By now, you would have seen the news that the picture of an egg – a single, perfectly shaped egg – has overtaken Kylie Jenner’s photo of her baby daughter to be the most-liked photo on Instagram.
Not to be outdone, we’ve come up with photos of some cars which we hope also look like eggs. Feel free to have a crack at them:
You can’t egg it on, since it’s got no driver. Photo: Google
One of the earliest attempts at manufacturing a self-driving car, Google’s Waymo self-driving division made this early prototype which was never really meant to be anything other than a conversation starter and testbed for its initial efforts. Bulbous, and looking somwhat like a Pokemon on wheels, it’s a good thing the future of transportation looks better than this.
1957 BMW Isetta 300. Photo: Hemmings
The BMW Isetta was famous for two things: its three wheels and one door. Which technically makes up four. Originally manufactured in Italy, BMW decided that they could make it better, and designed the little microcar around a BMW one-cylinder, four-stroke, 247 cc motorcycle engine which pumped out a blistering 13hp. Due to regulations, the car over time became larger and more practical, culminating in the BMW 600. In 2016, a Swiss entrepreneur debuted the Microlino, a faithful electric recreation of the original Isetta. Imagine your problems were you to park too close to your garage wall.
1950 Ferrari 166 MM / 212 Export “Uovo”. Photo: Hemmings
Only six Ferrari 166 MM Berlinetta Le Mans examples were ever produced. It was designed primarily for racing, and an improvement over earlier models of the Ferrari 166. This particular model was a one-off by coachbuilder Fontana for Count Giannino Marzotto. According to Sotheby’s, it was 150kg lighter than similar Ferraris of the time, and was fitted with twin shock absorbers and a regulator for its Formula 2 brakes. If you have more than its US$4.5 million selling price, you could get it off the buyer who nabbed this example, but good luck.
The Fuldamobil S7. Photo: Wikipedia
A German firm, the design was conceived by Norbert Stevenson, a freelance journalist who had worked for the Rhein-Zeitung newspaper. Who said journalists can’t design? The cars were designed from 1950-1969 and featured small, streamlined cabins and powered by tiny, 360cc engines. Examples were built in places like Chile, the UK and Turkey.
The Heinkel Kabine. Photo: Microcar Museum
If you think the Heinkel Kabine looks similar to the Isetta earlier, you’re not wrong. Aircraft designer Ernst Heinkel looked at that and decided he could one-up the Bavarians, using aircraft manufacturing know-how to make the car lighter. His creation was the Kabine 150 with large window area and longer, sleeker lines. He went on to introduce the 3-wheeled Kabine 153 and 4-wheeled 154 with a 203cc four-stroke motor.
The Mercedes Benz GLC Coupe. Photo: Mercedes
With the modern era came modern styling. For its GLC Coupe, Mercedes seems to have decided against in-vogue sharp and angular styling, instead preferring a soft and curvaceous body. The GLC43 version, which we reviewed in 2017, was decidedly a keener driver than its looks would let on, and is rather engaging at the wheel. An egg-cellent car, in other words.
Saab 92. Photo: The Saab Museum
Oh, Saab. The darling of the car industry with its unconventional, daring and forward-thinking designs, many architects bemoaned the loss of an icon when Saab went belly-up in 2012. Several attempts were made to rescue it but alas, it was one for the history books. The Saab 92 is a throwback to halcyon days, it was powered by a two-cylinder, two-stroke 764cc 25hp water-cooled engine, blasting the twin-headlamp Saab 92 to a maximum speed of 105km/h. Fun fact: the green paint was the most common colour because so much had been left over from wartime production.
Mitsubishi i
The last one on our list, but certainly not one to be missed, is the bulbous and friendly Mitsubishi i, seen here in electric vehicle guise. It was first released as a concept in 2003, and went into production from 2006 to 2013. Being a rear-wheel-drive, mid-engined car, you could tell people that and leave them to guess whether you were driving a Lotus, a Porsche…or this. Models were powered by a positively microscopic 659cc engine, producing just enough power to move it off the line, accelerate to 80km/h and…not much else.
