05-07-2025
Optical illusion on wheels? Italian man turns '93 Flat Panda into thinnest car ever!
Every day, a new optical illusion takes the internet by storm. Whether it is looking for an odd man out of word or shape, these brain teasers leave the people in splits since the answers are often hiding in plain sight. The internet which has seen its fair share of strange inventions was perplexed after seeing a viral video of 1993 vintage Flat Panda. The car, from the side resembles an optical illusion, but the second you catch a front-facing glimpse, its bizarre proportions become hilariously obvious.
The vehicle, which has been transformed by Italian builder Andrea Marazzi, only fits one person, albeit barely! The clip was shared last month and the video has gone viral.
Marazzi, according to a Times report, spent an entire year transforming the compact hatchback into what is now being dubbed as the world's narrowest car. The vehicle, which is just 20 inches wide, but the car is fully functional. The low-speed electric vehicle looks like it has been through a giant hydraulic press.
A video of the car showed Marazzi confidently cruising down a street in the narrow Fiat Panda. From the side, the car looks normal. However, when seen head-on, it appears as though the vehicle was sliced in half. The clip quickly sparked amusement and disbelief, with users comparing the car to everything from a 'toothpick on wheels' to a 'New York apartment'. Some even joked about the car being as narrow as their current budget.
'I wanna see him take a curve at high speeds like those motorcycles races,' a user quipped. Another user commented, 'This dude is driving a NY apartment.'
However, Marazzi's Panda is not just a fun experiment, it is a one-of-a-kind prototype, modified entirely by hand. The narrow vehicle, which still has four wheels, albeit tightly packed together, and runs on electric power.
While it is certainly not built for speed, safety, or practicality, the car has already won hearts online, and earned Marazzi the unofficial title of 'automotive illusionist'.
The narrowest known car is a modified 1993 Fiat Panda, measuring just 20 inches wide, built by Italian inventor Andrea Marazzi. It can seat only one person and is fully electric.
It's completely real. A video posted on Instagram shows the builder, Andrea Marazzi, driving the vehicle, which is fully functional, though not exactly road-trip ready.
While Marazzi's Panda is technically drivable, it's unlikely to meet standard requirements.
