Unusual: cars without… steering wheel, grille, doors, mirrors

For some people : ” all cars look the same ! “. Indeed, at first glance, in broad outline, nothing technically distinguishes one car from another. And yet, between a Morgan 3-Wheeler which, as its name suggests, only has three wheels and a Mercedes G63 6×6 Class which claims double, the difference is not small. Sometimes, it is only bodywork elements such as the grille, exterior mirrors or even the windshield that are revisited or abandoned. But, you will see that we can very well do without it. For others, the missing elements are much less visible, and for good reason, they have been removed from the heart of the mechanics. Panorama of models that have something less… or more!

>> Discover our slideshow of “cars without…” <<

Cars without a grille…

Today, the size of the nostrils of a BMW, the grille of a Mercedes or even the ” single-frame » from Audi can be debated but at the end of the 1980s, the Volkswagen Passat type B3 had chosen to do without a grille altogether. No opening between the headlights for the VW wagon, fresh air entered the engine compartment only through the bottom of the shield. With the advent of electric cars, the absence of a grille will become the norm. Indeed, whether it is at the front or at the rear, the electric motor does not need cooling, it is only the batteries housed under the floor that need a supply of fresh air from where scoops on the sides at the bottom of the shield. At Tesla, the models do not have a grille.

• Passat B3
• Tesla Model 3

… without exterior mirrors

The imposing 100% electric SUV Audi e-tron made an impression by abandoning classic exterior mirrors replaced by cameras. A technology that the brand with the rings does not have the prerogative of, the Lexus ES hybrid sedan is also equipped with it. Moreover, between the two premium brands the battle rages to know who was the first equipped. Screens are placed on board and allow you to orient yourself, but also to zoom in and out for more comfort and above all to minimize blind spots. In addition, the aerodynamic argument is hardly admissible, because it only concerns a few hundredths on the C_x of the vehicle. Enough to grab up to 20 kilometers of autonomy according to Audi for its SUV on hold, and avoid running out of fuel in the open countryside.

• Audi e-tron and e-tron Sportback
• Lexus ES
• honda

… without doors

Whether pivoting, hinged, sliding, gull-wing or butterfly type, or even descending in the sides as for the BMW Z1, the side doors are essential for accessing the passenger compartment. Not for the Isetta, this small car developed by the Italian firm Iso and marketed by BMW after the war. Indeed, to settle on board, the driver and his passenger entered through a front door, the only opening of the car which embarked in its pivoting movement the steering wheel and the steering column. For so-called open-air cars, there is no need to have doors. Just step over the chassis to get on board. The Mini Moke, Jeep Willys or even the Caterham roadster are the perfect example. Conversely, Citroën Méhari and Renault Rodeo whose doors, removable, do exist.

• Mini Moke
• Jeep Willys
• Caterham

… without lowering front windows

Formerly with now electric cranks, the side windows descend into the doors. But they have also been sliding or folding for the sake of economy. In the tricolor automotive landscape, the Citroën 2CV and Renault 4 are each, in their own way, perfect examples. The new Citroën Ami electric quadricycle also uses this low-cost recipe as a tribute to its ancestor.

• Citroen 2CV
• Citroen Ami
• Renault 4

… without windscreen

In competition, the trays have always been freed from a windscreen and side windows. To avoid having the wind in your nose when driving at high speed, several solutions have been favored by engineers. A windscreen like the Renault Spider – which was also sold with a windshield for customers wanting greater versatility of use – or quite simply a true invisible air dome above the heads of the driver and passenger of the McLaren Elva.

• McLaren Elva
• Renault Spider
• Aston Martin V12 Speedster
• Ferrari Monza SP1 & SP2
• Smart Crossblade …

TO READ. Speedsters. The top sports cars without a windshield

… less or more than four wheels

Four wheels under an umbrella, such was the Citroën 2CV. But some cars sometimes have one less wheel or, conversely, one more axle. With a single front wheel, like Mister Bean’s Reliant Regal Supervan III, or a single rear wheel like the Morgan Three Wheeler, both only total three. Some machines, not necessarily military, double their rear axle to accept heavier loads while increasing motor skills since it is a 6 x 6 type transmission

• Reliant Robin Mk1 (1973-1981)
• Mercedes Class G63 6×6

TO READ.

• 3 wheel cars. The Benz-Patent Motorwagen saga at the Aptera
• Top 6-wheel vehicles
• Christian de Leotard. The French specialist in 6-wheel cars
  

… an engine without a camshaft

Until the mid-2010s, the track of a camless engine, which then actuated its valves by an electronically controlled pneumatic system was in vogue. The purpose of the maneuver? Offering more power while reducing consumption, the Holy Grail for any engine engineer. Except that the development is not so easy as that. The Free Valve company, a subsidiary of the Swedish manufacturer Koenigsegg – which acquired some expertise in this area between 2000 and 2015 on a V8 prototype – can attest to this.

The sequel was to be a large-scale marketing under the hood of a vehicle from the Chinese brand Qoros. To this end, the Qoros 3 had a strong 1.6l turbo block with 230 horsepower and 320 Nm of torque, i.e. an increase in power of 47% and torque of 45% compared to an engine of the same displacement but with a conventional camshaft. The icing on the cake, the 20 kg lighter engine is 15% more economical than the traditional block. But that was on paper, in real life we ​​are still waiting for it.

• Qoros 3 concept 2013

… without valves

The origins of the automobile at the turn of the 20th century^and century, engines had two Achilles’ heels, the cylinder head gasket and the distribution. It was really very common to witness broken valves. Also to avoid this kind of disappointment, engineers have quite simply removed the valves and the springs by replacing them with a sliding sheath whose openings, called lights, allowed the circulation of gases to the admission as to the exhaust. The Panhard et Levassor brand has made it its speciality.

• Panhard Levassor 1910-1925
• Mors 1913

… without round pistons

At the heart of the combustion engine, this is the basic principle, the pistons – by their coming and going – turn the crankshaft which then moves the vehicle. Yet some zealous engineers sought an alternative solution in the form of the rotary piston engine. The room then adopts a triangular shape. More compact, vibration-free, relatively quiet, this type of engine seems to have it all if we disregard a higher manufacturing cost, poor reliability and sealing without forgetting early wear and a little measured appetite. What relativize its strengths especially when prices at the pump soar as in 1973 or especially today.

• Mazda RX-7
• Mazda RX-8
• Citroën GS Birotor
• Citroen M35

… without reverse gear

The first hybrid model from the prancing horse brand, the Ferrari SF90 combines a power of 1,000 hp through a V8 petrol engine and a pair of electric motors. Its gearbox has eight forward gears but no reverse.. To circulate backwards, it is the electric machines that take care of it by reversing their polarity.

• Ferrari SF90

… without gearbox

Even stronger than the hybrid Ferrari which has no reverse gear, the Koenigsegg brand engineers have gone further, completely abandoning the traditional gearbox. The Swedish racing car retains a clutch and gear reduction with a ratio of 2.85: 1. The purpose of the exercise is to reduce transmission power losses and also gain curb weight. And to bring even more elasticity to the 5.0-litre V8 twin-turbo engine, which already has plenty of it, two electric motors come as reinforcements. There is one on each of the rear axle shafts, the third electric machine is connected to the crankshaft and plays a role similar to that of a generator.

• Koenigsegg Regera

… without fuel pump

We thought we knew everything about the Trabant forever and yet. The venerable car produced between 1957 and 1991 in communist Europe, whose very flexible body was made of a mixture of cotton and resin, didn’t have a gas pump. The latter would have been too expensive and could have caused breakdowns in the machine, which already had plenty of them. The fuel simply fell by gravity into the carburetor. For this purpose, the tank with a capacity of 24 liters was positioned just above the engine.

• trabant

… without valance

There is no traditional steering wheel, that is to say circular, in the Tesla equipped with the “rudder” baptized Yoke, idem on board the Toyota bZ4x. Even better, some concept cars no longer have a steering wheel at all, these are vehicles with level 5 autonomous driving the production of which is not for tomorrow. Among these atypical machines, let us mention the Audi AICON unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2019 or the Rolls Royce 103 EX Vision Next 100 which no longer even has a dashboard.

• Tesla Yoke
• Toyota bZ4x
• Audi AICON concept (2019)
• Rolls Royce 103EX Vision Next 100

TO READ. The most amazing steering wheels we’ve seen in our cars!