A car’s success depends on multiple factors like performance, features, and styling. The look of a vehicle can impress buyers and persuade them to buy. When it comes to the best car designers, Ian Roussel is one among them. He is a popular custom car builder and some of his designs are just mind-blowing. Also, you can read about the Buick LeSabre here. Here are some of the best vehicles designed by Ian Roussel.
6 Concept Vehicles of Ian Roussel
Space Junkie 2.0
This one was entirely inspired by sci-fi and was part of Ian Roussel’s tv projects. It was made with V8/donor engines. As it was not tested, the top speed for the Space Junkie 2.0 remains a mystery. The aesthetics were amazing and the vehicle looked like a spaceship made of fabricated steel body components. Space Junkie 2.0 was made of hand-built chassis, custom gauges, and basic lighting systems.
Thunderflite
The futuristic aircraft concept gained widespread acclaim. Thunderflite was built using V8 engine with angular body lines. It was full of aggressive aerodynamics with fabricated chassis, Aircraft-inspired canopy, and functional drivetrain. Ian Roussel drew inspiration from a 60s Ford Thunderbird model before he designed this in 2010.
Rat Rod VW Pickup
Ian Roussel’s idea of designing a Rat Rod Pickup started when he found a Volkswagen Beetle chassis. It is a lightweight vehicle with air-cooled flat-four engine. The Rat Rod looked like a cartoon vehicle in blue and orange paint schemes. Be it welds, bolts, or tires, everything looked rusty. The front tires were big and the back tires looked small. It was a RWD vehicle with analog gauges, clusters, and suspension. The vehicle didn’t have features as it was a custom-built hot rod.
Bucket O’ Fun
Bucket O’ Fun is another hot rod model from Ian Roussel. It was built around VW air-cooled flat-4 engines/ small-block V8 engines. The tires were big in the rear end. It looked like a museum vehicle with metal components. There is no known features, technology, or recorded top speed for this model. This is just another masterpiece from the designer, Ian Roussel.
Misfit Mercury
The Misfit Mercury absolutely looked like a car. As the name implies, the design was misfit. A cartoon-like character face with teeth gave this a spooky look. It was a convertible designed in black. Big tires, wide stance, and grille were included. There is no information about the engineering and specifications. The Misfit Mercury was either made of Flathead V8 engines or the regular small-block V8 engines. It was inspired by Mercury Eight vehicles in the 1950s.
Oldsmobile Custom
Based on the 1958 Oldsmobile 88, it was built on the Oldsmobile chassis. With low stance, wide body, rocket tailfins, and side trim, the vehicle looked like an original Oldsmobile from the 50s. It included features like power steering, power brakes, AM radio, heater, and analog instrumentation.