Here’s A Bumper Car You Can Actually Take Off-Road

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2015 Bold Ride LLC.

 

Posted by Zach Doell

                                   
 

Bumper cars live a fairly predictable lifestyle. Bump here, ram there, cause a few sparks, and five minutes later it’s time to do it all over again. Yawn. The key takeaway is this, bumper cars don’t usually stray far from their amusement park home. This one however, does. 

 

That’s because someone took this bumper car and grafted it onto an ATV chassis, making it look utterly superb and giving it some grin-worthy off-road chops in the process. Better yet, it even has a nickname–the “Bumpkin.” Hmm, can’t imagine why.
Somewhere, someone can only dream of such a thing. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, that person can now buy it.

 

According to its listing, this bumper car (or “dodgem” as some may call it) is a 1947 Lusse Auto Skooter, which originated from the Oaks Amusement Park in Portland, Oregon. As far as bumper cars go, the Bumpkin looks to be in excellent shape, sporting a nice orange and cream color combination along with the necessary chrome exterior elements.

But underneath the skin is where things get real interesting. Gone are the Auto Skooter’s electric underpinnings, swapped instead for the mechanicals of a 2000 Kawasaki Lakota 300. This gives the bumper car 290cc of air-cooled, four-stroke engine power, put to the ground through a five-speed transmission and chain-drive rear axle. The double wishbone front suspension adds to the rather outrageous off-road look.

Inside the cockpit is the necessary switchgear needed to operate the ATV, including a key-turn ignition. While you may be able to squeeze one more person in that tiny bench seat, it looks like this Bumpkin is going to be riding solo for the most part.

What do you think? Is this off-road bumper car too bizarre, or is it the coolest thing on four wheels?

______________________________________