ONE man is behind most of the craziest cars ever featured on the silver screen – he’s turned limos into driveable volleyball courts, bathtubs, and Batmobiles.
Motor-obsessed Jay Ohrberg, 80, has been dubbed the “King of TV Cars” having spent over five decades pushing the limits of what a car can be.
Jay Ohrberg (pictured with his Batmobile design) has not let anything stop him bringing his outrageous designs to lifeRex
GettyHis ‘wide limo’ being used as a volleyball court in the 1980s[/caption]
Twitter/X/@GWRThe legendary ‘American Dream’ that seats 75 and has a helipad[/caption]
AlamyThe ‘Guitar Car’ is just one of many crazy creations by Ohrberg[/caption]
Ohrberg, an American custom car specialist and stunt racer, doesn’t seem to have ever believed that one of his ideas was too crazy or too impossible.
From abandoned and disused motors, he has created a 110ft limo, a 22-ft football car, an enormous guitar-shaped beast of a wagon and a limousine to be used as a volleyball court.
His outrageous designs have long dazzled the world in huge blockbuster films.
He created the James Bond Lotus Esprit submarine from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), dozens of Batmobiles, the iconic The Flintstone’s car, The Ghostbusters ambulance, and the Pink Panther mobile.
It all started in the 1970s, when Ohrberg was working as a truck driver, heaving other people’s cars to big motor shows.
Once he realised there was big money to be made at the events, he began building his own wacky motors for people to marvel at.
And marvel they did.
Ohrberg’s first show car was a tongue-in-cheek bathroom-like creation on wheels.
“I built it out of two real bathtubs—four and a half feet long—a Chrysler Hemi motor with two blowers, and a toilet upfront for a driver’s seat,” he told The Drive.
“I used toilet paper rolls for gas and brake pedals and I gold-plated everything.”
“People at car shows went nuts,” he added.
One of his greatest designs is the legendary “American Dream” 100-ft limo – a £3.1million stretch limo that fits 75 passengers and includes a putting green, pool and its own helipad.
The mesmerising 26-wheeled limousine set the Guinness World Record for the longest car on earth in 1986.
In 1989, Ohrberg created the incredible Batmobiles featured in Warner Bros’ Batman Returns (1989).
In total, he ended up building 18 Batmobiles for both filming and to be displayed in parks across the country.
He also built Danny DeVito’s Penguin mobile for the film, a Batboat and a Batmissile – none of which were easy undertakings.
Now heading into his 80s, Ohrberg does not seem to be slowing down.
He is currently said to be creating a 110ft Rolls Royce, complete with a helipad, a pool and two motors.
He’s also building a SpongeBob car and set to open a 30,000sqft Vegas Museum to display some of his wild and wacky creations.
The now 80-year-old has truly made his mark in the world of carsRex
RedditThe incredible Pink Panther mobile[/caption]
RedditOne of his earliest designs – the iconic double bathtub car[/caption]
The crazy driveable Canon film cameraRex
A beautifully pink mega limoRex
Twitter/X/@GWRThe shocking size of the 26-wheel machine next to a huge ocean liner[/caption]
A view from above of the giant ‘American Dream’ limo with its putting green, pool and helipad
Twitter/X/@GWRThe endless seating inside the mega-sized car[/caption]
Twitter/X/@GWRA chopper coming into land on the limo[/caption]
The Flintstone’s iconic carRex