The 140mph Cosmotron custom car has taken recycling to new level.
There are all sorts of European laws governing vehicle recycling these days, but a man from Leicester has found a novel way to give one old BMW Z3 a new lease of life.
The man responsible for this madcap creation is one Paul Bacon, a 39-year-old artist based in Leicestershire.
Taking inspiration from The Jetsons cartoon, it first sprung to life as a doodle on a napkin, which Bacon then painstakingly turned into a hand-crafted, real-world design. It also shares its name with a particle accelerator that dates from the late 1940s, but perhaps that’s a coincidence.
The build process took no less than 18 months.
The majority of the bodywork is artfully laid in fibreglass, but some of the detailing certainly springs a surprise. It’s one of the most eco-minded cars we’ve seen for a long time…
Bacon, it seems, finds inspiration in the most unlikely household objects.
The exposed engine, for example, is topped with salt and pepper shakers, while the front and rear grilles are adorned with moisturiser bottle tops. Smooth. Or is that slick?
It’s not so much a case of what’s odd on the inside, but what isn’t. Just look at that enormous gear lever. The stereo meanwhile is a fake, a non-working prop assembled from a central heating control panel – and more moisturiser bottle tops.
As for the steering wheel, the hub is made from the top of a firework rocket, and the mount from a circular shower drain. That’s some imagination you’ve got there, Mr Bacon.
The Cosmotron’s roof is of a type known as a ‘bubble-top’. These were all the rage amongst future-thinking American custom hot rod builders back in the 1960s.
It’s a single-piece transparent dome, with hydraulic rams enabling entry into the car – meaning it’s a brave occupant who travels in a skirt. Bacon believes the Cosmotron is the first UK-built car to use one.
While we sincerely doubt the top speed has been verified, with a six-cylinder engine under – sorry – erupting from the bonnet, the Cosmotron is theoretically good for 140mph.
It can be driven on the road – see the number plate – but is mostly used for promotional events.
The Cosmotron runs good on regular gas, to borrow a quote from the Blues Brothers. There’s no fancy liquid kryptonite or otherworldly go-go juice required.
The Cosmotron is a one-off creation, so it’s essentially priceless. This also means you can’t buy it – though we’re sure its creator will be happy to consider any proposals for your own version that you might have.
This doesn’t mean you can’t hire it, however…
Right now the Cosmotron is used as a promotion vehicle, something you can hire to bring a little bit of extra impact to your event or gathering. A talking – and possibly gaping, and staring – point, if you will.
If you think this might be of interest you can find out more at the Cyclone Works website – www.cycloneworks.co.uk – where you’ll also find other weirdness including ‘crazy’ bikes and bicycle-powered Scalextric.
Would you like a Cosmotron custom car?
Source: MSN