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Mohs Safarikar (1972)

Tags: Blog, Mohs, 1970s, exotic, ugly
Mohs Safarikar (1972)
Mohs Safarikar (1972)
Mohs Safarikar (1972)
Mohs Safarikar (1972)
Mohs Safarikar (1972)
Mohs Safarikar (1972)
Mohs Safarikar (1972)
Mohs Safarikar (1972)
Images: Alden Jewell Collection; cargeekjournal.com
Rating:  -7    -9    +2
Сухопутный круизный лайнер для Африканского сафари
Как и в случае с Mohs Opera Sedan, основой для данного фаэтона послужил внедорожник International Harvester, от которого позаимствовали раму, двигатель и полноприводную трансмиссию.

Кузов был полностью оригинальной разработкой Брюса Моса. Он был выполнен целиком из алюминия, но самым интересным было его покрытие, это был не просто отполированный алюминий или банальная краска, весь кузов был обтянут винилом, по своей структуре напоминавшим кожу.

Необычными выглядели и двери, которые отодвигались вбок от кузова при помощи гидравлики. Складной верх был жестким и имел электрический привод складывания. Стандартным для автомобиля являлся полный привод и телевизор. Несмотря на то, что автомобиль предполагалась эксплуатировать в жарком климате на борту имелся газовый отопитель работавший на бутане.

Все остальное можно было установить по желанию заказчика и хотя внешне машина кажется совершенно безумной, она была выпущена мелкой серией. Нашлись целых три клиента заказавшие автомобиль в 1972 году.


Mohs’ second automotive creation was an on/off road vehicle that entered the market in 1972 and named the Safarikar. As with the original Opera Sedan, big and luxurious was the theme in the Safarikar. The dual-cowl phaeton featured a retractable convertible top, rear seats that converted into beds and an exterior covered in padded Naugahyde. According to the sales flyer this covering “is not only quiet in the extreme, but low in maintenance since there is no paint on the exterior of the car. You merely wet, wipe and dry for cleaning. No waxing. No polishing.” This car had doors on each side of the car but they weren’t hinged, instead they slid in and out on linear shafts. The Safarikar featured a 392 cubic inch V8 engine and sold for $14,500.

While the Mohs cars were big and over-the-top, the sales literature was anything but ostentatious and consisted of simple black & white two-sided flyers. These flyers included photographs and a list of equipment and features. In my opinion, sales literature for this car should have been extremely interactive with paper models that had opening doors and more illustrations about the swing and sway seats.

Featured in the sales flyers for both cars was Mohs’ patented swing a sway seats which “compensate for centrifugal force in turns and pivot into the horizontal in the event of frontal collision.” In brief, they kept the passenger centered in their seat with no side to side sliding. Literature also brags that Mohs “shares no components or designs philosophy with any other car” and may have stretched the truth a bit when it stated that owners will see “minimum depreciation” in their investment.

While not considered sales literature, the AACA Library owns a collection of correspondence between Bruch Mohs and several automotive manufacturers, designers and government agencies. The first letter comes from legendary designer Gordon Buehrig who bluntly wrote to Mohs “I do not care for your design of a new car…I would like to suggest that you check the opinions of a number of people before going ahead with your present design.”

In other correspondence readers can learn that Mohs had several meetings with Ford Motor Company regarding the use of his seats in Ford products. We can also see his passion for safety in communications with the Department of Transportation which, at one time, considered Mohs for an appointment with a newly formed Experimental Safety Program.

Mohs cars may have been big on style, power and appointments but their sales literature, while informative, lacked the flair, originality and attitude of the ostentatious vehicles.
Source: Hemmings Classic Car #119, August 2014 via cargeekjournal.com
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