Weird and Wacky Vehicles of the New Millenium

By Erik Sofge of MSN Autos

 

As long as there have been cars, there have been weird cars — outlier designs too revolutionary or ridiculous for mass consumption. But today's automotive sideshows have their own flavor, as startups and established automakers alike try to both push the limits of fuel efficiency and create the perfect vehicle for the exploding number of urban drivers. We've scoured the world for the results of these efforts, and here our picks for the strangest cars of the new millennium; some are mere fancy, but others are already on the road

Antro Solo

Although the Hungary-based Antro Group once said this hybrid would be in production by 2012, it's hard to see the Solo as anything less than a high-stakes prank. The 3-seater gets up to 157 mpg highway, thanks in part to solar panels on the roof — and from passengers supplementing the onboard energy supply by pedaling. Antro also wants to build modularity into the Solo, allowing two of them to dock end-to-end and turning control over to the driver in the lead vehicle.

 

Brinks Dynamics Carver

Like some other vehicles on this list, the story of the 3-wheeled Carver is one of hope, marketplace failure and hope again. The trike's Dutch manufacturer shuttered in 2009, but the genuinely innovative 2-seater, which handles like an enclosed car but leans into turns like a motorcycle, was featured on the hit automotive TV show "Top Gear" in 2002. As many as 200 Carvers were sold, but the model is now in limbo; the current owners hope to license its Dynamic Vehicle Control technology to other companies.

Campagna V13R

Jay Leno himself has endorsed, or at least enjoyed, the V13R from Campagna Motors, a 2-seat 3-wheeler that starts at $57,849. Unlike the Canadian company's more futuristic, dune-buggy-inspired T-Rex, the V13R has the styling of a tiny vintage roadster — from the front. From other angles, the Harley-Davidson V-twin-powered trike looks more like a self-propelled sidecar or the unwise offspring of a lawnmower and a motorcycle. And yet we kind of want one.

Rinspeed sQuba

A celebrity among silly cars, Rinspeed's sQuba promises James Bond-style antics at a price only a Bond villain could afford. The electric vehicle can plunge into water to either float across the surface or dive beneath it. That last option isn't exactly comfortable: The cabin fills with water, forcing occupants to breathe with scuba masks attached to built-in, pressurized oxygen tanks. Switzerland-based Rinspeed says the vehicle will be able to drive itself and cost less than a Rolls-Royce, whenever or however it becomes a reality.

 

 

 

 

Toyota Fun-vii

Though we tried to avoid pure concepts, how could we leave out Toyota's Fun-vii, a 3-seater plastered inside and out with touch-sensitive display panels? Unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, the concept was shown sporting a massive, icon-based interface, turning the vehicle's exterior into a giant smartphone screen able to display videos or photos at a size that no stranger could possibly ignore. Toyota has no official plans to bring this dystopian nightmare to market.

 

 

 

 

Venturi Eclectic

The Eclectic is a rolling mascot for renewable energy, able to recharge its batteries with nothing but sun, wind and patience. Drivers can avoid plugging in by using the roof-mounted solar cells or a small wind turbine that can be set up while the vehicle is parked. Referred to as a "solar shuttle" by Monaco-based Venturi Automobiles, the Eclectic concept is actually closer to a golf cart than a car, with a top speed of around 30 mph and a 30-mile range.

Loremo

The first iteration of the Loremo appeared in 2007, as a lightweight, 118-mpg diesel, whose two seats were accessible not via doors but by tilting the entire front end. An electric version debuted a year later, followed almost immediately by the apparent collapse and restructuring of the German startup automaker, also called Loremo. Today, Loremo plans to go into production in 2014 with both the diesel and the electric versions.

KAZ Eliica

Cooked up by a team of academic researchers from Japan, the Eliica might be the most menacing electric vehicle ever built. It's certainly one of the most bizarre, with eight wheels, each powered by an electric motor, adding up to 640 kilowatts of output — roughly equivalent to 850 horsepower — and a top speed of 230 mph. Plans to sell a lower-speed, longer-range version for a $250,000 have yet to pan out.

SIM-LEI

The SIM-LEI was developed by some of the same engineers behind the Eliica, and there's something undeniably smart about its design, particularly the aggressively aerodynamic rear scoop and protruding side-impact beams. Its narrow, fish-shaped frame — with rear-facing cameras to offset the minuscule side mirrors — looks slightly insane but earns a drag coefficient of just 0.19. The designers of this electric vehicle, which has a claimed 200-mile range, hope to start production sometime this year.

smart crossblade

One of the prevailing trends in oddball vehicles has been to convert perfectly good cars into wildly inappropriate convertibles. The smart crossblade was a forerunner in this category. It's just not a cabriolet but a fortwo liberated of its roof, doors and windshield. Lacking even a fold-down top, the stripped-down microcar featured water-resistant seats and special drainage channels for water. It was sold from 2002 to 2003, and despite rumblings of a refreshed model back in 2011, Germany-based smart appears to have left well enough alone.

 

 

 

 

ZAP Alias

Although ZAP entered its Alias electric vehicle in the Progressive Automotive X Prize competition in 2010, the California-based company — whose small EVs are purchased primarily for commercial use — plans to start selling the 3-wheeler for $38,500 as part of a joint venture with China's Jonway Auto. ZAP says the Alias has a top speed of 85 mph, a 100-mile range and room for three people. And if the design seems conventional, you haven't seen it from behind.

Toyota WiLL Vi

What's shocking isn't that Toyota created such a hideous, hump-backed contraption but that it was an actual production vehicle, sold briefly in 2000 and 2001. The 4-door compact's rear overhang wasn't a nod toward aerodynamic efficiency but a stylistic callback to the reverse-angle windshields of the 1960s. The same goes for the sand-dollar wheel covers and ribbed doors. A case could be made for drag reduction, but really, Toyota just lost its mind.

 

 

 

 

Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet

Somehow, the Murano CrossCabriolet — the world's first all-wheel-drive crossover convertible — manages to be both mind-numbingly staid and mind-blowingly surreal. The drop-top crossover's 2011 debut was met with almost universal derision; Fortune magazine called it an "artichoke on wheels." However, stubby and strange as it is, the 2-door CrossCabriolet is still available today, starting at $44,540.

 

 

 

 

Dodge Tomahawk

If Batman were real, he'd be riding a Dodge Tomahawk: a 500-horsepower motorcycle powered by an 8.3-liter Viper SRT V10 engine and having a theoretical top speed of 300 mph. Physics, not to mention common sense, might demand lower speeds of this 4-wheeled concept, which was unveiled in 2003. Even without a full production run, Dodge reportedly has sold as many as nine street-illegal Tomahawks for as much as $700,000, the best evidence yet that there is, in fact, a Batman.

 

 

 

 

Land Rover Range Rover Evoque convertible concept

Perhaps missing the torrent of abuse heaped on the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet, Land Rover revealed this concept at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, calling it "the world's first premium SUV convertible." The Evoque convertible is equal parts auto-show stunt and fishing exercise; Land Rover says it's gauging public interest in this new design direction. Its fate, in other words, is in your hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Based out of the Boston area, Erik Sofge is frequent contributor to Popular Mechanics and Slate.com. He specializes in everything scientific and technical.