Steve Braithwaite, a Brit who lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan, had an original idea. Using a 1993 Ford F-150 pickup as a base and with the help of the Muttant Brothers fabrication studio, he made this innovative Bananamobile. With his Big Banana Car he tours around the United States and offers joyful rides to kids.
As local newspaper MLive reports, Braithwaite was heading out on another 1400-mile road trip to Texas, when was stopped on early Sunday morning by a curious state trooper on U.S. 223 near Adrian, Michigan, probably to check the legality of the Banana Car. After he shared a few colorful stories of his cross-country drives, and the cop no doubt ran his plate (which, by the way, reads SPLIT) and found no problems, he gave Braithwaite back his license wrapped in a $20 bill.
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Braithwaite told Car & Driver that the Banana Car has a 1994-vintage 302-cubic-inch Mustang engine. On his most recent trip, he calculated his fuel economy at 13.3 mpg, “but I think the sign board on the back caused a lot of drag”, as he usually gets closer to 15 mpg. He also said he has reached a top speed of 85 mph, “although the speedo only goes up to 85 so it might have been more.”
According to the Mutant Brothers’ website, the conversion took about two years and cost $25,000, with some of the elements used being reinforced steel bars, chicken wire, and sculpted polyurethane foam covered in fiberglass.
Moreover, he proudly notes that the Banana Car, at almost 23 feet in length, made it into Guinness World Records as the longest custom banana car in the world. He concedes, however, that because it’s the only banana car in the world, it’s also the world’s shortest…
Mind you, that $20 bill may have come in handy, because by the time he reached Bowling Green, Ohio, 150 miles down the road, he needed to rebuild his carburetor, although he said he intends to donate that money to charity.