Interesting and Sometimes Funny Photos on Automobiles (21 photos)

Here, every car is a story on wheels: from retro legends that dictated fashion in their time to iconic models that captured the hearts of millions, as well as intriguing engineering experiments.





A car built by Nikolai Tsyptsyn, a mechanic at the experimental bearing plant, which participated in a parade of homemade cars and motorcycles in Moscow, 1967.



On October 1, 1967, a parade and competition of homemade cars and motorcycles for the "Technology for Youth" magazine prize was held in Moscow. Over 50 unique designs assembled by enthusiasts participated. Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov presided over the competition.

An amphibious vehicle produced in West Germany in the 1960s.





In the 1960s, a mass-produced civilian amphibious vehicle called the Amphicar was produced in West Germany. One of its owners was US President Lyndon Johnson, who loved to play practical jokes. While driving guests around his ranch, he would deliberately climb a hill by the lake, then steer the car straight into the water, shouting that the brakes had failed. When the car floated, Johnson would roar with laughter at the terrified passengers.

Graphic artist Nikolai Charukhin, owner of a rare Rolls-Royce. Moscow, 1965.



Security forces lift a Citroën 2CV from a canal in Amsterdam, 1961.



A girl gets into a Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100), 1960s.



Mercedes-Benz began developing its luxury car in the early 1960s. Serial production of the model began in 1963 and continued until 1981. During this time, more than 2,600 cars were produced, all of them handcrafted.

The prototype of the new Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta SWB undergoing testing at Modena airfield. Italy, October 29, 1959.



Chief designer Carlo Chiti watches over the new GT car. To his left, in overalls, is Ferrari chief engineer Cavalier McGregor, along with Luigi Bazzi and American racing driver Richie Ginther.

V. Mareykin, winner of the road racing competition in the Volga and GAZ-12 engine race. Moscow, 1961.



Photographer: Yuri Somov

Mrs. Butt inserts a record into the dashboard of her car stereo. The music is played through the car stereo's speaker system, 1960.



A ZIS-Sport car on Moskvoretskaya Embankment, 1940.



Photographer: Vladimir Dovgyallo

In 1938, a group of enthusiasts in Moscow—engineers A. Pukhalin, V. Kremenetsky, N. Pulmanov, and artist V. Rostkov—developed the unique ZIS-Sport sports car. The goal was ambitious: not just to create a striking body, but to build a true sports car. To improve handling, anti-roll bars were installed in both independent leaf spring suspensions (from the production ZIS-101). The result was truly unusual for the USSR: the ZIS-Sport was on par with prestigious American and European models of the late 1930s. The car was slightly shorter in size than the ZIS-101 limousine: 5,600 mm long, with a wheelbase of 3,570 mm. The main difference, however, was hidden under the hood. The inline-eight engine with an aluminum cylinder head was enlarged from 5.8 to 6.06 liters. Power increased to 141 hp at 3,300 rpm. By comparison, the German Horch-853A's 8-cylinder engine, with a displacement of 5 liters, produced 120 hp. The ZIS-Sport was prepared for racing competitions, which ultimately never took place. However, during testing, the car set a Soviet record of 162.46 km/h, coming very close to the coveted 180 km/h dreamed of by the engineers.

Promotional photo of the Alfa Romeo 1750 coupe, 1970.



Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin at a roadside gas station on the way to Gzhatsk (Gagarin), 1966.



Photographer: Alexander Mokletsov

Family repairing a Ford Super Deluxe "Woodie," 1940s



The Ford Super Deluxe "Woodie" was a car with a wood-trimmed body. The model was produced from 1941 to 1942, then interrupted by World War II, and resumed in 1946. The series included two-door coupes, two- and four-door sedans, two-door convertibles, and five-door station wagons. Some versions of the latter were offered as "Woodie Wagons": the body sides of these cars were decorated with maple, birch, and mahogany panels.

At the London International Car Show, 1966.



Photographer: Vladimir Perventsev

The Singer Nine sports coupe that competed in the Monte Carlo Rally, 1933.



The ZIL-111 "Moscow" prototype in the Mechanical Engineering pavilion, 1956.



Racing driver George Edward Thomas Eyston, 1933.



Photographer: James Jarche

A car's brakes are tested on a modern test rig at a garage in Teesside, August 18, 1960.



Solar-powered car - 1912 Baker Electric Mode, adapted to run on solar power, 1960.



Dr. Charles Alexander Escoffery, inventor of the automobile, explains how a solar panel works.