Top Five Six-Wheelers

Why have four-wheels when you can have six...

Pullman Six-wheeler ... 1906

The granddaddy of all the sixers, this experimental car also sported the most unusual layout. Pullman was a US maker of luxury cars between 1905 and 1917. They were moderately successful, though this car was a total disaster. And for obvious reasons too. Those evenly spaced axels meant it had the turning circle of a barge. The car crashed into pole within a year of its construction and was mercifully scrapped.

C6W ... 2004

Designed by Italian company, Corvini engineering, this rear-wheel drive prototype boasts some impressive bits – a 4.2-litre Audi V8 engine, a top speed of 295km/h, loads of carbonfibre and, of course, six wheels. Its rear-wheel drive with those front wheels designed to reduce drag and “increase air penetration”. The C6W was introduced at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show and has been “set for commercial production” ever since. Right.

Panther 6 ... 1976-77

This one actually made it into production. Yes. They made two. The Panther 6 however does deserve some credit… it was actually a pretty decent automobile. Its British manufacturers claimed it could crack the 200mph barrier (320km/h) and given its 600bhp twin-turbo 8.0-litre V8, that was entirely possible. Incidentally, the car also came with such futuristic gizmos as a phone and a TV. All as standard.

Citroën Cruise Crossser ... 2007

Swiss car designer Franco Sbarro thinks so far out the box that he and the box are pretty much in different postal codes. Which is why Citroen asked him to whip up a little something special based on their production C-Crosser SUV. What he came up with is a six-wheeled hybrid with a conventional diesel engine supplemented by an electric motor. Yes. Not Frankie’s finest hour.

Trekol 39294 ... 2012

Also known as the Amazing Floating Car, this Russian-made monster is, in fact, genuinely amazeballs. When they say it can go anywhere, they mean anywhere… even water. Thanks to its huge tubeless tyres and lightweight polystyrene-sandwiched-by-fibreglass body, this 6x6 is not only road legal, capable of withstanding temperatures from -60 to +60, but it has the ability to traverse water at a stately 10km/h.

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