Another fin !

Windup tin futuristic (Tatra ?) car,
Technofix, 1930, Germany

In a period where most of the German toy production were making reproductions of guns and tanks, this little beauty came around. The metal narrow wheels seem to indicate this toy ran on some circuit or tracks, tipical for Technofix toys.

It has a certain air of a Tatra 700 with a different grille. 

The French Connection

Great box-art !

Fulgur Virevolte, CHR, France, 1960's

Very basic design...

 

But with antenas for that futuristic look 

The Siku futuristic racer

I know this one is not in the best of nick, and missing the transparent cockpit, but it is a fleamarket find and it is rare as heck... Has SIKU made others in that size ? The company still exists to this day, and they are still making beautifull toys. Read more about it here.

25 cm long...

Futuristic Racer, Siku, 1960's, Germany

Not Barbie's Corvette...

Buick LeSabre concept car, ? 

Only marking is an "8" below

Only 100 km/h and electric ? No, I'm not happy either !

La Jamais Contente, RIO, Italy, 1980's

Of course, the real one was driven by a Belgian !

One of the first land speed records (over 100km/h  was acheived with this electric torpedo-shaped car in 1899 by Belgian Camille Jenatzy. Read more about it here.

Blue streamlined Limo

Airline Limousine, Thomas toy, USA, 1950's

At a certain point in the 30ies, it became fashionable for airports and hotels to use modified "stretched" vehicles to pick up artists and celebrities. The Limo was born... read more about it here.

1941 Packard airline limo

Drive in style ? 

Computacar, the amazing car with the memory you control ! or Amaze-A-Matics, The Car with a Brain ?

Computers were all the rage in 1970. Well, a year earlier it helped us land a man on the moon.

So no wonder that the toy business hooked in on that wave. Anything futuristic had to be run by computers, with computers... right ? This red sleek car had a programable chassis based on pre-cut cards and was sold with a bunch of cones to organize wild slalom competitions !

Computacar, Mettoy, Hong Kong, 1970

Chevrolet Astrovette !

To be relevant with the real world, most of the astronauts were seen driving Corvettes too - read more of it here...

A future for fossil fuels ?

This simple design is still one of my favorites for futuristic verhicles... Tankers will probably all but dissapear in the future (at least for fossil fuels), but this is what it may have looked like...

Archer Space Truck, USA, 1952

design à la Buck Rogers

... whenever you need to transport your space gasoline !

The fastest on earth...

Golden Arrow, Western Models, England, 1980's ?

And housing for the Napier Lion 
engine

Dunlop Cord Racing tires

372 KM / 231 MPH

For King and Country !

Cut-away of the heart of the beast

Read more about it here...

And another fin... fine automobile !

Space car with dome, Plakie, USA, 1946

 

How do you get in ?

Nice wheels, Jetson !

there is the fin !

Frogeye nose ?

Big red space truck

Futuristic Pickup truck, Cars of Tomorrow, Archer Plastics, USA, 1950's

Ideal for cruising in moontown on a Saturday night !

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow !

OHARA Snow Tiger SM30, Japan, 1977

Little red ACME truck

Truck, ACME, USA, 1950's

I think this little one started as a tow-truck, but lost a part attached to the trunkbed in action somewhere... The streamlined front oozes good humor - it just seems it is smiling at you...

Portuguese double-decker ?

Bus, Ribeirinho, Portugal, 1950-1979

They get an "A" plus for the effort. Not easy making a brick aerodynamic in any situation. But the slanted front of the bus - nice !

Also, the addition of the little yellow driver and (one !) passenger makes this a little gem !

Canadian Aerocar by G.P.L.

Aerocar, G.P.L., Canada, 1950's ?

This one is of course based on the US-version made by Plas-Tex (see here). Did they sell or swap the molds after they made their production run ? Who knows...  G.P.L. was more active in plastic dishware than in toys.

Strangely enough, this one still has the non-friction base. The moulds went afterwards (or before ?) to another Commonwealth country, Australia, where company Duperite made a friction version. (see here).