By Sumitra on January 1st, 2013

What weighs 7,500 pounds, is 29-foot long and made completely from junk scraps? Why, a limousine of course. ‘Finnjet’ belongs to Antti Rahko, a 72-year-old chauffeur from Finland. He immigrated to the US in 1984 and is now a resident of Palm Beach, Florida. It took Rahko 10 whole years to build the limousine from scratch, initially using two Mercedes Benz station wagons joined together, several parts from a 1962 Chrysler Imperial and various components from other vehicles.

The vehicle’s humble beginnings are hardly visible today, but Rahko says the process of building it was never really complete. He just kept adding parts however and whenever he could. “I had my own car shop, I bought and rented cars.” Eventually, he thought if he succeeded in welding two cars together, he would not need to sell more than one car. That’s how the idea for the Finnjet was born. The car is so well appreciated that it won a prize at the Art Car Parade competition in Houston, twice. Earlier this year, it was taken to Europe for the first time, to be shown at the Essen Motor Show. Packed in a 12m long container, the organizers paid all the costs of transportation and even took out a million dollar insurance policy on the car.

                                                                                                                         Photo: Rainer Schimm

Although the Finnjet does look a little odd from the outside, it’s something you could get used to rather quickly, because of the tasteful way that it’s been done up. The exterior has about 86 lights, 36 mirrors and two jet engine housings through which the exhaust is routed. The interior is spacious enough to seat 10, and it also comes equipped with a microwave, television, freezer and a couple of air conditioning units. What’s more, there’s even a functional sauna fitted in the passenger cabin. To keep the beautiful beast running, three batteries and three alternators have been installed. What’s marvelous about the Finnjet is that despite all its rather luxurious features, it drives pretty economically. On the highway, Rahko says the limo achieves about 25 mpg, and the Mercedes turbo diesel power plant drives a dual-wheel rear axle mounted in the center of the chassis. It has a total of 8 wheels that make sure the tire and suspension components are not overtaxed. It isn’t too tough to drive around corners, despite the gigantic stature of the limo. Rahko says that the Finnjet handles corners alright thanks to the steerable rear wheels that turn the opposite way of the front wheels. The rear axle (that he got from a Chevy pickup truck) is installed backwards.

Mr. Rahko has had some pretty good times with his Finnjet. As fierce as it looks, it isn’t merely a show car. He has used it during frequent road trips all the way to Canada, and also to pick up visitors from the airport. He’s even driven a few newlywed couples from the wedding to the reception. He’s never been stopped and asked for car papers. There was this one time, however, when he was driving down to Miami International Airport and was stopped by 12 road patrol police cars and a helicopter from above. Apparently, the police just wanted to get a good look at the car.  But now that he’s aging and his health isn’t what it used to be, we’ve heard he’s been trying to sell his limo. It isn’t going to be a cheap buy, though. The last time it was listed on eBay, a couple of years ago, Rahko had quoted a reserve of $950,000.

Mopar Action Article Extra

The Finn Jet Has Landed

On the off-chance that you didn’t buy our story about the DaimlerChrysler Mergermobile, here’s the truth: This car is a lightly disguised prototype for the next version of the uber-Mercedes, the Maybach. OK, that’s not true, either. (At least, we don’t think it’s true).

The DaimlerChrysler Mergermobile a/k/a/ Finn Jet. Sure would have been a hit with rapper, 48 Cent, and the Hip-Hop crowd, not to mention folks, like our concierge, Sal Zaino, who drive big cars to overcompensate for their being short

Here’s the real, actual truth. We promise. We spotted this car while watching the Discovery Channel. They were profiling a guy in Palm Beach, Fla. named Antti Rahko, who built this car purely for his own amusement. He calls it the Finn Jet, and yes, it really is built from a 1962 Imperial and two Mercedes-Benz station wagons of unknown vintage -- along with various bits and pieces from 40 other cars. Before that, he built a six-wheel RV from Chevy vans, complete with a fully functional sauna. That wasn’t as a joke -- the Finns are very serious about their saunas.

Rahko, a man with a true love for the essence of American automobiles, is part of a large Finnish community in Palm Beach County, the largest, in fact, outside of Finland. He’s also something of a demigod in the Art Car movement. (http://www.artcars.com/). But Rahko didn't even know what Art Cars were when he made the Finn Jet. Alyx Kellington, the director of art education for the Palm Beach County Cultural Council, discovered Rahko’s Finn Jet when she was organizing an Art Car parade for Palm Beach. (Ms. Kellington graciously provided these photos for our website. Ellie Schorr provided the photos used in the magazine article, obviously unaware of our demented intentions for them.)

Antti Rahko, car designer extraordinaire.
GM could surely use this guy to freshen up some of its snoremobiles.
At least their cars would have a better fit and Finnish (get it?)

Next thing you know, Rahko is winning the gold in the annual Art Car hullabaloo in Houston -- the Arts Cars Nats, you might say -- beating out 299 others. We’d like to see the Finn Jet land at the Mopar Nats. It would be a shoe-in for the “Best Use of Non-Mopar Parts on an Imperial/Mercedes (Modified)” Class.

Here’s some more useless (but true) trivia: The name “Finn Jet” traces back to 1976, when the Finns launched the longest and largest car ferry in the world, and the only one powered by gas turbines. The original Finnjet is said to still be the fastest conventional ferry in service, with a recorded top speed of 33.5 knots.

Build Your Own Finn Jet

As a special bonus for all you Mopar Action website viewers, we’re gonna tell you how to build your own Finn Jet, with easy-to-follow instructions, so you’ll be the envy of all the Mopar Action readers who don’t have computers for access to the Internet.

Ready? Start with two older Mercedes-Benz wagons from the 1980s and a 1962 Imperial. This is a very practical combination, since it provides seating for 10 – more than any current minivan or SUV.

To get all the vital trim pieces and extra tailfins, etc., you’ll also need to pull parts from 40 different cars. You should end up with 86 lights and 36 mirrors. You’ll need some extra juice for all those lights, and the way to go is three batteries and three alternators.

Now, the tricky part is the chassis. You need eight wheels to support the 7,500 lbs. this vehicle will weigh. Use a dually setup in the middle – and that’s your drive wheels, too. The rear set is for steering only. Since it’s 29 feet long, rear-wheel steering is a must for negotiating driveways and garages. Use the front axle from a 1967 Chevy pickup, but installed backwards. Next, you’ll need a long steering bar and transfer gearing. That way, the rear wheels turn the opposite direction of the fronts for the handling agility of a Neon. If you’ve ever followed one of E-Berg’s “How-To’s,” this is easy stuff.

Put jet engines on the roof and route the car’s exhaust through them. Next, install a jet engine sound machine. Check eBay. Altogether, it should take you about six years to build. If you can’t wait that long, you can always try to make Antti Rahko an offer. He says the car is not done yet but that when it is, the price will be “high.” Negotiating will be easier if you speak Finnish. Keep in mind that the original Finn Jet has won First Place in the Houston Art Car Parade three years in a row. That’s like the “Nats” for Art Cars and it boosts the value of Finn Jet considerably. Spend a couple of bucks to have Galen Govier certify that this is a matching numbers Finn Jet, and your investment will appreciate all the more.

BY THE ENGINEER - MAY, 3RD 2013

As children we are always taught to take up hobbies; some of us picked up books, others opt for guitar and some choose outdoor sports. However, it is never too late to start a hobby. These hobbies are what lay the foundations for DIY projects. We will be talking about one such man who started a DIY project and spent a decade completing it. Mr. Antti Rahko, a 72 year old chauffeur from Finland, dedicated his time and efforts to his project and emerged victorious. He has named his project ‘Finnjet’ and the specs are as follows; it weighs over 7,000 pounds and has a length of 29 ft. Still guessing what Finnjet is? Guess no more, it is a Limousine made completely from junk scraps! Mr. Antti Rahko emigrated to US in 1984 and now resides happily in Palm Beach, Florida. Let’s look at the basic composition of this Limousine; initially it started off as a merger of two Mercedes Benz station wagons, some parts from 1962 Chrysler Imperial and then came various components from various vehicles. However, the beginning of this majestic vehicle is hardly visible anymore because of continuing addition of parts from more and more vehicles. In the words of its creator’s; ‘The process of building it was never really complete. I kept adding parts when and however I could manage. I had my own car shop; I bought and rented cars’.

The idea for Finnjet was born when our interesting creator thought that if he could succeed in welding two cars together he would have to work to sell one car (combination of both cars) and not two cars. If this article didn’t have any pictures or video link (Thank God, we have that), you may have questioned about the aesthetics of this car. We would have responded with the fact that this car has been appreciated at more than one occasion and has won prizes at the Art Car Parade competition in Houston, twice. The car was recently taken to Europe to be displayed at the Essen Motor Show. Transportation, insurance (worth a million dollar) was paid from the wallet of organizers.  Let’s have a look at what this car has to offer; a tasteful design that is odd yet you would get used to it quite easily, an exterior with 86 lights and 36 mirrors, two jet engines housings which provide route for exhaust, a spacious interior that can accommodate 10 people while providing them with microwave, television, freezer and some air conditioning units, a sauna fitted in the passenger cabin and it runs on three batteries and three alternators. Despite all these features, you would be surprised to know that the car is quite economical when it comes to mileage. As per the creator, the limo can achieve almost 25 mpg.

The vehicle has eight wheels to ensure proper suspension and tire management. Also, the ingenious thinking of the creator has made turning corners with this limo quite a piece of cake. The car has been used in everyday matters by Mr. Rahko and he traveled all the way to Canada on it, quite a number of times. Apart from one incident where twelve road patrol police cars and helicopter stopped Mr. Rahko, he hasn’t had much trouble from the police. However, after all this time that he has spent with his dream project, he is willing to sell it. Willing to buy? Think again, the price quoted a couple of years ago was $950,000.