The 10 Quirkiest Car Designs From The Last 100 Years

A stranger to cars these days would probably find a modern-day Ford or a VW Forecourt to be quite boring.

The new Ford ST looks good, and there are a few VWs that look quite smart, but they aren’t very interesting.

However, if you look through the history books, particularly at the pages marked ‘concept cars’, things do start to get interesting.

There have certainly been some ‘obscure’ designs over the years, and after much internet-trawling I’ve whittled them down to 10 of the quirkiest for your enjoyment.

1920s: Jaray Audi

I know it dates back to before his Chancellorship, but I can’t help but think of Hitler when I look at this design. Its looks are ridiculous, further proof that it certainly could have been based upon Hitler himself.

It was designed in 1920 by Paul Jaray, and was supposedly his favourite design. It was meant to promote aerodynamics, which I suppose is evidenced by the rounded edges, so although a little odd, these were something of a technological achievement.

Although this car was the laughing stock of Germany at the time, Audi has recently resurrected the so-called ‘ugly duckling’ to feature it in an ad campaign for the Audi A5.

1930s: Sinister

I'm aware that this is technically cheating but I thought this design needed a mention. This is what the generation of the future will be churning out once they escape from design school.

The Sinister is a design by Jason Holmes that's based upon a 1930s Ford but it is virtually all one student’s work. The ride height is insane, the wheel size is incomprehensible, the exhaust pipes are strange and visibility is nearly absent. Cheers to the guy who can persuade Ford to put it into production. 

1940s: Timbs Special

By the 1940s, car design had found its feet. In fact, it seemed to have found a lot more than that, and some incredible pieces of automotive history were created.

Art Deco was in full swing and Norman Timbs was influenced by the art of the period when he created the aptly named ‘Timbs Special’. This was considered to be one of the most unique motor vehicles created at the time and featured a Buick straight 8.

It was a staggering 17.5 feet long. It’s a pretty unconventional machine and yet looks utterly fantastic. Well done, Mr. Timbs.