When Jalopnik posted a story about one of its readers’ nephews 42-wheeled dream vehicle, calling upon its fan base to send in their renderings of the 19-engine super machine, we said to ourselves, “that’s a bit of a larf.” Little did we expect that BMW’s marketing department would stick one of its Photoshop wizards on the case.
The result is called the 4219Eli. What does the name mean? Well 42 for the number of wheels, 19 for the number of engines, and “Eli” is the name the four-year-old who dreamt it up. Arguably the original concept called for Porsche engines. Clearly, BMW figured some compromises had to be made.
Features of the 4219Eli include a toy trunk, three driving positions, a custom vanity plate, and a bunch of air intakes – and you’d need a bunch of air to let those 19 engines breathe.
Of course BMW finished the 42-wheeled beast with its iconic BMW racing colors and a couple M badges because no mega BMW would be complete without either.
Fuel economy specs aren’t yet known for the 4219Eli but combined power output has been pegged at 8,721 horses or just shy of eight Bugatti Veyron Super Sports. Neither Eli nor BMW have specified the transmission options that will transfer power to the 42 wheels – three on each axle – but we wouldn’t be surprised if it weren’t at least a couple eight-speed automatics and a few 7-speed manuals.
Not surprisingly, being the kind of dorks that we are, the first question we posed in our morning meeting was, “What kind of tech is there on the inside?” Again, this wasn’t made clear. Based upon Eli’s uproarious imagination, we can only suspect it’s pretty fantastical – and includes lasers — lots of lasers
No word yet on a plug-in hybrid or EV version of the 4219Eli. Given the current automotive climate, one will surely have to follow but will likely only be sold in California and Oregon.
