The Elcar Was A Real Head-Scratcher
The Italian company Zagato, renowned for its collaborations with Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin to create stunningly beautiful cars, took a different turn with the quirky Elcar—an electric microcar known as the Zele in European markets. Unlike Zagato’s sleek automotive masterpieces, the fiberglass Elcar was far from a visual triumph. Produced only between 1974 and 1976, it struggled to win over consumers with its limited capabilities: a modest top speed, a range of just 10 miles in temperatures below 40 degrees, and an extensive recharge time of eight hours. Unsurprisingly, the Elcar failed to gain traction in the market.
The Elcar Was A Real Head Scratcher
The Strange-Looking Aston Martin Lagonda
The 1970s were undeniably a fascinating decade, and few vehicles capture its eccentricity quite like the Aston Martin Lagonda. Introduced in 1974, this luxury four-door sedan was produced by the renowned British automaker Aston Martin until 1990, with only 645 units ever made. Despite its exclusivity and ambitious design, the Lagonda fell far short of expectations, weighed down by its astronomical price tag and mechanical shortcomings.
Bloomberg Businessweek named it one of the “50 Ugliest Cars of the Last 50 Years,” while Time magazine cemented its infamy by including it in their “50 Worst Cars of All Time” list. Time further described it as a mechanical “catastrophe,” highlighting that its futuristic electronic instrument panel could have been groundbreaking—if only it had actually worked. The Aston Martin Lagonda remains a curious relic of a bold yet flawed era in automotive history.
The Strange Looking Aston Martin Lagonda
