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A YouTuber Just Laser-Sliced a Ford Festiva to Make the World's Thinnest Car

Lasers, a 1988 Ford Festiva, and a YouTuber's wild vision: Meet the world's thinnest street-legal car. Tyler Fever chopped the tiny Festiva into a shopping-cart-sized contraption, even fitting two seats!

Elena Voss
Elena Voss
·2 min read·Nashville, United States·3 views

Originally reported by Popular Science · Rewritten for clarity and brevity by Brightcast

YouTuber Tyler Fever, known for his channel Prop Department, apparently looked at a 1988 Ford Festiva — a car already famous for being adorably minuscule — and thought, "Not small enough." So, naturally, he took a laser to it.

His mission? To transform the most pathetic car into something even more gloriously absurd: potentially the world's thinnest street-legal vehicle. And yes, he even managed to get the thing insured. Because apparently, that's where we are now.

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Slicing and Dicing a Festiva

Fever's team started by stripping the Festiva down to its bones, even employing liquid nitrogen to coax out particularly stubborn parts. Then came the main event: a powerful metal laser and a CNC cutter. They sliced the car precisely down the middle, the lasers so intense they reportedly cut through the metal and into the ground beneath it. Just a casual Tuesday.

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The original engine, now comically oversized for the car's new svelte figure, was swapped for a compact electric dirt bike motor. This created a new, delightful problem: the steering wheel now blocked the brake pedal. The solution? Cut the steering wheel in half, creating a kind of futuristic, crescent-moon-shaped control that still required Fever to duck and shimmy just to make a turn. Because who needs full visibility when you have art?

He also redesigned the dashboard, 3D-printing custom brackets for all the street-legal necessities: lights, mirrors, and even phone chargers, all powered by a 12-volt battery. When the two halves were finally reunited, it was a cramped but surprisingly functional vehicle, complete with a tiny crouch-space behind the driver for a passenger. Maybe a very flexible cameraman.

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Nashville's Newest Attraction

After a few more tweaks and a bright yellow paint job, Fever unleashed his creation on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. The tiny car, built in just a couple of weeks, immediately became a head-turner. He drove it on public roads, through a gas station, and even over a major bridge without a hitch. Which, if you think about it, is both impressive and slightly terrifying.

It drove surprisingly well, proving to be a master of maneuvering and parking in the city's tightest spots. Imagine the satisfaction of slotting this thing between a Jeep and a sports car in a crowded garage. Fever considered the project a resounding success, thoroughly impressed by its street performance and, perhaps more importantly, by the sheer delight it brought to everyone who saw it. Because sometimes, the most ridiculous ideas are the best ones.

Brightcast Impact Score (BIS)

This article celebrates a unique and creative engineering feat, transforming a car into the world's thinnest street-legal vehicle. While not a solution to a major problem, it showcases ingenuity and a successful, albeit quirky, achievement. The emotional impact comes from the sheer novelty and the 'can-do' spirit of the creator.

Hope24/40

Emotional uplift and inspirational potential

Reach8/30

Audience impact and shareability

Verification10/30

Source credibility and content accuracy

Moderate
42/100

Local or limited impact

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Sources: Popular Science

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