1936 STOUT SCARAB

 1936 STOUT SCARAB

The 1936 Stout Scarab is one of the oddest looking cars that you will ever see. The auto was designed by William Stout who had been employed as an aviation engineer focused on aircraft before transitioning to the automobile industry. Drawing on Stout Air Lines success with first introducing luxury and leisure into transportation through the introduction of in-flight meals and flight attendants into flights, Stout looked to mimic these successes in the auto industry. The Stout Scarab was designed to be a diner car on wheels driven by a powerful V-8 located in the rear of the stretched auto body. Ultimately the Scarab never took off in popularity due to its high cost, and only 10 were produced in the lifetime of the brand.

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1932 FORD SPEEDSTER

1932 FORD SPEEDSTER

The 1932 Ford Speedster is one of the oddest cars of the end of the Model-T era in the United States. The car was created by company designer, Eugene Gregorie and Henry Ford’s son, Edsel Ford, and was extremely long and sat low to the ground. The Speedster included a flathead V-8 engine and even had a start button for the engine many decades before this would become a standard feature throughout the auto industry. The original concept for the flathead V-8 and ignition system had been discussed in concept several years earlier, but Ford held off on expanding production of vehicles with the technology for business reasons for several years.

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AURORA SAFETY CAR

AURORA SAFETY CAR

The Aurora Safety Car was created wholly with its appearance being of no importance, and it shows. Created by Catholic priest, Alfredo Juliano, the car was created with the idea of significantly improving safety for both the auto’s passengers and pedestrians walking around. The car was one of the first to include seat belts, roll over bars that were built into the dome roof, foam filled bumpers that were mounted on gas shocks. One of the strangest features of the car is the rounded windscreen which were intended to help eliminate the need for windshield wipers. The Aurora Safety Car is widely considered by many to be the ugliest or one of the ugliest cars of all time.

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1935 BUGATTI TYPE 57S COMPETITION COUPE AEROLITHE

1935 BUGATTI TYPE 57S COMPETITION COUPE AEROLITHE

Although the original Bugatti Type 57S that debuted at the 1935 Paris Auto Show no longer exists, the car was demonstrative of a very new, but odd car design at the time. The 57S is a lowered version of the Type 57 and also has a v-shaped dip located at the bottom of the car’s radiator and strange looking mesh grills located on each side of the auto’s engine compartment. In order to achieve the unique look and feel of the Type 57S, the rear axle had to be passed through the rear frame. Also, a dry-sump oil system had to be created and installed to fit the engine under the lower hood of the automobile. There were only 43 Type 57S autos built.

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2010 PORSCHE 918 SPYDER CONCEPT CAR

2010 PORSCHE 918 SPYDER CONCEPT CAR

The 2010 Porsche 918 Spyder Concept Car was first displayed to the public at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The car is odd from the standpoint that the company added electric motors on the front and rear axles of the vehicle which helped produce a combined 218 horsepower. The car is primarily powered by a 3.4 liter, V-8, 500 horsepower engine. Despite the odd look of the 918 Spyder Concept Car, the design ultimately led to the Porsche hybrid supercar that can be found on the roadways today. The 918 also includes a button on the steering wheel that allows the driver to pick between four different driving modes depending on the driving conditions and requirements of the environment.

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