While most cars are bred and assembled in state-of-the-art labs, some of the coolest and unique automobiles come straight from the backyard.
One such creation has just been chronicled by Barcroft Cars, the same folks who detailed Rich Weissensel’s fleet of custom DeLoreans in December.
The vehicle in question this time is the Cosmotron, a one-off 1960s space car with the bones of a BMW Z3.
The Cosmotron looks like it was pulled straight from a Lost In Space set, and that’s something builder Paul Bacon had in mind from the beginning.
“In the ‘60s in America, there was a few cars like this but not too many,” he explained. “When I was a kid, I was always told that by the year 2000, this is what cars would look like.”
“And they don’t, so I’m incredibly disappointed,” he continued jokingly.
Bacon, then, set off to build one himself. He bought a 1998 Z3, which came with 2.8-liter straight six, and removed every body panel until he got to the rolling chassis. The Brit then braced the car with additional steel.
He sculpted polystyrene foam into the wicked, futuristic shape you see below, then covered it in fiberglass. The Jetsons-style acrylic passenger dome sits on a hydraulic steel ring.
Even the engine is modified, with a half-dozen steel carbonators popping up out of the hood. The achieve the desired look, the 41-year old placed salt and pepper shakers from a department store on top.
189 horsepower is sent to the rear wheels, which the driver enjoys via a groovy bespoke gearshift. The wacky styling doesn’t stop there either; Bacon placed moisturizer tube lids on the back grill, and everything from the dash to the upholstery is hand-crafted.
Without exaggeration, the Cosmotron is one of a kind.
After two years of touring car shows, Bacon sold the Cosmotron to fellow Englishman Martin Smith. Smith says driving the car is akin to “being in a goldfish bowl, looking out on the world.”
Bacon is reportedly planning his next project now.
(Video via Barcroft Cars)
