentions a $74,900 asking price.
It’s certainly going to stand out in any crowd, but don’t count on getting to an automotive event in a timely manner because the one-off vehicle isn’t exactly muscle car material. That's despite the fact it was featured in the “Disruptors” exhibit in late 2019 and part of 2020 at the Petersen Automotive Museum.
That is certainly the fault of the base powertrain, which is said to come from a humble econobox (how fitting!), the 1993 Ford Festiva. As such, this odd transportation device packs a measly 1.3-liter four pot that’s mated to a five-speed manual transmission under the black (let’s agree to call it a) hood.
By the way, there are no creature comforts to speak of inside the car. Actually, there’s nothing else other than a couple of black seats up front and a bench in the back, along with a steering wheel, three pedals, and the decidedly aesthetically unpleasing gear shift lever. If that’s the price to pay for art, count us out on this one.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News