Chinese man makes tiny car for $600

Restaurant owner Qu Zhibo spent three years building this cool looking little car in his spare time. It cost about $600 in parts.

“I am a military fan, my design is inspired by armored command vehicle. I am thinking painting it camouflage to make it look more of a real thing.” Said Qu. As for craftsmanship, everything from engine cover, seats, car skin etc are completely handmade by Qu himself, except for steering wheel, tires, tank and engine which are bought parts.

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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oasisob1

Hey, it’s kind of swaggering to drive.
pizzicato

My goodness… That site is just filled to the brim with sad happenings in China. Tiny car that looks like golf cart? That is not the real story…
- http://www.nathanhornby.com/ Nathan Hornby
  
  My favourite headline:
  
  “Chinese wolf dad beats 3 kids into Beijing University”.
  
  Given the Engrish on the site that could almost literally mean anything.
http://www.reillybrennan.com/ Reilly Brennan

He is brilliantly avoiding trademark claims by opting for an 8-slot grille as opposed to the more litigiously flirty 7-slotter of Jeep/Hummer fame. Well done, counselor.
- RJ
  
  It could have to do with superstition. In China, 7 is associated with togetherness and perseverance. 8, meanwhile, is more closely associated with wealth and prosperity. In that context, 8 slots is more appropriate for a business owner’s car grille.
  - penguinchris
    
    I know the number eight is a bigger deal in China than most people in the west understand, but I think it’s probably more likely that not a whole lot of thought went into this particular issue :)
bo1ngbolnguser001

is there a smaller photo available?
catcrobatics

he also makes all the ingredients to his restaurant entrees. try the “shredded paper salad”, it’s actually better than one might think.
vonskippy

Meh, my two girls made a go-kart when they were pre-teens (10 & 12) that could swagger that thing to shreds (and it didn’t cost them $600 to do it).
gwailo_joe

Nope…This shit is Great.

Thats some real steam punk right there…a total win

Jeep style grille is a totally viable grill-style: how much air do a car need?

How big are the bugs where You live?
cstatman

if more of us were not AFRAID of the “RULES” and would make things like this, even if it was a fail, MAKE things, we would have more creativity and inventiveness. Rather than buying premade plastic consumer schlock. Hooray! Make a car! Hooray!
bo1n6bo1n6

PowPowPowerwheels….now you’re drivin’ for real. I always wanted a”Powerwheels” for adults.
http://halfbakedmaker.org Robert Baruch

Is a Chinese man building a tiny car is better than a tiny man building a Chinese car?
http://halfbakedmaker.org Robert Baruch

Also, can we please invent news sites that don’t have unmoderated comment sections? It’s like wading through sewage :(
emo hex

Just try getting a title for your car in the US.