The Mohs Ostentatienne Opera Sedan And SafariKar

The Telegraph has a series of Digg/filler articles up, listing “The 100 ugliest cars of all time” — currently they have reached number twenty. The veracity of such a list is not something which I care to discuss, the subjective nature of such an endeavor making criticism moot. Surely, there are some truly hideous cars on this list, but there are also automobiles contained within that do not strike me as “ugly” per se.

The one vehicle that really stood out, however, was the Mohs Ostentatienne Opera sedan, a car who wore its luxurious absurdity on its sleeve. Powered by a truck engine, the car could only be entered from a large, rear hatch as the long, steel bars that ran the length of the car prevented the use of side doors, and the tires were filled with nitrogen. The name of the car refers to the extras one could request for the interior, including gold inlaid instrument panels, Ming style oriental rugs, and refrigerators.

Yet, while the Ostentatienne is nice, it pales in comparison to the Mohs SafariKar, perhaps the closest a car manufacturer has come to producing a real life Transformer.

The SafariKar was made from aluminum and the outside was upholstered with Naugahyde, stretched over foam padding, for safety; or for playing Bumper Cars, whichever you prefer. The SafariKar differs from the Ostentatienne greatly in the sense that, while one had to crawl into the Ostentatienne in order to partake of the opulent ride, here one could simply choose to peel back most of the car’s exterior to enjoy optional comforts such as a television, two-way radio, “butane furnace”, or fold out bed.

One thing is certain, the image emblazoned on the minds of onlookers when one arrives in a giant black automobile, two thirds of which retracts, like a sleek, metal foreskin in order for the occupants to exit, simply oozes luxury, yes? Either that or an overwhelming lack of self-esteem.

The 100 ugliest cars [Telegraph] : Diary of a Mad Naturalist : retractable hardtop online