Renaud Marion’s Air Drive imagining of car designs without their wheels has been making the rounds in the last few days. I found it very interesting to see how each car reacts to the treatment. The Cadillac DeVille looks quite natural with the exception of the rear door cutout. The Pagoda Mercedes-Benz SL looks rather plain and it is clear the important styling elements are missing. The mid-70s big bumper Camaro worked out better than I could have imagined. Inspired by this I created the AirBird from a 1962 Ford Thunderbird. I couldn’t stop there of course …
Given the speed boat type lines of the floating T-Bird why not go that extra step and create a ThunderBoat?
Here are a couple more quickies from the always innovative 1970s era British Leyand. Anyone want share their own creations or suggest a vehicle the would suit the wheel-less look? I’d imagine a Citroen DS or any one of the Tatras steamliners would work nicely.
These aren’t the droids you’re looking for….
Yes^^
I want a Thunderboat!
How about a Thundercougarfalconbird?
I remember drawing a cartoon ’71 Cuda spaceship back in highschool along the same lines. Billboard graphics are a must with that one.
Fullsize Chryslers from 1965 and up should look OK, as well as probably any car that came factory-equipped with fender skirts.
The Fuselage!
The DS looks pretty natural in this format…although not shown, there is a 300 SL in the series which is my favorite “wheel less wonder.”
Yes, 300SL works very well, unlike the Pagoda, which is the worst of the bunch.
David, the T-Bird was an excellent choice, especially as a boat. I can just hear the exhaust of the V8 burbling in the water…
The Corvair, of course!
Fuselage Chrysler?
Wouldn’t work. Even if the physics were worked out…wouldn’t work.
People LIKE looking at wheels. Witness them stare at trains as they roll by…all those WHEELS!! People like BIG wheels…EXPOSED wheels…SHINY wheels.
Cars without wheels…would be cars without appeals.
Bathtub Nashes or step-down Hudsons would make nice wheel-less cars.
I thought Imperial immediately………
Is this the twin-screw model?
Yes – I thought everyone was familiar with pushbutton Torque-Plane propulsion. 🙂
That is fantastic. The bikini girl is a great touch.
That looks great… except there really WERE boats that looked a lot like that from the 50’s.
Yeah. There was an aluminum-boat builder using the Cadillac name from that time…and I saw a blinged-out model. TAILFINS on the stern! I kid you not.
Jut to top it off…above the waterline, it was painted pink.
My dad had a fiberglass runabout with fins and the top half of the boat was also pink. I can’t quite remember the manufacturer’s name right now, but it originally came with a Scott Atwater Royal Scott outboard. Owned it until 1992 when he splurged on a brand new Bayliner bowrider.
Love it. You’re good; got any more?
Of course!
Nice. There’s something ironic about having a continental on the trunklid of a car without wheels.
That is for the life preserver.
I can’t photoship but maybe someone else can. I think a ’68 Impala would fit the bill.
I’m seeing this……………
Oh that’s mean, man…. haha..
Who ever heard of a olive army green boat?………oh wait LOL
I love it, the fender sweep matches the tracks perfectly. The first Sport Utility Vehicle.
….and Astro the Dog
How about one of these:
I did a chop of a 4 door one of these previously, anybody else want to do one of these per the discussion?
Citroen CX. The back wheels were hidden under skirts so it has a head start.
Roads?!? Where we’re going we don’t need roads!
That T-Bird is flat out brilliant.
You’re right about the DS, David. As always, Citroen was way ahead. This is an ad from 1959.
I like your Thunderbird even better than the artist’s series…. cool!!
I think it needs more trim or something on the front quarter.
An ad made for this concept?
We’d all have hovercars, but the big 3 killed the idea, right? 😉
Wow, nice work on the Tucker, and extending the front bumper back into the former wheelwell really finishes it nicely.
That is pretty awesome.
I like it.
That’s pretty good Dan.
Always thought the wheels on 1950s cars were a bit of an afterthought, lol!
The ‘Bird certainly seem to be designed without the wheel, and they only added it later on as they make it production ready.
A 1953 Studebaker works decently too
http://bit.ly/1o5J0En