The Youabian Puma Costs $1.1 Million, Is Weird and Has Volvo Parts

But some people just can't live with the flaws of mass produced automobiles and we can relate to that. Because behind that Lambo badge is an Audi steering wheel and just about every rapper and his mom have a Bugatti nowadays. That's why some like to put their name to their very own automobile, mostly quirky and creative people.

They include rapper Will.I.Am, who has a DeLorean-based sportscar with gullwing doors, or Aerosmith's Steve Typer, who ordered Hennessey to make his Venom GT into a convertible with a custom sound system.

The cost

The Youabian Puma was actually first shown at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2013, when its creator said he'd spent $1.1 million (about €850,000) to build this 20-foot long (about 6.5 meters) four-seat convertible coupe.

It belongs to a Los Angeles cosmetic surgeon Kami Youabian and has been under development for seven long years. Onnik Hovansian, who acted as project manager for the build, says "it's a very unique design that he dreamed and decided to put into reality."

The weird design

The entire body of the Puma is made from fiberglass to resemble the wild nature of a feline. We've been sqinting for the past half our but still fail to see the "Eye of the Tiger" in this thing. The Los Angeles company that put it together claims this one-off is "conceptualized for those individuals who dare to be different than the ordinary. Those who go a step beyond achieving and dreaming the best that they can be."

Volvo parts and a bit of Americana

Even though most of the bodywork of the Puma is original, there are some bits that we recognized. The first is a large folding metal roof that turns this into a convertible. It's been taken straight off a Volvo C70, the sleek two-door from Sweden that just went out of production.

That's not all though. Just in front of its carefully sculpted bonnet is a familiar-looking set of headlights. Yes, they're also from the C70 coupe, though they have been set much closer together, reminding us of the Plymouth Prowler… though not in a good way.

Under the hood of this massive one-off car is not a Swedish engine, but a 500 horsepower 7-liter engine from an old Corvette. It has the tough job of moving the huge 20-inch wheels and 44-inch tires using a six-speed automatic gearbox. Its constructors claim it will do 0 to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds, which we do have a tough time believing.

Having said all that, we still have to commend mister Youabian. His car might not be our vision of perfection but it's his and nobody can take that away.