We're not sure why the Pussycar Automodule wheelies. Hell, we're not even sure how it does, but we are sure that this thing must have absolutely rocked Paris in 1970.
There's not a huge amount of information on Pussycar or its Automodule available, but both are apparently the product of Jean Pierre Ponthieu, a mad French genius working in advertising who created this as some sort of promotional vehicle. Pussycar described the spherical Automodule as "The Car of the Year 2000" and its purpose thusly: "In this world where everything is banal and ugly, we must know how to create the beautiful and unusual."
The Automodule is powered by a 250cc single-cylinder engine powering the rear wheel. In addition to excruciatingly slow forward progress, the vehicle is also able to turn its wheels to drive sideways and rotate in place. The suspension appears to extend and retract hydraulically, but any purpose to doing so beyond showing off eludes us. [Microcarfan via Martin Klasch]