Ever Wondered What It Would Be Like To Drive On Square Wheels?

The wheel is often cited as one of humanity’s greatest ever inventions. But is it overrated? Of course not, but for the purpose of Garage54’s latest bout of workshop silliness, let’s briefly pretend it is, and that it needs reinventing.

The YouTube channel has received numerous requests to try out a different wheel shape, and in this video, the team decided to go for square rims. To build them, they took existing (round) steel wheels, surrounded them with custom-made frames, and bolted on a tread that had been cut off a tyre during a previous experiment.

The resulting creations were even given a splash of day-glow yellow paint. This is the kind of attention to detail we expect from a place that made some surprisingly exquisite plastic pistons.

See also: Concrete Tyres Work, But They’re Not Exactly Durable

Amazingly, the Lada 1800 tasked with wearing these DIY ‘wheels’ (on the rear axle only - Garage54 isn’t that bonkers) was able to drive for some time without shaking itself to pieces. The ride on firmer surfaces is described as “pretty brutal,” but there is at least one benefit to the arrangement. “What’s cool is you stop and the parking brake is already on,” the host notes. Sold!

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