A former gravedigger has built a 100mph single-seater car using a 7ft-long steel coffin for the body. Phil Bissett, 62, bought the unusual handmade coffin for £98 on internet auction site eBay and has dubbed his new creation 'Holy Smoke'. The tattoo artist from Harold Hill, near Romford in Essex, normally customises hearses in his spare time。
"It was padded inside and I've left the handles on it so people can see it's a coffin." Bissett transformed the 75kg steel coffin into a car by using the engine of his daughter's 1972 VW and parts from a dumper truck, a beach buggy and an old Ford car and even wheel spinners made out of grave vases。
The number-plate of the bone shaker is DIGG in honour of Mr Bissett's former occupation. The casket has been spray painted with the words Holy Smoke drifting across a graveyard scene and the words Rust in Peace across the lid. Along the sides Mr Bissett had painted 'I put the fun in funerals' and 'I see dead people' and on the petrol tank it says 'Embalming fluid only'。
Mr Bissett said: "It's got a 1300cc engine so it can go up to 100mph. It's fully road legal. It's got an MOT, it's tax exempt because the engine is from 1972 and for fully comp insurance it was only £86. I love it. I wouldn't mind being taken to the church in it when my time comes."
"The first time I took it out one bloke nearly fell off the kerb and into the gutter when he saw it," he said. "Another was madly trying to take pictures from his Hummer and almost crashed into the back another car. People react funnily to this, my wife won't go near it."
据英国《每日邮报》5月8日报道，英国一掘墓人用一口7英尺(约2.1米)长的钢制棺材改装成一辆时速100英里(约160公里)的单座汽车。 现年 62岁的老汉菲尔-比赛特在eBay拍卖网站上以98英镑的超低价格，从一家殡仪馆购买了一口7英尺长、75公斤重的钢制棺材，并将其改装成一辆“棺材汽 车”。据了解，菲尔-比赛特是英国艾塞克斯郡哈罗德山市的一名纹身艺术家和前掘墓人，平时经常在业余时间为各种葬礼定制灵车。
菲尔首先对棺材内部进行改动和装饰，添加了坐椅和方向盘等汽车部件。接着，菲尔将原来的棺材盖门切割掉一半，使之成为新颖“车门”。“但我保留 了原先棺材外面的几个把手，因为我希望别人一眼就能看出它是一口棺材。该车的引擎来源于菲尔女儿的一辆1972年产大众汽车，其他零件则来自一辆报废的卸 货卡车、一辆沙滩车和一辆旧福特汽车。
为了让“棺材汽车”的外表更具备“死亡气息”，菲尔颇花了一番心思。菲尔为“棺材汽车”所选的车牌号码是“DIGG526”(DIG为“挖掘” 之意)，这正是为了纪念他曾从事的掘墓人职业；在“棺材汽车”车身上，菲尔还用油漆喷涂了许多与葬礼和死亡有关的短语，让人一看到“棺材汽车”就立刻“心 生寒意”，比如菲尔在车身一侧喷涂的短语就是：“我给葬礼带来乐趣”和“我看见了死人。”
菲尔说：“‘棺材汽车’有一个1300cc的发动机，因此它可以加速到每小时100英里。它拥有正式牌照，可以合法上路，而且免税，因为它的发 动机是1972年产的。我十分喜欢它，当我去世之后，我十分乐意让它载着我的遗体前往教堂。”
菲尔说：“我第一次开着‘棺材汽车’外出时，一名坐在附近路边石柱上的人吓得从石柱上摔了下来，差点掉进路边的阴沟里。还有一次，一个正高速开 着悍马车的人竟试图给我的‘棺材汽车’拍照，结果他的汽车失去控制，差点撞到另一辆车的尾部。人们对‘棺材汽车’的反应真是有趣极了，而我的妻子则始终不 愿意靠近它，生怕沾上它的晦气。”