Hilarious modified ‘thinny’ car goes viral on TikTok

Kieran Bicknell

In a classic case of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” it seems that engineers have created a bizarre ‘thinny’ car out of a cut-up Volkswagen Polo. This whacky creation has now gone viral on TikTok, amassing over 1 million views. 

In the modified car community, hot-rod creators often build what are known as ‘shorty’ cars. Taking the front and rear sections of a vehicle and removing the centre section, they are grafted together to form a comically shortened, yet still (somewhat) drivable car.

It seems that the engineers that built this unusual vehicle took their design and quite literally turned it around, choosing to narrow rather than shorten their car.

A crazy idea, but well executed

Posted to TikTok by user vistoenlasredes74, this whacky creation has since amassed over 1.3m views. Based on what appears to be a 2005 Volkswagen Polo, the once-practical small hatchback has been reduced to a two-seater, tandem-style car.

Thinny Car on street
It’s shocking to see such a strange creation driven on public roads

The entire centre section of the car has been removed, with only the outermost sections being welded back together resulting in an almost sci-fi appearance. This ‘thinny’ is very thin indeed, with the vehicle itself being only a fraction wider than the drivers seat.

It’s so small in fact, that the front and rear axles protrude significantly from the body of the car, with a good third of the wheels’ width being exposed. Clearly the car is not road legal (despite being driven on what appears to be public roads) as there are no number plates to be seen, nor would a vehicle like this pass a safety examination.

 

Safety concerns aside, it does seem like the build has been well executed. A smooth join runs down the entire body shell, while custom front and rear windscreens look impressively factory-fresh; Clearly the builders took great pride in their unusual creation.

It seems to be fully functional too, with both driver and passenger appearing to be comfortably seated within the vehicle.

Being so narrow and tall, the driving dynamics are likely to have been seriously compromised by the modifications, but it is unlikely this has been built with handling prowess in mind.

Despite the obvious drawbacks of the design, both driver and passenger seem to have enjoyed the ride, let’s just hope that they don’t drive past any traffic inspectors.

About The Author

Kieran is a former Dexerto writer. He joined Dexerto in 2020 to lead the new area of cars coverage on the website, a burgeoning vertical which he influenced and developed. He is a passionate motoring fan, and an expert on all things automobile, reviewing countless new cars from manufacturers and giving an informed opinion.