A Phoenix man had a very big reason to celebrate last week when he captured the Guinness World Record for the smallest roadworthy car.
Austin Coulson, 29, built the custom-made vehicle himself after a long obsession with having a record to his name. Now he's getting all the fun of driving the small but perfectly formed vehicle.
The tiny transport is 2 feet 1 inch high, 2 feet 1.75 inches wide and 4 feet 1.75 inches long. But thanks to Coulson's careful attention, it's fully legal on public roads.
Hopes: Coulson said he always had ambitions to get into the Guinness Book of Records. Now he has with this tiny vehicle
While the license plates read IM BIG, the proud owner had to fit a raft of safety features to make the little car completely legal.
This include undersized safety glass for the windshield, fully functioning wipers and DOT-approved signal lights, a seat belt, and working horn.
As it is classified as a low-speed vehicle, the car is only allowed to go as fast as 25 mph on public highways.
But as Coulson told the Arizona Republic, going any faster than that would be terrifying. 'There's no suspension, so it is scary,' he said.
White knuckles: While the car can reach a top speed of 33 mph, Coulson said at full throttle 'it feels like you're going 100'
Fear factor: Coulson enjoys driving the car but says: 'There's no suspension, so it is scary'
While the car can reach a top speed of 33 mph, Coulson said at full throttle 'it feels like you're going 100.'
The record breaker told First Post: 'I've always wanted to have a Guinness World Records (title) for something and automotive was always my favorite.
'So I went home and looked up this current world record and thought, ‘I could do that,'' Coulson remembered.'
But he didn't always have complete faith from his nearest and dearest.
'When I told my family I was going to try and get the world record for the smallest roadworthy car, they were a little sceptical at first,' Coulson told the website.
Safety first: To make it legal the car has a
whole range of safety features, including strengthened glass on the
windshield and working wipers
'All along, the whole process, they kept questioning it. They knew I could build the car, they just didn't think I could get it legal,' he said.
Coulson has proven them wrong. And there's even a nod to his family history in the design of his record-breaking car.
According to the Guinness World Records YouTube page: 'The paint work is themed after the P51 Mustang military aircraft and the sides are inscribed with the tail numbers of a ship that the record holder's grandfather served on during WWII.'
As such, Coulson often drives his famous vehicle during local veterans' military parades.
Beep beep: The tiny car even has a working horn
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