Pimp my Ride

May 24, 2011 6:51 AM

The world's slowest Porsche. Johannes L. built a Porsche GT3 RS out of a recumbent bicycle, wood stripping, pvc, and tape. The Flickr set covering construction.
posted by OmieWise (20 comments total)

Most porches move very slowly indeed. Ours hasn't budged an inch since we bought the house.
posted by jedicus at 7:07 AM on May 24, 2011 [4 favorites]

Touche.
posted by OmieWise at 7:16 AM on May 24, 2011

Damn you jedicus, for rendering this pointless...

"I painted your porch for you sir, but you're wrong... it's not a porch, it's a ferrari."
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 7:17 AM on May 24, 2011 [2 favorites]

Not a fixed-gear. Lame.
posted by schmod at 7:20 AM on May 24, 2011

Mod note: I have inserted / the esses / that weren't in / the post text
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:39 AM on May 24, 2011

In a way it looked better before he skinned it. The skeletal shell is incredibly impressive-looking, and the crinkly skin doesn't do justice to the work underneath, making it look like a slightly cheesy Halloween Porsche imitation rather than a remarkable piece of work in its own right.
posted by George_Spiggott at 7:42 AM on May 24, 2011 [4 favorites]

He also seems to have made a bike out of poo.
posted by dowcrag at 7:55 AM on May 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

Why didn't he use heat-shrink plastic? Oh why? It would have looked a lot better. The frame is awesome.
posted by rusty at 8:00 AM on May 24, 2011

Didn't Richard "The Hamster" Hammond drive a pedal-powered Porsche around the Top Gear track in one of the episodes?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:03 AM on May 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

He also seems to have made a bike out of poo

There isn't much I can find about it on his website, but it is apparently part of his Humpy Horsies series.
posted by TedW at 8:03 AM on May 24, 2011

I love that it had a spoiler.

I have to admit, as I watched, and could clearly see his feet moving he pedals, I kept thinking...It HAS to be able to move faster than that, it's a damn Porch Porsche!
posted by tomswift at 8:10 AM on May 24, 2011

Yeah this is the same project that was on Top Gear.
posted by w0mbat at 8:53 AM on May 24, 2011

Uber cool! Now some american will make a recumbent bike monster truck for the BMX tracks
posted by Redhush at 9:16 AM on May 24, 2011

And here it is!
posted by Redhush at 9:18 AM on May 24, 2011

Something about the scene from the back (from around 3.25 in the first video from his project site) of it crawling down the track with his little pedal feet alternately appearing - boop boop boop boop - dipping below the undercarriage - made me laugh so hard.
posted by nanojath at 9:30 AM on May 24, 2011

Man, it looks way cooler as just the pvc framing than when it's all taped up.
posted by eyeballkid at 9:35 AM on May 24, 2011

An awesome effort, but after all that work on the frame, and after applying the first few strips of tape didn't he say to himself that there had to be a better way?
posted by digsrus at 10:12 AM on May 24, 2011

Disliked: that much of the media coverage of this has been toned with mockery. It's like they think people who appreciate supercars as awesome pieces of engineering can't appreciate a recumbent bike with supercar shell as an awesome piece of engineering.

Liked: he took a racing line in that video
posted by danny the boy at 12:15 PM on May 24, 2011

I like the gold foil - makes it look like spacecraft.
posted by exogenous at 12:29 PM on May 24, 2011

Pshaw. Here's a much more Regal version.
posted by hangashore at 6:29 PM on May 24, 2011 [1 favorite]