There’s something about small cars that makes them irresistible. Besides their incredible mileage, they also look like they’ve been designed by a kid, fact that makes them even better.
I love small cars myself, and I think that they’re perfect for the city. You can park them in the tiniest of spaces, and they definitely cover greater distances than SUVs and even regular sedans. Watch this Smart ForTwo Off-Road commercial to get what I mean. Austin Coulson, 29, from Phoenix, U.S., took things to the extreme, in a successful attempt of making a record-breaking car. The car that he built might be mistaken with a child’s toy, but it’s completely legal to drive, and on top of that, it holds the title of the world’s smallest street legal car.
Measuring 63.5 cm (25 in) in height, 65.41 cm (2 ft 1.75 in) in width and 126.47 cm (4 ft 1.75 in) in length, this car helped Austin to get into the Guinness Book of Records, an ambition that he had for a very long time. In an interview for First Post, Coulson declared: “I’ve always wanted to have a Guinness World Records (title) for something and automotive was always my favorite. So I went home and looked up this current world record and thought, ‘I could do that.’ When I told my family I was going to try and get the world record for the smallest roadworthy car, they were a little skeptical at first.”
Since it’s a low-speed vehicle, the tiny car can not exceed 25 mph on public highways. That might not seem like much, but when you’re driving such a small car with a minuscule windshield, it definitely feels a lot faster. Going any faster than that would probably traumatize people. As Coulson stated, “There’s no suspension, so it is scary.”
Some of the changes the car had to go through in order to become legal included the installation of undersized safety glass for the windshield, fully functioning wipers and a seat belt, DOT-approved signal lights, and working horn. To drive it, you would have to sit on the trunk of the car, as Austin is seen in the above picture and in the following video.
Since Austin is a car customizer and builder, he knew exactly what he was doing. Probably the most ironic part about this car is the license plate, which reads IM BIG.
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