American car culture is no stranger to whimsical, food-themed vehicles. From the iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile to the attention-grabbing Red Bull Mini, these quirky automobiles capture the imagination. However, buzzing around in the same realm of automotive oddities is a vehicle often mistakenly called the “Volkswagen Pea Car.”
This spherical, miniature car is indeed recognizable, yet shrouded in misconceptions. The biggest of these is right in its nickname: it’s not actually a Volkswagen. In reality, the only genuine Volkswagen component you’ll find on this green globe are the headlights, borrowed from the classic VW Beetle. While the hubcaps and front grille design might echo vintage VW aesthetics, the Pea Car’s connection to the German automaker ends there.
The truth is far more fascinating. The Pea Car is a bespoke creation, a vehicle ingeniously assembled from various automotive parts with a singular, and quite literal, purpose: to fall apart. Join us as we delve into the intriguing story of this unconventional automobile, a vehicle that sparks curiosity and a touch of bewilderment in car lovers and casual observers alike.
The Genesis of the Pea Car: A Commercial Star is Born
While many might mistake the Pea Car for a whimsical concept car, it’s firmly rooted in the world of advertising. It was conceived and brought to life as a promotional vehicle for Birds Eye, a well-known American frozen food brand. The brilliant idea emerged from the creative partnership of Matt Waller and Dave Monk, working at the advertising powerhouse BBH London. Their vision resonated with Muriel MacCallum and Sofia Costa, the creative leaders at Birds Eye, and the “Pea Car” concept quickly gained momentum.
Launched in 2005, the Pea Car became the centerpiece of a memorable marketing campaign. The campaign aimed to highlight the importance of healthy eating, contrasting fresh produce, which can lose nutrients over time, with frozen foods that lock in nutritional value at their peak freshness. The Pea Car was designed to visually represent this message in a unique and impactful way.
The task of transforming the concept into reality fell to Asylum Models & Effects. Remarkably, they brought the Pea Car to life in just six weeks, transforming a creative brief into a fully functional, and intentionally fragile, vehicle ready for its starring role.
Built to Break: The Art of Intentional Disassembly
Weighing in at approximately 1,653 pounds, the Pea Car was meticulously shaped to resemble a giant pea, visually reinforcing its connection to the Birds Eye brand and its healthy eating message. The genius of the Pea Car lay in its design for a television commercial where it was meant to progressively fall apart while driving through the countryside. As depicted in the commercial, the Pea Car starts its journey as a complete, vibrant green sphere, only to shed its body panels one by one, eventually arriving in a suburban setting as a bare chassis on wheels, trailing behind a refrigerated truck.
This visual transformation was crucial to the commercial’s narrative. A pristine Pea Car emerging from a refrigerated truck symbolized how Birds Eye frozen peas, and other frozen foods, retain their nutrients, contrasting with the nutrient loss in fresh produce during transportation and storage.
The Pea Car’s structural integrity wasn’t a concern; in fact, its intentional fragility was a key design element. Its twelve body panels were specifically engineered for easy detachment. These components included easily removable elements like the exhaust pipe, hubcaps, doors, rear bumper, sunroof, and even a wing mirror or two. Adding to its quirky charm, the Pea Car incorporated headlights from the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, a subtle nod to automotive heritage within this otherwise unconventional machine.
While Volkswagen lent its headlights, other automotive brands also contributed to the Pea Car’s unique composition. The turn signals were sourced from a Lancia, while the wing mirrors came from a specialized automotive accessory supplier. Beyond these borrowed parts, everything else, including the distinctive fiberglass body panels and the custom “Pea” license plate, was exclusively crafted for this pea-shaped promotional vehicle. The final touch was a vibrant coat of green paint in Pantone 396c, ensuring its unmistakable pea-like appearance.
Pea Car Mechanics: A Honda Heart in a Go-Kart Shell
Beneath its eye-catching exterior, the Pea Car’s mechanical underpinnings were surprisingly practical. It was constructed using a heavily modified chassis from an off-road go-kart, providing a robust and maneuverable base. Powering this green sphere was a reliable Honda engine. Despite having only a single gear, the Pea Car was capable of reaching a top speed of 60 mph, showcasing its surprising agility.
Prior to assembling the body panels, the go-kart chassis underwent modifications to enhance its stability and ensure structural integrity, even after the body panels were designed to detach. This robust chassis was essential for safely executing the commercial’s driving sequences.
During the filming of the advertisement, a professional stunt driver took the wheel of the Pea Car, navigating it along a closed-off road in the picturesque English countryside. The road closure was necessary because, despite its functional engine and chassis, the Pea Car was never intended to be street legal. Lacking doors and with an interior that couldn’t be directly attached to the detachable bodywork, the driver was secured in a racing bucket seat fixed directly to the chassis, ensuring safety during the dynamic filming process.
Home is Where the Peas Are: The Pea Car’s Current Residence
So, what became of the Pea Car after its moment in the advertising spotlight? Today, it resides as a unique display piece at the Unilever Ice Cream and Frozen Foods Co headquarters in Walton on Thames.
Following its starring role in the Birds Eye commercial, the Pea Car transitioned from a marketing tool to a celebrated object, gracing the showrooms of various prestigious galleries and museums. Notably, it was showcased at the National Motor Museum in the United Kingdom, a testament to its unique place in automotive and cultural history.
From its inception as a simple yet brilliant marketing concept to its status as a recognizable icon in the automotive world, this one-of-a-kind vehicle is truly unique. And despite its Volkswagen Beetle headlights and VW-esque styling cues, it’s definitively not a Volkswagen, but something far more imaginative and memorable.
