Bratislava – Bratislava Transport Museum (1968 Velorex)

This gloriously odd little machine is a Velorex from 1968, the Czechoslovakian solution to the question no one had asked “What if a car was made out of curtains?” Built from the late 1940s into the 1970s, it’s the vehicular equivalent of a determined shed because who needs crumple zones when you can just unzip your way out? This particular model is a Velorex Oskar 16/350, although the differences between versions were usually marginal and often depended on which bit of canvas hadn’t fallen off yet. The top speed was technically 85 kph with its motorcycle engine, but I suspect only achievable with a tailwind, a steep downhill slope and a complete disregard for mortality.

What I rather liked, though, is how much design effort went into something that has the aerodynamics of a bread bin. The folded roof looks like it was borrowed from a military tent, and the door opens with all the structural confidence of a marquee flap. But I imagine that it works. It’s functional, minimal, and rather decadent in its refusal to pretend it’s anything other than a very determined mobility aid. But yet, a lot of people wanted these and demand outstripped supply for years.

The Velorex was originally aimed at people with disabilities and what’s rather lovely is that this one has survived at all. Many were driven into the ground or abandoned when actual metal-bodied cars became affordable. But someone clearly saw enough charm in this canvas cocoon to wheel it into a museum rather than roll it quietly into a ditch. And rightly so. It’s an honest little thing, unpretentious, slightly ridiculous and all the better for it. It’s not a major exhibit here as it’s sat quietly off to the side, with the kind of modesty that suggests it knows it is playing second fiddle to the museum’s fine collection of Skodas.