June’s Top 5 most Iconic and unusual movie vehicles

Sometimes while out driving, you’d see a car and think: “Man, that should really be in a sci-fi movie or something!” True say, sir, true say. Last month, we took an animated twist and gave you a cartoonised top 5. For June, we decided to go OS (Off Screen for those not in the film biz) and take you through some unusual cars that have ACTUALLY hit the road!

L’Oeuf Électrique

Personally I like my eggs sunny side up, or the ‘eye of the cow’ as it’s called in some countries. And you have to thank Paul Arzens for putting one of mankind’s most relatable breakfast dishes on wheels (does it looked poached though?)

If you saw this car, you’d think it was invented sometime in the last decade, but what if I told you it was conceived in 1938, and built in 1942? Mind=blown, right?

Arzens built this egg-citing, EV during the Nazi occupation in France as a result of fuel shortages. That’s one way to go about it, I suppose.

Topping at 70 kph, a range of 100 km and weighing in at 350 kg, this was the perfect urban traversal car. It’s designed much like a back-to-front tricycle, with two front and a single rear wheel attached to an aluminium-Plexiglas alloy frame.  

Unfortunately due to aluminium being a rarity at the time, only one prototype could be produced, which Arzens kept for personal use. It truly was such a brilliant creation and so far ahead of its time that it inspired cars 70 years into the future ranging from Peugeot to Google.

Possible film: since we’re talking about eggs, who’d have liked to have seen Tom Cruise in Risky Business drive this egg-static ride in an alternate universe?

Stout Scarab

No it’s not a beer brand, nor a car that’s shaped like a beer bottle. It’s better. The Stout Scarab was considered to be the very first…drum-roll please…minivan! 

Yep, the first ever minivan to hit the road actually looked like a VW beetle with a boner. 

Ever wanted an office on wheels? Well so did William B. Stout, which was precisely his reason for creating the Stout Scarab.

Weighing 1400 kg with a Ford-built V8 engine, this large creature could reach speeds of 129 kph. The design was based on emulating an aluminium aircraft fuselage, utilizing lighter materials thus allowing the weight to be reduced significantly, and improving the power-to-weight ratio. 

Unfortunately, despite the press coverage, due to the price at launch being $5,000 (the equivalent of over $87,000 today), coupled with a certain small event like the Great Depression, the Stout didn’t really hit the ground running. Not to mention, its closest competitor was the luxurious Chrysler Imperial, which sold for $1,345. Still, who needs a Chrysler when you go can roll around on a limo-beetle-hybrid-thing.

All’s not lost, though. There are still 5 scarab survivors scattered across the face of the earth today, like meteor rocks. Pretty sure Elon Musk secretly has one stashed away in his EV-stuffed garage. 

So, raise a glass whenever you see a minivan pass, in honor of its progenitor, the Stout Scarab.

Possible film: for some reason (maybe the VW with a boner reference), I’d have liked to have seen this feature in the Rush Hour films. Say Tucker asks Chan to call up a limo, and instead he manages to get them the Scarab. Jokes galore, people!

Messerschmitt KR200

World War 2 had just ended, and the Messerschmitt company were banned from producing any aircraft for 10 years. Engineer Fritz Fend approached them with an alternative; produce small motor vehicles. His idea: the Kabinenroller (‘scooter with a cabin’).

And it was the KR200 that really caught the eye. Yet another three-wheeler, this one was in production for a healthy 9 years between 1955 and 1964.

The transparent acrylic bubble canopy, low center of gravity and steel bar in place of a wheel were the magic behind one of the most unusual-looking cars. 

Its 191cc engine may have been small, but it still packed almost 10 ponies and had a none-too-shabby top speed of 105 kph.

Oh and yeah, in 1955 it also broke the 24 hr speed record for three wheeled vehicles under 250-cc, supplanting 22 competitors in its class. Not bad for the little guy eh. 

Let’s just say you’ll definitely have no trouble finding a parking spot with this quick little fella. 

Possible film: in the series Family Matters, Jaleel White who played Steve Urkel, took his dates out in a BMW iseta 300. It could so easily have been the KR200, though. It actually did feature in the 1993 film, ‘Love in Limbo’.

GM Firebird I

Jets are really fast. We want cars to be really fast. The solution? Mix the two. This has got to be the thought going through Harley Earl’s mind when he cooked up the Firebird series. 

Heavily inspired by aircraft designs and whatever innovations were being implemented at the time, the very first gas turbine-powered car was born. They called it the Firebird XP-21 aka Firebird I. 

A bubble-top canopy, single seat and a bullet shaped fuselage made up this adventurous piece of motoring epicness. And just like an airplane, it came with wings and a vertical tail fin. Probably what Inspector Gadget keeps in the basement.

When Earl thought speed, he really meant speed. This guy could hit 321 km/h, through the combined cantering power of 370 ponies at 13,000 rpm. This was 1953 remember.

Warning! don’t stand behind this bad boy. It expels jet exhaust at 677°c, pretty toasty, however on the bright side it makes for a perfect Sunday barbecue.

Possible film: Another Tom Cruise one (come on this one’s built for the action!). Would you say Top Gun alternative anyone?

1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt

This is a truly special one, and deserves top spot in June’s unusual cars list. The brain child of Automobile Hall of Famer, Alex Tremulis,  the 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt really is, quite frankly, a sight for sore eyes. But she’s more than that. Much more.

When we talk Thunderbolt, we’re talking serious levels of innovation. It had no door handles (button controlled baybay!), utilised hydraulic powered windows, carefully concealed the headlights in the body, had fully enclosed wheels and an aluminium roof that was fully retractable.

The speed wasn’t bad either. 178 km/h from a 323.5 cubic inch straight eight engine with 143 ponies and a weight of just 1335 kg.

We’ve saved the best for last, and the reason is simple. The Thunderbolt is the very embodiment of aesthetic innovation. 

Possible film: so, so many come to mind, but for some reason I’m going with Driving Miss Daisy. Maybe the car goes well with Morgan Freeman behind the wheel and Hans Zimmer’s iconic soundtrack?

The history of cars is chock full of bizarre, innovative and inspiring inventions, and while many of the weirdest ones lay in the first half of the 20^th century, we as car enthusiasts continue to look forward to more wonderfully creative designs in the future.