- [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. (upbeat music) - [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, I hope you guys enjoyed this video. Tell us in the comments
below what you found to be most interesting and why. Also if you haven't done so yet, make sure to hit the bell notification next to subscribe button
and stay up to date with all of our latest videos. Thank you for watching,
I'll see you guys next time. (upbeat music)
