RidiculousRides

A TENACIOUS mechanic has converted a $400 rust bucket into America's best custom car. JF Launier, 39, spent 22,000 hours and $300,000 pimping out a 1964 Buick Riveria - even remortgaging his parents' house as well as his own to finance the project. But the risk paid off when the finished article - named Rivision - won the Ridler award for America’s most creative and innovative custom car at the 2014 Detroit Autorama. Its value has also jumped with Mr Launier estimating it to be worth at least $1.65m in man-hours alone. Mr Launier runs JF Kustoms in Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada.

A car shop in California USA is creating custom lowrider cars that defy gravity. With just a flick of a switch, 3,000 pounds of metal bounces up and down eight feet in the air. Alex Tuason, 25, builds these cars at his fathers shop, Hoppos Custom Suspension Works in Ontario, California. Alex removes the coil springs from the car and replaces them with hydraulic cylinders. The hydraulic system is switch operated and controlled with a remote or dial on the dashboard.

WHILE millions of film fans dream of owning Bond’s Aston Martin or Bruce Wayne’s Batmobile, Ollie Wilkey has turned his movie car fantasy into a reality. The self-employed inventory clerk, 25, from Keynsham in Somerset, is the proud owner of a DeLorean Time Machine – the iconic vehicle made famous in the Back to the Future series. The car was built in Florida by an ex-NASA engineer and Universal Studios constructor, and later bought by his friend Luke, from Leeds, UK, who sold it to Ollie in February 2014 for a five-figure sum. Although sadly not capable of traveling back to 1955, the “screen accurate” DeLorean features everything from a flux capacitor to a Mr Fusion Home Energy Reactor. And when the souped-up vehicle reaches 88mph, it activates a special time travel sequence, including lights and sound effects. Ollie runs a business renting the car out, but still finds time to take the DeLorean for a spin - and the car never fails to attract hordes of appreciative onlookers.

A REAL-LIFE superhero has turned down six-figure offers for his home-made Batmobile - so he can continue helping sick children. Batman fanatic Zac Mihajlovic, from Camden, Australia, hand-built his very own street legal version of the car from the 1989 film starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. The 29-year-old turned his comic book fantasies into a high-octane reality by constructing a replica of the iconic vehicle. And the car has whipped up a reaction wherever it has been seen. Businessmen from across the world, including a Sheik in Dubai, have offered Zac big bucks for the Batmobile - and he has also seen his share of bizarre requests. And rather than cash-in on his dream machine, Zac decided to use his powers for good by teaming up with the Make-A-Wish foundation, who make dream’s come true for terminally-ill children.

A nautical fanatic has turned a once sunken boat into a road legal, drivable car. Mark Ray designed and built his dream motor after his wife Robyn bet him that he could not do it. Robyn, 49, had been diagnosed with breast cancer and felt that Mark needed a project to take his mind from being her full time carer. He spent a total of £6,000 on merging a GMC Jimmy with a sunken and recovered Sea Ray Bow Rider. After stripping the boat of its motor, out drive and interior – including the floor – he built it into the car that had been taken apart and left with only its chassis, seats and motor.

THIS is one car that can dodge traffic - as it is a street-legal DODGEM. The purple vehicle, which looks more at home at a funfair than on the roads, is a fully converted bumper car that runs on petrol. And its owner, 69-year-old Tom Evans, is more than capable handling the unusual motor as he used to run a fairground. The tiny car has working lights, indicators, a petrol gauge and even a tax disc to prove its legality to incredulous onlookers. His wife and two sons bought the dodgem car for the young-at-heart driver two years ago.

A TENACIOUS mechanic has converted a $400 rust bucket into America's best custom car. JF Launier, 39, spent 22,000 hours and $300,000 pimping out a 1964 Buick Riveria - even remortgaging his parents' house as well as his own to finance the project. But the risk paid off when the finished article - named Rivision - won the Ridler award for America’s most creative and innovative custom car at the 2014 Detroit Autorama. Its value has also jumped with Mr Launier estimating it to be worth at least $1.65m in man-hours alone. Mr Launier runs JF Kustoms in Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada.

A TEAM of film fanatics have built their very own car equipped with machine guns and an RPG. Inspired by the 2008 movie Death Race, which starred British actor Jason Statham, the car started life as a Chrysler 300. Angelo Zannin, 47, and his team Z Montagen, a group of shop fitters from Braunschweig, Germany, managed to build the vehicle in just a few months. The car conversion cost the dedicated team €20K (£15,754) to build as it was in terrible condition when it arrived at their garage. Similar to its movie counterpart, the car boasts an arsenal of weapons and gadgets and can even emit smoke from the back and has a push button ignition.

QUIRKY car designer Mark Ray is flying high on America's roads - driving a converted light aeroplane.The 56-year-old was the brains behind the Plane Car, a fusion of a 2003 Cirrus SR22 and a Chevrolet Tracker - costing $10,000 (£6,500).Mark, of Atlanta, Georgia, who owns a paper shredding company, was already turning heads in a homemade Boat Car, which made headlines earlier this year.But his daughter Brianna, 17, thought he was getting bored with it and encouraged him to start a new project.It took five months to build with Steve West of Flex-Fab, Mike Rivera of Rivera's Upholstery and Brandon Geddings of Controlled Motors.

An expert car customiser has transformed a 94 Corvette into a stunning replica of the Mach 5 from the iconic 1960’s cartoon Speedracer. Jerry Patrick, who owns car replica extraordinaire AKA Junk, has been transforming cars into classic cartoon and movie vehicles for over a decade. After falling in love with the Mach 5 in the 60’s, 51-year-old Patrick had to fulfil his lifelong dream of driving the real deal.

51-YEAR-OLD Scooby Doo fan builds the ultimate replica Mystery Machine. Jerry Patrick, owner of the car customising company AKA Junk, has recreated classic movie vehicles for the last 10 years. From the likes of the Batmobile to the Delorean – Jerry takes pride in constructing the most iconic cars that everyone can relate to. And one of his most recent masterpieces is none other than the cartoon Mystery Machine.

A MAN with no mechanical experience has fulfilled his childhood goal of building his dream car. Taking inspiration from when he read car magazines in his youth, Moses Ngobeni, has managed to build his ideal car - all by hand. The electrical engineer from Giyani, South Africa, spent three years building the car he had dreamt of for decades. Building the car cost Moses 240,000 ZAR ($12,742) and was made using parts from a variety of different car models.

AN ITALIAN coachbuilder has designed and built two supercars from scratch without the use of a computer or sketches. Moreno Filandi relies solely on his skills as a mechanic to build handmade custom cars from metal work with two incredible supercars already finished. Moreno’s second and most recent creation, the Moreno Ever S, was built on top of a red 1990 Mercedes.

A British inventor has spent $25,000 turning a pick-up truck into an ap-pealing driveable banana.Steve Braithwaite, who is originally from Woodstock, Oxfordshire, spent two years building the vehicle - which has a top speed of 85mph.The 55-year-old, who now lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan, came up with the idea for the Big Banana Car in 2009.The expensive concept cost around $25,000 and took Steve more than two years worth of Sundays to create.The finished vehicle is 10ft tall and 22ft long but its302ci Ford V8 engine still allows it to hit impressive speeds.

Quirky mechanics have created a ‘Topsy Turvy’ vehicle - by fusing two American school buses on top of each other. Brit Steve Braithwaite, 55, and his business partner Tom Brown, 56, from Kalamazoo, Michigan, took inspiration from a famous ice-cream maker for the wacky bus. The mammoth build took more than six months and required the pair to design their own machinery that would allow them to flip one bus on top of the other.

JIM Skank and his team present this custom-built street-legal hot rod truck that will definitely wake up the neighbours... Powered by an $80,000 NASCAR engine and a built-in switch panel in the roof, the vehicle shares characteristics with a fighter jet. The drifter has rear-wheel brakes, with a drift brake built in. Jim and his team went extra on the steering angle to make the car able to drift. He said: "This really was a very enjoyable project for us – to do something completely different from everything we had done before and really a lot more extreme. You get this rush of a feeling of like, wow we did it. It exceeded our expectations for sure."

GARDENER Kevin Nicks has taken British eccentricity to a new level - by building the world’s fastest shed. The 51-year-old, from Chipping-Norton in Oxfordshire, set the unlikely world record after reaching a speed of 88.086 mph at an event at Elvington Airfield in York. The high octane shed started life as a humble Volkswagen Passat in Kevin’s driveway and took the part-time mechanic seven months to build - costing more than £5,000. The two tonne vehicle has a 2.6 litre V6 petrol engine and boasts a "shed load" of features including a button to open the doors automatically, three cameras for better vision and a dash cam. Bureaucracy and red tape meant that the father-of-one had to wait almost half a year before the shed was declared road legal - even enlisting the help of Prime Minster David Cameron. Videographer / director: John Robertson Producer: Bunmi Adigun, Nick Johnson Editor: Jack Stevens

THIS Streamliner is a unique sci-fi car which turns every head at the traffic lights. "People think it’s a Buck Rogers car or something like that," says Jeff, who's collected so many cars that he had no choice but to open a museum. This Streamliner is steeped in history; there are six of its kind but this is the only one which is believed to have survived. The start of the second World War put an end to the Streamliner’s life on the road. The shape of the body is built with a wood skeleton framework. One of the most unique features is the wide windscreen that makes it look like you’re driving a bubble on wheels.

THE Helicron was constructed in France in 1932 but was rediscovered in a barn in 2000, having been abandoned there by its original owner. Found in terrible condition, it’s now been restored with as many original parts plus a modern Citroen GS engine. The one-of-a-kind propeller-driven car is 14ft in length with a 4ft propeller. David, from Tennessee, told Ridiculous Rides that “some people find it frightening, other people find it fascinating. It’s a very special car to drive” and “you’ll never see another one on the road”. The car is hard to miss as it is as “loud as a small aeroplane” and “steers like a boat or a forklift”.

JOE Tomaro relives his childhood everyday - in a car he built from his favorite amusement park ride. The 58-year-old took the old car from the locally famous Rocket Ship ride at Euclid Beach Amusement Park in Cleveland, Ohio, which closed in 1969. Joe bought the Rocket Ship in 2005 from a private buyer and made it road worthy. It took Joe about a year to complete the car which he built on top of a Chevy truck chassis.

A SUPERCAR salesman is catering to the millionaires of Dubai with a showroom of cars worth a staggering $45million. Displaying luxurious models from Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Rolls Royce, amongst many others, Deals on Wheels has more than 100 sports and luxury cars to offer its elite customers. The business was opened in 2007 by 36-year-old Mohamed Redha Abdullah, who had always dreamt of selling elite supercars, and considers his supercharged stock as being his own private collection.

HITTING extreme rocky terrain at top speed is all in a day's work for one racer and his ‘rock bouncing’ buggy that knows no limits. Jack Porter, a member of Venom Racing, helped build the Venom Rock Bouncer which is basically a roll cage on wheels powered by a hefty 550 horsepower Chevy V8 engine. Rock bouncing is an extreme form of off-roading where the aim is to traverse the most challenging terrain at the highest speed possible. Jack, of Horn Lake, Mississippi, said: “When we go out rock bouncing we’re looking for the most extreme stuff we can hit. It’s the biggest adrenaline rush you could ever have. Driving this machine is very intense. We have lots of crashes and anything can happen at any minute. But Venom was made to kick-a**.” The impressive vehicle stretches 14ft 2 inches, and weighs in at 3,600 pounds but can still reach a top speed of 110mph. It’s assisted in its extreme off-road exploits by 43-inch tyres and can withstand falls of up to 150 feet – a necessity considering the intensity of rock bouncing as a sport. Jack added: “There’s also an RPM gauge but I don’t really use it. It stays on 8,000 rpm anyway. We’re pushing to the max at all times.”

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A car mad couple have amassed the world’s biggest Dodge Viper collection - worth an amazing $7.5 million. Texan couple D’Ann and Wayne Rauh have collected an incredible 80 Dodge Vipers - and they drive every single one. And incredibly, it’s not only the iconic American muscle car that they collect. The couple own another 60 cars - bringing their collection up to a whopping 140 cars.

A MASTER mechanic has become the unofficial king of rat rods in New Zealand, after building a series of incredible rat rod masterpieces in his home garage. David Jeffery, of Rolleston, has always had a passion for cars, but started making his own creations seven years ago, when he produced the award winning ‘BellaRat’. Named after his daughter, Isabella, the vehicle took a year to build and wowed the crowds at the 2012 Beach Hop – an annual New Zealand festival and car show where BellaRat scooped the overall prize for top car. David has since single-handedly produced five other incredible cars, including a converted Semi Truck, appropriately called ‘SemiRat’ which would lead David to yet more award success at Beach Hop 2016, where it too won the top prize. He now specializes in building rat rods - the spectacular custom cars that mix old and new parts and often emulate the hot rods of the 1930s, 40s and 50s.