Scott and his teammate dressed up as Homer Simpson. Photo courtesy of David Moore Photo
June 28, 2013 - Designed by Homer Simpson built by a Buy Auto Parts' employee!
“Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” is one of the most classic episodes of The Simpsons. Homer discovers a long lost brother named Herb whom owns Powell Motors. The large car company is looking for the next top selling model so Herb entrusts Homer, the average American man, to come up with the design. DOH!!! In the end of the episode the car is revealed to horrifying reactions and reviews, sending Powell Motors into bankruptcy.
Sadly, the car was so over the top that it could only exist in cartoon form. No one in real life would build a car with a roof mounted giant chrome horn, giant cup holders on the outside, a bowling trophy hood ornament, and a bubble to lockup your screaming kids. Yes, the idea of creating this car seemed impossible, but that didn’t stop Scott, our steering parts specialist, from accomplishing the task.
Scott and the rest of the members of Team Porcubimmer built The Homer secretly in their garage in San Diego, CA. They didn’t want the racing world to know what hit them when they unleashed the car which Homer calls “powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a Nerf ball.”
The Homer will be racing this weekend at The 24 Hours of LeMons, at Buttonwillow Race Park in California. The cartoon's sticker price was $82,000, but this real Homer costs less than $500. Why make it so cheap? Because the rules of The 24 Hours of LeMons states each car must be less than $500. This race is a spoof on the French race, The 24 Hours of Le Mans. In Le Mans they drive cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. In LeMons they, well…. they drive lemons, or beaters, or junk. Which ever term you prefer. Due to all the crazy car designs, the race’s slogan is “Where Halloween Meets Gasoline.”
Scott has been racing in The 24 Hours of LeMons since 2007. He and a couple of friends formed Team Porcubimmer in 2008. They burst onto the scene when they came to the race in a 1987 BMW 325e equipped with 190HP, 5 speed manual, limited slip differential, upgraded suspension, racing brakes and safety equipment. But this car didn't look like any normal BMW, it was designed to look like a porcupine. Then in 2010 they turned the same BMW into the Plymouth Fury from Stephen King’s classic horror movie, Christine.
However, the team looks to have hit a homerun with the Homer. On the way out to races Scott said they created several traffic jams while towing the car and their YouTube video has already gotten over 200,000 views. The car went viral overnight. Appearing on news sites such as Time, Huffington Post, Time, GQ, Jalopnik, College Humor and many more.
In the last two races Team Porcubimmer has finished fifth, and they hope to do the same or better this weekend. There will be 150 cars battling the long hours and the 100 degree plus heat this weekend. We wish Scott and everyone at Team Porcubimmer the best of luck. GO HOMER!!!
We will update you on the race results on Monday.
Update:
Out of 154 cars and 14 hours of driving in 110 degree temperature The Homer finished in fifth place. Great job Scott!
