La voiture freak

Cette Hoffmann de 1951 est un exemplaire unique, et c'est heureux. Cette coque de noix instable à trois roues est quasiment inconduisible ! Quand on liste ses excentricités techniques, on se dit que le concepteur, prenant le contrepied des solutions rationnelles, s'est ingénié à cogiter la pire voiture possible ! De plus, son look de roquet rébarbatif en fait une sorte d'alien à roulettes bien peu fréquentable ! Vitesse de pointe : 45 km/h et, à cette vitesse-là, l'instabilité globale liée aux mille vibrations la rend complètement imprévisible.

Hoffmann a fait faillite en 1954. On respire !

The car is notable for its numerous extremely unconventional and user-hostile design elements.^[3] These include:

• Windows that are raised or lowered with a strap that the user pulls, and held in place with eyelets and pegs
• Suicide doors and driving position that make ingress and egress nearly impossible
• A fuel filler tube which goes through the cabin of the car
• Front wheels that are farther apart than the length of the wheelbase
• A linear rather than H-shaped shift pattern
• Rear-wheel steering
• An engine located on the same pivot as the rear wheel steering mechanism, so that the engine moves with the wheel when the car is steered
• Rearview mirrors positioned so that they are perfectly blocked by the A-pillar
• Two-stroke engine, which requires engine oil to be continuously mixed into the fuel supply
• Single-cylinder engine, which causes greater vibration than multi-cylinder engines
• Rear-mounted engine that is dependent on air cooling, but the lack of a fan causes overheating when idling