This is not even remotely a Baur, but I stumbled on it today, so I thought I would share it! :) Here are two articles about it, from Hemmings and Wheels (NY Times), and the video, of course. Enjoy!
FINNJET is up for sale!
Article from Hemmings Daily:
Antti Rahko just needed something to keep him occupied in his retirement years. While most recent Floridian transplants take up golf or maybe golf with the occasional afternoon of golf, the Finnish transplant decided instead to build one of the world’s most well-known art cars, the Finnjet, which he’s now put up for sale.
Not like he had that goal in mind right away. Rather, following his retirement in 1984, he began amassing chrome pieces and other shiny bits—mirrors, lights, bumpers, more lights, more mirrors—from trips to junkyards. Not until 2000 or so did he actually build a rig on which to install all those parts and pieces: a combination of two Eighties Mercedes-Benz W123 station wagons and a 1962 Imperial front end placed atop a tri-axle chassis with a dually axle in the center of the car and a Chevrolet truck front axle mounted at the rear, steering opposite the front wheels. A Mercedes-Benz turbodiesel engine powers the 29-foot laden limousine.
Inside, Rahko fitted the Finnjet—which he named after a famous Finnish turbine-powered ferry—with a microwave, freezer, television, two air-conditioning units and a functional sauna, all fed by three batteries and three alternators. But it’s the exterior of the Finnjet that attracts the most attention, with parts from an estimated 40 different cars, 36 mirrors, 86 lamps, various turbine housings, wings, chrome bumpers, strakes, hubcaps, a space shuttle and a continental kit for good measure.
For his efforts, Rahko has won first place in the Houston Art Car Parade—perhaps the world’s largest art car event—three times, but he built it to drive rather than show, and he’s reported mileage in the mid-20s thanks to the turodiesel. He’s also been invited to show it overseas at the Essen Motor Show a couple years back.
While he did list the Finnjet for sale about five years ago for $950,000; he has since lowered the asking price to $100,000 in an ad for the car that appears in the July 2015 issue of Hemmings Motor News.
- See more at: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/06/08/finnjet-the-only-car-with-a-chrome-bill-bigger-than-its-gas-bill-comes-up-for-sale/?refer=news#PhotoSwipe1434303989917http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/06/08/finnjet-the-only-car-with-a-chrome-bill-bigger-than-its-gas-bill-comes-up-for-sale/?refer=news#PhotoSwipe1434303989917
The fantastically frivolous Finnjet probably won’t be taking off for a new home anytime soon.
The 29-foot 7,500-pound limousine, built and owned by Antti Rahko of Palm Beach County, Fla., was recently offered for sale on eBay. But the auction ended with a high bid of $10,000, which was not enough to meet the reserve. Only 11 bidders submitted offers for the massive machine, which was built by joining two Mercedes-Benz 300 station wagons and includes parts from more than 40 other vehicles.
With interior equipment ranging from a microwave oven to a sauna, and adornments that include 86 lights and 36 mirrors, the unusual vehicle has been a favorite of art car enthusiasts. However, it was apparently not coveted by anyone with pockets deep enough to buy it. In an earlier auction, the reserve price was set at $950,000. The reserve for the recently completed auction was not published.
According to Mr. Rahko’s nephew Juha Rahko, the car will not be re-listed on a Web auction site any time soon. Mr. Rahko does hope that all the publicity generated by the sales attempts will eventually help him find a buyer.
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/the-finnjet-art-car-fails-at-auction/?_r=0
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