Invented by Carl Benz in 1886, the car has become the number one way for people to travel if they decide they don't want to use their feet. This has resulted in vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Some are practical, others are powerful, and some are just plain weird. And video games love to focus on the last one.
Every car on this list is absolutely ludicrous. If you were to take these out in the real world, you'd get crowds of people gawking at you. So let's take a look at the cars that aren't afraid to steer towards strangeness onto bizarre boulevard.
10 Kirby - Kirby And The Forgotten Land
Kirby And The Forgotten Land set the Nintendo world abuzz by taking Kirby's copy ability and taking it to the next level. Not only could Kirby suck enemies into its mouth and absorb their power, but he could also inhale regular every day objects and use them. These included a light bulb, a traffic cone, and, of course, a run down car. And it's awesome.
The reason Kirby starts off this list is because it can be argued that you're not actually controlling a car; you're controlling Kirby. But that debate aside, it looks wacky and is a ton of fun.
9 Peel Trident/Peel P50 - Forza Horizon Series
The Forza series is all about gorgeous looking cars with tons of horsepower under the hood. So it seems odd that it would feature something like the Peel Trident or the Peel P50. Both are three-wheeled micro-cars that are meant to... get into small places? Honestly, even then they seem like a waste of time compared to a Fiat or Smart Cart, especially since the top speed is around 28 mph.
The weirdest thing about these cars is that they are real. At some point in time, the Peel Trident and Peel P50 were on the market. You could actually buy these. Not many were made, and they're even called some of the worst cars of all time, but it's because of that they're popular with collectors.
8 Goo Goo Buggy - Mario Kart Double Dash
Mario Kart may be more cartoonish than most games on this list, but that just means that when cars get weird, they go all out. And these games reached peak oddity with the Goo Goo Buggy in Mario Kart Double Dash.
The signature vehicle for all the baby characters, the Goo Goo Buggy is a stroller. So, while Bowser or Donkey Kong are driving a monster truck, a train, or even a literal bullet, the small infants are left to fend for themselves in what nannies push around a park. It's unfair and, frankly, we need to get these babies away from behind the wheel.
7 Axel - Twisted Metal
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It can't be denied, Twisted Metal is the most badass car-based game series out there. Take a bunch of drivers with murderous intent, strap them into some death machines, and let them at each other. And, while plenty of these vehicles are absolutely ridiculous, the most impractical is easily Axel.
Originally driven by a man of the same name, Axel features two giant tires with the driver holding on for dear life in between them and no armor whatsoever. This even gets more ridiculous in Twisted Metal: Black where Axel's feet were just dragging against the asphalt as a self-inflicted punishment. This may be the darkest entry on this list, but its absurdity cannot be denied. Also, there's an RC version of this out there if you were lucky enough to find it.
6 Sofa Car - Wreckfest
We've all been there: you'e on a long road trip with friends and the conditions aren't ideal. It's cramped, the car is starting to smell, and your butt hurts from sitting so long. Wouldn't it be nicer if you had something comfortable to sprawl out on? Well, Wreckfest has you covered with the Sofa Car.
As you may have guessed, the Sofa Car is made out of a sofa. Obviously, it's safe to assume that there are also wheels and an engine, but that is not what's important about this car. Wreckfest is a racing game that features a lot of destruction derby elements, and that's where the Sofa Car shines. You may not have a windshield or a metal frame around to protect you, but you do have these soft cushions to fall on.
5 Professor Genki's Super Ballistic Manapault - Saints Row: The Third & Saints Row 4
Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row 4 are both incredibly fun and silly games, but one of the highlights is easily Professor Genki. This farcical feline puts the player in goofy gladiatorial games, where you murder mascots and crush things in a giant ball of yarn. Of course, he also has two signature vehicles that suit him perfectly - the weirdest being the Super Ballistic Manapault.
This truck not only features Genki's head on the front of it, it also has a massive cannon that can suck up people and shoot them at obstacles, kind of like the Suck Cannon from Ratchet & Clank.
4 Wienermobile/Taco Car - Top Gear Overdrive
Food trucks have been a thing for a while now, as have cars shaped like food. So it only makes sense that a racing game would have some kind of car based on food. But Top Gear Overdrive on the Nintendo 64 took this a step further by making two of their secret vehicles just literal food.
First we have the Wienermobile, a loving tribute to the Oscar Mayer vehicle of the same name. It has grill marks as well as sliced pickles for wheels because people clearly get slices of pickles on their hot dog. Next is the Taco Car, which is a hard shell filled with beef, cheese, and shredded lettuce and carried around by slices of tomato. Not only do they both look delicious, but they represent the popular street food of New York and Los Angeles respectively.
3 T-Rex - Need For Speed 2
They did it. The team at Monolithic Studios did it. They looked at their game about racing cars and decided, "This needs a T-Rex in it." And it's wonderful.
It never moves, simply holding its pose as if it's scared that there's another bigger Tyrannosaurus nearby, and it doesn't want to get eaten. But really, they don't need to do anything more. Seeing a whole race filled with these is absolutely hilarious, and is something everyone should experience in their life.
2 Hornet - Fighters Megamix
Fighters Megamix is, you guessed it, a fighting game. And even though it's the only game here that you can't drive around in, the developers decided to one up Street Fighter's car destruction minigame by making a secret character a Hornet Stock Car from Daytona USA.
While there are plenty of fighting games that feature robots and even anthropomorphic animals, this has got to be one of the weirdest unlockable characters in history. They didn't choose a driver or have the car transform into a robot. They just stuck a car in the game and had it punch and kick opponents with its tires. And it's wonderful. These kind of confident and preposterous choices really need to make a return to video games in general.
1 The N64 N - Top Gear Overdrive
Top Gear Overdrive features again, thanks to the N64 N. The creators didn't even try to make this look like a functioning car, instead opting to have four wheels around the N64 logo, as if it were a sun and the wheels were orbiting planets speeding it through the galaxy.
Also, there's nothing in the center of it and no floor. Where does the driver sit? In the diagonal part? The N leaves more questions than answers and that's perfect for maximum weirdness.