Or was this a NHTSA-sponsored sports car safety concept from 1975?
Oddity of the Day: The Street-Legal Bumper Car
– Posted on May 3, 2021
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Curbside Classics Archives
Or was this a NHTSA-sponsored sports car safety concept from 1975?
Ever since the XP-38 came out, these just aren’t in demand.
+1 🙂
If George Mason was still around, this would be the new Rambler.
Sort of reminds me of a Crosley Hot Shot.
Is that a Florida plate? That’s actually kind of cool. Certainly wouldn’t have to worry about parking lot dings. Might be a great way to advertise an amusement park, too.
Utah Life Elevated license plate actually.
It’s cute. Looks like a Honda, or at least the hood of a Honda, is in its DNA.
Based on the headlights, tail lights and steering wheel, it appears to be an early eighties Dodge Colt (Mitsubishi Mirage).
That’s it! Dodge (Mitsubishi) Colt. I’d forgotten about those.
Reminds me of this. Would make a nice pair.
A teenage driver’s first car. Needs more airbags though.
I immediately thought of an updated Nash Metropolitan convertible! 🙂
I googled street legal bumper cars and this picture came up. A guy in the San Diego Area named Tom Wright has built several. I had seen an earlier article that some other states where quads can be street legal guys had put the bumper car body on that chassis. I didn’t think that you could register a quad for street use, regardless of lighting equipment in Calif. Just like you can’t register a go kart or those motorcycle powered
1940’s looking dwarf racing cars. I could be wrong, after all kit built T Buckets can be registered, and I suppose that you could build a tiny one.
This car is rife with possibilities.
A new type of hybrid, the urban hybrid. It uses contacts on the metal pole to tap into trolley or light rail catenary lines, the gas engine otherwise. The electric motor is in the rear, gas engine in the front, the battery pack under the floor panels and behind the seats.
A practical hovercraft. The “bumpers” are actually skirts, and the fan underneath enables the car to maneuver onto tracks or traverse water or rough pavement.
The subtly exaggerated fender flares conceal the innovative combination road wheel/rail bogie, switchable on the fly.
The batteries charge up real fast when tapped into trolley or light rail voltage.
It’s a bit of a bother to access the tires, and the turning radius isn’t great. The circular concrete pad it’s parked on serves as a turnaround.
It’s cute, sort of, kinda like a pimply faced 12 year old kid in pony tails