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Pedal-powered Porsche is world's lightest, slowest

The Ferdinand GT3 RS is the lightest Porsche ever, but there's more here than meets the eye.

Antuan Goodwin Reviews Editor / Cars
Antuan Goodwin gained his automotive knowledge the old fashioned way, by turning wrenches in a driveway and picking up speeding tickets. From drivetrain tech and electrification to car audio installs and cabin tech, if it's on wheels, Antuan is knowledgeable.
Expertise Reviewing cars and car technology since 2008 focusing on electrification, driver assistance and infotainment Credentials
  • North American Car, Truck and SUV of the Year (NACTOY) Awards Juror
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Antuan Goodwin

Ferdinand GT3 RS, pedal-powered Porsche
The Ferdinand GT3 RS is the lightest Porsche ever, but there's more here than meets the eye. ferdinand.johannes-l.net

The Ferdinand GT3 RS currently on display at Austria's Museum of Modern Art Linz is the lightest Porsche ever. It's also the greenest, the shiniest, and, well, probably the goofiest.

Built using a cardboard and PVC tube frame with an aluminium foil skin, the Ferdinand GT3 RS weighs a scant 220 pounds. The vehicle features skinny, low-rolling resistance bicycle wheels and tires that are driven, not by an exotic flat six-cylinder or a hybrid drivetrain, but by pedal power supplied by the driver's legs. Not only is the Ferdinand GT3 RS the lightest Porsche ever; it's also the only zero-emissions Porsche--unless you count the various gases generated by the pedaling driver.

As if building a Porsche out of aluminum foil wasn't bizarre enough, the artists then took the car--if you can call it that--for a spin on the Salzburgring race track, with hilarious results. To be fair, the Ferdinand GT3 RS actually isn't a Porsche, sharing only its silhouette with the legendary 911. There are no actual Porsche parts used in its construction and we're pretty sure this is not an official Porsche AG project. Check out the video below for a walk-around of this oddball ride and the on-track footage. All of the dialog is in German, but trust us, it's worth watching to the end.