Hand-built | GIZMODO.cz

The world’s narrowest Fiat Panda caught me off guard the first time I saw it. I had to double-check if this was a vision anomaly, but it was not, and out of pure instinct had to cover it. Now we are going polar opposites with the widest street-legal car, which is the work of Tyler Fever (from the YouTube channel Prop Department), who loves his unique automotive DIY projects. After surprising everyone with the world’s thinnest car, for this one he collaborated with Bamboo Lab to bring the project to life.

This DIY project kicks off with the acquisition of three old Ford Festiva sub-compact hatchbacks for $200 each. After stripping one of the cars from the dead center with a portable fiber laser, the next step is taking both halves apart. Then the idea is to stretch the vehicle to the width of a truck, but keeping it within street-legal limits. After a bit of figuring out, Tyler went with a 10 feet width to have the best balance of structural integrity and ability to drive it on roads with some special permits.

Designer: Prop Department

To fill in the space between the two halves, he added structural bars to the floor and the roof. On top go the sheet metals – 10 gauge on the floor and 18 gauge on the roof. This makes the structure form into a single solid structure welded together while preserving the original body panels on the sides. One of the challenges was to expand the suspension and drivetrain to cope with the new form factor. For the front-wheel drive side, the CV axle is stretched five feet with precise welding and controlled cooling. He decided to add steering shafts from the other donor Festivas, so that both front seaters can steer the vehicle. Freakin awesome, don’t you think?

Next came the crafting of the car’s parts like the front grille and the stretched-up dashboard parts using the Bambu Lab H2C 3D printer. Now that the car has plenty of space inside, the modifications came in the shape of a big center console with 14 cup holders. Under the hood, there is enough space to put the engine to one side, an air conditioner with a generator (now that’s wild), and all the other mechanical components to make the machine go. The last step involved painting the sunshine yellow paint and installing the plastic windows.

The front angle of this stretched-out Ford is crazy, and so are the ignition buttons on the inside. Driving it out of the garage for the first time makes Tyler go bonkers as he tests the brakes and the limits of the wide body, grazing it against the road limits. The last surprise came in the form of an officially licensed number plate that’s equally wide. The fun part begins when the car rolls on the highway and then on dirt roads for more than two hours of driving. To check the car’s boot space, he loads it with wooden sleepers and whatnot!