Roots of the automobile revisited with Reboot Buggy

It's easy to forget that the first cars were replacements for the horse and buggy, in today's world of ever more luxurious and complex, wheeled conveyances. Designer Joey Ruiter had something like that in mind when he started work on his Reboot Buggy, a completely stripped down take on what's at the heart of the word "car."

The Reboot Buggy is brutally stunning, with a form that seems entirely driven by the basics of driving. A open-topped, two-door box makes up the sum total of the passenger area, while a 470-horsepower, 383 cubic-inch, small block V8 engine sits in the middle of the open frame. Staying close to the go-anywhere nature of the elemental buggy, a long-travel suspension and huge, knobby 40-inch tires should allow the vehicle to go just about anywhere. There's also apparently a 10,000-pound winch, you know, just for fun.

If the Reboot Buggy warms the cockles of your car-loving heart, just wait till you read this bit about why Ruiter started the build to begin with:

I've personally becoming more and more frustrated with new automobiles. The fluff, the marketing, the gadgets, the nicknacks, and the do-dads are overwhelming. I want to go back to the drive. When the drive was enough. We've layered and layered until I saw a cover for a cover under a hood covered in paint with a cover to protect the paint? ... Seems silly to describe but that is a true statement. It's just all gotten out of control.

Where do we sign up? Have a closer look at the Reboot Buggy in our gallery, or click thru to see the rest of the rad industrial design on the J.Ruiter website.