Six Wheels Strange: 1971 Buick Electra
What is the weirdest thing on the internet? Okay, don’t answer that question…for the love of all things, please. What I meant to ask is; What is the weirdest car for sale on the internet? Yes. That is a much safer question to ask and I’d posit that it is a 6-wheeled Buick that spews mystery fluid on the ground and the only thing higher than the asking price is the seller. Find this 1971 Buick Electra Prototype Limited offered for $100k in Fleetwood, PA via crazybook mercantileplace.
From the seller:
1971 Buick electra prototype Limited
$100,000
Listed 2 days ago in Fleetwood, PA
About This Vehicle
Driven 80,100 miles
Automatic transmission
Exterior color: Blue · Interior color: Blue
Fuel type: Gasoline
3+ owners
This vehicle is paid off
Clean title
This vehicle has no significant damage or problems.Seller’s Description
This is a one of one prototype 1971 Buick Electra that was funded by a PENNDOT grant for $60kback in 72. It does run and drive, but it needs some work.This has been an old Buick forums and people speculated that it was a second rear axle for towing capacity, which isn’t true. The second rear axle is actually independent on each side and the factory gas tank still sits where it should.
The whole purpose of this prototype was to solve the problem of rear wheel drive vehicles of the era, sliding out during the winters and showing up the roads with winter and studded tires. Although the original gas of extra weight for towing could hold some ground, there is no hitch attached.
I’m attempting to help the owner sell the vehicle. The asking price is $100k which is a lot this some and reasonable to others. This is one of one prototype and a piece of American history.
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That’s totally bananas 🍌
“…on the road for less than $25K.”
Which car is the one for sale, the top photo?
Nicely executed and also insane. Worth $10k all day long.
That again?
https://bringatrailer.com/2013/09/30/6-wheeled-1971-buick-electra-225/
I think the idea in the snow is to have a set of wheels in the back that aren’t doing any driving or breaking, but are only responsible for keeping the rear end behind the front end. Since the extra wheels would always be turning, they would never lose traction. Of course, these days we have traction control, and ABS to solve that problem. It looks like there was a mechanism to lift the extra wheels up into the air for an A and B comparison.
What’s an actual mystery is why they bothered to make it look like it came from the factory that way instead of just hanging something off the rear bumper.
I think Hugh Crawford is onto something as the older non-restored pics almost make the rear axle look like it is supposed to act as a ‘tag axle’ like on a dump truck that can be lowered to contact ground if carrying a heavy load. Reading this ad makes yearn for the early days of classified car memes “Just need to add a price to my ad, after I spark up my crack pipe”
AHAHAHAHA! (I’ll comment when I stop laughing.) AHAHAHAHA!