We love cars, but sometimes cars don’t love us back. Sometimes cars want to KILL YOU! Whether it’s by design flaws, bad builds or just ridiculous speed, there are many ways cars can be deadly.
And since it’s Halloween, we thought we’d break down our 11 most deadliest cars ever made.
11. Volkswagen Polo
We start with the humble Polo. Earlier this year, Finnish magazine Tekniikan Maailma found that the back-left seat belt could unbuckle if all three rear seat belts are being used. As a result, you’re in for a short, terminal trip through your windscreen. Or maybe not, they are tough after all…
This dangerous fault is thought to affect over 100,000 Polos in the UK. So if you’re driving with a full complement of passengers, your next trip may be your last…
10. DeLorean
Thanks to its iconic doors, notorious company history and its ability to travel through time, the DeLorean is a cultural icon of automation. However, it is cursed with a fatal flaw. Can you spot it? NO? Well, imagine you’ve rolled it and need to make a quick escape. Now try the door.
See it now? Those iconic doors hinge from the top, so if the car is upside down, you’re stuck. Modern cars with gull wing doors have explosive charges that detonate when you roll it, like the Mercedes SLS AMG. This blows the doors, allowing you to escape. Something to think about next time you take it for a spin…
9. Kia Sportage, Sorento, Optima etc.
More than 400 Kias are ‘spontaneously catching fire’ in the USA, sparking demands for a nationwide recall. The causes are not fully understood, but the engine problems have resulted in over 1 million cars being recalled and some very dramatic YouTube footage!
Fortunately, Kias are dull cars, so less of them on the road is probably a good thing. Unlike our next car…
8. Ferrari 458
In 2010 Ferrari released the 458, a fantastic, if deadly, car. The first 5 458s released all caught fire within hours of being driven, thanks to some very flammable glue in the wheel arch lining. Bad news for people who waited two years to buy one at £170,000!
Ferrari said the fire risk came when there was a combination of ‘a warm day, a warm road and a very hot car.’ They recalled more than 1,200 cars worth more than £212million to fix the problem.
7 . Vauxhall Vectra VXR
Some cars are notorious for uncontrollable oversteer. You are forced to fight the car through every corner, making for an exhilarating driving experience. Other cars are different.
The Vectra has such incredible understeer you can quite easily suffer death-by-understeering-into-any-immovable-object-that’s-in-your-way. The Vectra’s handling is so bad, it feels like the steering wheel isn’t actually attached to the wheels. So, you might as well drive it with your arms folded.
6. Toyota Hybrid
In another recall spectacular, Toyota recently recalled more than 2.43 million hybrid vehicles worldwide over stalling problems. Stalling doesn’t seem too bad… unless you’re driving at 70mph. Affected hybrid cars would enter “drivesafe” mode with no warning, stall out and invite everyone behind you to inadvertently rent out your boot space.
4. Ford Pinto
Ah, the Ford Pinto, a legendary mistake in murderous car design. The Ford Pinto could never kill you with speed or handling, both were Astra-levels of mediocre. Instead, it was just a timebomb waiting to be unleashed, like a tin of joke snakes only full of fiery panic.
The problem with the pinto was that the fuel tank was wedged between the rear axle and the back bumper. So if someone bumped you even a little bit, you’d be pretty much guaranteed to start making Guy Fawkes impressions.
Ford lost millions of dollars in recalls and lawsuits (this was in America, remember). They irony is that the cost to move the fuel tank was reported to be a mere $11.
3. Reliant Robin
Ha, ha, ha!
Next!
2. Koenigsegg one:1
1,341bhp in a car that weighs just 1,341kg. What could possibly go wrong? Usually what happens is that you end up with a 5L twin-turbo coffin. Koenigseggs are notorious for being crazy, what with their lack of traction control and their designer’s commitment to letting you not see where you’re going. But the One:1 was responsible for this spectacular crash in 2016!
One of their earlier models, the CCX, was an equally dangerous car. Lacking spoilers or downforce of any sort as well as no traction control, you didn’t so much drive it as fire it in a vague direction and prayed you arrived in one piece.
1. Shelby Cobra 427 Supersnake
Cobras are known for their power, but their “Cobra to end all Cobras” is another level of insanity. With 800bph and rumoured to go all the way to 200mph, the Shelby Cobra 427 Supersnake has possibly the most deadly habit of any car.
When driven with anything suggesting a bit of vim, the throttle sticks open. And stays open! As a result, if you drive this car, you will die. Probably a couple of towns over from where you started.
In 1966, a man named Tony Maxey bought a Supersnake and experienced this unstoppable 800bhp problem. But rather than crashing into traffic at the lights, Mr Maxey was in California, a land of spectacular car stunts. But unfortunately, this one was real. Unable to stop his Supersnake, he literally drove the car over a cliff and straight into the Pacific Ocean!
And so ends our murderer’s row of the world’s most dangerous cars. Did we miss any? Let us know on our Facebook page!