Slow Champion No. 6: Ferdinand GT3 RS

Yes, we know it's a car, but take a look at this amazing piece of art/machine/productoftoomuchtimeonyourhands.


Ferdinand GT3 RS - World's Slowest Porsche

To complement your Slow Cycle, how about a Slow Car? This fantastic piece of engineering was created by Hannes Langeder and now resides in the Lentos Museum of Art in Austria. Weighing in at just under 100kg, the Ferdinand has a thin aluminium skin wrapped around a complex framework of cardboard and PVC. At 13,000 euros, it's certainly the cheapest Porsche you can buy from new, but more importantly, it's the slowest. This Porsche is pedal powered (and dual fuel if you mix your twix and Red Bull). Stick Lance Armstrong in here (who can maintain roughly 350W an hour) and the Ferdinand could produce 0.45 horsepower, slightly less than the 450hp produced by the Porsche GT3 RS, the car on which the Ferdinand was based. What a difference a decimal point makes.

Have a look at the video of the Ferdinand on a racing lap around the Salzburgring, worth watching if nothing else for the sound of the door closing. It's not exactly the reassuring thud that most motoring enthusiasts like to hear is it? Instead, it's more of a weak dull thud and reminiscent of the sound of a goldfish making an unsuccessful bid for freedom.






It's a very green car though and as the slowest Porsche in the world it's a worthy winner of the Slow Champion medal. As this car had been featured on Top Gear, we had hoped Ben Collins The Stig would come to the office to pick up the medal, but he's not answering his phone.

Slow Champion No. 7: Alex Ehrlich
Slow Champion No. 8: Mark King
Slow Champion No. 9: James Whitehouse
Slow Champion No. 10: Mudassar Nazar