I just can't help but think of Rube Goldberg for some reason.....
If you want to see Rube Goldberg type stuff, check out the car I helped build in college below. We had a homecoming parade every year where different student organizations built "contraptions" for the Ramblin Wreck Parade. The only stipulation is that you could NOT have a direct drivetrain.
This was the last one I built. It finally worked after fixing out some gremlins in it for two years. We won first place in the category even after shooting hot ATF fluid out the trans dipstick tube about 30' in the air.
It started out as a 1976 Cadillac with a 501 engine. We hung a 305 up in the air with a 2 speed Powerglide to run the first set of axles. The first set butted up to the second set (the ones in the foreground above the driver's seat). We had a rim and tire welded to the bottom of the second axle with a belt that went rear-ward to a third axle that also had a rim and tire welded to the diff. That third axle sat on the original axle of the Cadillac.
You can check out some other great wrecks through the years here -