Coming to you straight from the future—or maybe a 1932 cover of Popular Science: the fabulous Dynasphere. Go ahead and laugh but this thing runs, and here’s video to prove it. 

“Dr. John Archibald Purves demonstrates his remarkable invention, ‘Spherical Locomotion,” which it is claimed, will one day revolutionize modern transport.” We nicked that quote straight off the newsreel card.

In the film, viewers will note that there are actually two Dynasphere machines demonstrated: one at Brooklands (good reason to watch the video right there) and another, larger machine on the sand at Weston-super-Mare, Somerset (reportedly). Both these Dynaspheres are also illustrated in the clipping below from the May 1932 issue of Popular Science Magazine, in which a scale model is also shown.

In a February 1935 story, the British publication Meccano Magazine reported that the Dynasphere “possesses so many advantages that we may eventually see gigantic wheels similar to that shown on our cover running along our highways in as large numbers as motor cars do to-day.”

Of course, that never happened. It seems that motorists would rather ride in a comfortable cabin than gerbil around inside a massive gyrating wheel. Also, the current list of desired vehicle behaviors includes not only going, but stopping and turning now and then, too. But for these few small shortcomings, we might all be traveling in Dynaspheres today. Enjoy the video.