Jul 19, 2013

The 32nd annual Artscape is expected to attract more than 300,000 people before wrapping up Sunday night. A good many of them are likely to wind their way to the Art Car Show, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary at the festival.

Over the years, attendees have seen such unexpected sights as a car crawling with plastic lobsters that jumped up and “sang” the “Hallelujah Chorus,” and the quintessential Baltimore auto — encased in Formstone, of course.

Entries in the 2013 lineup include a truck adorned with bottle caps, a hearse that promises a “swan song” experience, and a Chevy Camaro painted with vivid scenes of superheroes.

Those examples seem rather tame next to “Finnjet,” which Rahko crafted from two Mercedes diesel station wagons, fused together to provide the foundation for this wild version of a stretch limo.

: Dr. Bob Hieronimus shows off one of the panels on his biodiesel “We The People” Artcar which has an image of Benjamin Banneker, astronomer and surveyor of Washington, DC. This is the 20th anniversary of Artscape’s art car show. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun)

: English poet John Milton is a hood ornament on Clarke Bedford’s art car, Vanadu. Bedford lives in Hyattsville. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun)

: Clarke Bedford, Hyattsville, looks for items in his art car, Vanadu, that he will place outside of the 1988 Ford Econoline 150 van. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun)

: Antti Rahko and his wife, Eini, drove their art car Finnjet from Palm Beach, FL to Baltimore for Artscape. The trip took three days and they had two flat tires. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun)

: Finnjet, an art car Antti Rahko and his wife, Eini, drove from Palm Beach, FL to Baltimore, gets attention from Artscape attendees. The trip took three days and they had two flat tires. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun)

: Antti Rahko’s art car, Finnjet, sports multiple rearview mirrors. Rahko and his wife, Eini, drove the car made from two Mercedes-Benz station wagons from Palm Beach, FL to Baltimore for Artscape. The trip took three days and they had two flat tires. Drogoul also has an art car on exhibit. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun)

: Antti Rahko and his wife, Eini, drove their art car Finnjet from Palm Beach, FL to Baltimore for Artscape. The trip took three days and they had two flat tires. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun)

: Jake Hollifield, piano player with the Screaming Js is also curator of the Art V art van. On bass is Jonathan “JP” Hess and Mike Gray is the drummer. They are from Ashville, NC, and are part of Artscape’s art car show. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun)