chris labrooy hybridizes classic cars with playful plastic inflatables

designboom_chris labrooy continues his whimsical and irreverent series of reinterpreted automobiles with ‘the future ain’t the same as it used to be.’ the animated short film features an ‘all star automotive cast from around the world’ with deconstructed american muscle cars and inflatable german and british classics, showcasing the designer’s ongoing interest in weightlessness and uncanny materiality. each transformation speaks to its mid-century california atmosphere, as a porsche 911 carrera RS expresses a playful pool toy and an E-type jaguar unfolds and hovers in classic sci-fi style.


labrooy hybridizes the car’s traditional materiality of steel or fiberglass with playful plastic inflatables. while the UK-based designer had previously explored unusual methods of locomotion with shimmying and hopping volkswagens, in this series the cars — with wheels replaced with blow-up, pool toy-like chassis — are shown to bounce and float weightlessly through the air. each car is seemingly personified as it is depicted without a driver, taking on a unique attitude and character.