Custom car maker Austin Coulson always knew the one road sure makes history.
Turned out in his case that the road was quite literal: Coulson is the owner of the smallest roadworthy car, meaning he can legally take his mini-machine out on the road.
Coulson’s car measures 25 inches (63.5 cm) high; 2 feet, 1.75 inches (65.41 cm) wide; and 4 feet, 1.75 inches (126.47 cm) long, and can be spotted by its Texas vanity license plates reading “IM BIG.”
The car’s paint work is themed after the U.S. P-51 Mustang military aircraft and the sides are inscribed with the tail numbers of a ship that Coulson’s grandfather served on during World War II. It is often driven during local veterans’ military parades.
To qualify as a roadworthy vehicle, Coulson needed to get the car registered and inspected and had to install a number of required safety features. These included federally approved safety glass for the windshield, functioning windshield wipers and department of transportiation-approved signal lights, a seat belt, and working horn.
“When I told my family I was going to try and get the world record for the smallest roadworthy car, they were a little skeptical at first,” Coulson said. “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.”
To find out how many miles to the gallon Coulson gets, how he constructed the vehicle, and to watch him take it for a spin.
