Since we were young, we’ve all been told to eat our fruits and vegetables. They’re an important part of a healthy diet, but neither of them are usually that appealing. It’s just not that simple to turn down a big cheesy pizza – loaded with bacon – for only a plate of cold peas and carrots.
So, it’s pretty awesome to see veggie commercials with a unique way of reminding us of their importance – like this old Birds Eye Peas commercial from 2005. It featured this quirky pea-shaped car with Volkswagen lights that was built to fall apart as was it was driving.
Built by London-based company Asylum, the promo car only took about six weeks to make.
It weighs about 1,653 pounds (750kg), and is capable of reaching a top speed over 60 miles an hour – even though it doesn’t have any gears.
To build it, they used a modified chassis from an off-road go-kart, fitted with a Honda engine. It bears a Volkswagen look, but only the lights come from a VW Beetle. They also used Lancia indicators, wing mirrors from a specialist shop – and the other parts were all made to order, including the fiberglass body panels.
Here’s a short, 12-second clip of the whole design:
Specifically made to fall apart for the commercial, the car had 12 panels that were built to come off, like the doors, sun roof, rear bumper, wing mirror, and exhaust.
In the commercial, the pea car starts by driving out from the farmer’s field. But on the way, it begins to lose body parts on the road, one-by-one, and by the time the car gets to its destination, the bare chassis is all that’s left.
Then, from the back of a refrigerated truck, a brand new pea car comes rolling out. A voiceover explains how veggies lose their vitamins from the moment they’re picked, whereas their peas are frozen right away, so they don’t lose any of their essential vitamins.
The promo car wasn’t actually legal to drive on roads, so the ones in the commercial had been closed off to all other traffic. And because the doors were built to come off, they made sure the stunt driver was safely secured inside the car.
Check out the full commercial:
Since the commercial, the car has been on display in places like the National Motor Museum (in the UK). But sadly, it was just created for the ad, so the model isn’t available for purchase.
But we can only dream, right? Could you see yourself driving this little pea car?
