Perhaps in the 1950s (1958, to be exact), there came an announcement across the world that there would be an intercontinental science fair, which is bound to surpass the breakthrough of the atomic bomb, and perhaps, upon hearing the news, the people in Ford sat a day—or days—through then came up with, pardon the pun, an explosive idea: why on all the continents of the world don’t we put the same bastardizing power of the A-bomb in our car to replace the internal combustion in the engine? And then someone eager as a beaver yapped, “Yeah, let’s put it in the trunk.” “Or on it,” another quipped.

Thus, the Ford Nucleon was born.

This futuristic ensemble, which features a plutonium-powered “engine,” came from the ‘50s idea that someday, all things shall be powered by nuclear power. Guess that seemingly axiomatic supposition didn’t get too far, huh? And so did this car, which was never built and never produced. Who cares? This supercharged madness could have won a Nobel Prize. And, man, see how those tailfins extend? Wicked.