Artist Hannes Langeder is proud of his new golden Porsche. Eco-friendly and weighing only 99.6 kgs, his mock aluminium foil Porsche GT3 RS is capable of reaching up to 10mph at a stretch. His £11,000 "BikeCar", which took 6 months to build, is currently exhibited at a museum in Linz, Austria. In his own words, it is a "deliberate contribution to deceleration" and we think it looks great.

Mr Langeder essentially took a bicycle and added a Porsche GT3 RS exterior - made out of a steel frame, plastic pipes, cardboard, packing tape and aluminium foil. After painting it gold, it was named the Ferdinand GT3 RS.

He named the technique 'ULC', which stands for 'Ultra Light Construction': all unnecessary components are left out and all remaining ones are kept as light as possible.

The vehicle includes a rear wing and large air inlents on the front spoiler to improve aero dynamics and "save the driver from sweating too much".

The artist decided to build the mock Porsche when he learned it was legal to drive a pedal-powered car on roads in Austria, as it is still considered a bicycle by law.

The original model he used for inspiration costs around £130k and is capable of 0-60mph in under 4 seconds.

Dr. Sergius Kodera provides some context to the work on the artist's website:

"The bicycle Porsche functions as signifier for the fascination with the figure of an automobile that has lasted since the 1950s; yet Hannes Langeder’s art object is lacking specifically the “self-moving” feature of a motor, an essential characteristic of the car.

"Nevertheless, the vehicle remains recognizable as a Porsche: “it does move”, but not under its own power, but rather through the muscle power of the person inside it. This opens up a space for reflection [...]. In the industrial commodities world the mass-produced consumer object becomes a sign for something else, due to its recognizability. The serially produced, seemingly identical objects thus create a sphere, in which communication takes place with them.

"In this sense, the bicycle Porsche is a clever intervention, because it does not involve a serially produced object."

See it in action in this video and how it was created on the artist's website.

Alternatively, want to win a real Porsche? A new supercar is won every month at Best of the Best.

Mr Langeder is clearly trying to generate a reaction from the public with his curious golden Porsche. Do you find it interesting, thought-provoking, or even artistic? Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

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Love it!

Hats off to the guy it looks really convincing! I'd love to see him ride down oxford street with that :)) he should complete the interior as well

Johnny , June 12, 2010

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