When Rich Wisken described his 1991 Subaru Brumby ute as "the most heroic form of transport since Apollo 11", he had little idea his classified ad would attract so much interest.
The West Australian wine merchant's creative car advertisement has become something of an internet hit, attracting 200,000 views to date.
Wisken posted the ad expecting his witty turn of phrase to attract an additional 50 or 60 pairs of eyes.
But the advertisement went viral and the Margaret River resident claims it has generated three wedding proposals and a couple of job offers.
The advertisement strays from the usual tedium of car clichés - fastidious owner, immaculate condition, A1 motor, and so on - and instead includes a long, rather lofty list of the car's specifications and creative origins.
"Fabricated from rare minerals excavated from the core of Mount Olympus, artfully designed by Zeus and skillfully handcrafted in the Land of the Rising Sun by the deft hands of the infamous 7 Samurai," Wisken writes.
"This Japanese rice-rocket is unquestionably the most heroic form of transport since the Apollo 11 lunar module.
"To date, the most monumental day of your existence was your wedding, or the birth of your children. That's about to change! In fact, you’d trade your spouse and all of your offspring just to test drive this barbarian."
Wisken told Drive his inspiration came from reading other used car advertisements for the Subaru Brumby.
"I looked at about ten Subaru Brumby ads and found them all to be anaemic and completely uninspiring," he said.
"These sellers obviously didn’t unlock the true power of their wild stallions."
His ute, with a "bullbar forged from unicorn horns" and an "integrated time machine (takes you back to 1991 when you step inside)", was quickly snapped up.
"The response has been overwhelming," Wisken said.
"My ad has had over 210K combined views and I’m still getting a lot of interest (in the ad, not the car).
"Also, I’d never heard of copywriting until I started getting offered work as one. It seems odd that people are willing to pay good money for someone to write moronic stories. It’s the perfect job for me."
The red Subaru is now in the hands of an anonymous buyer, according to Wisken.
"I can’t be 100 per cent certain, but I think he was a ninja," he joked.
"There was a loud bang, a cloud of smoke and the Brumby just vanished; replaced with a mountain of Japanese Yen. My teams of accountants are still counting and should know the figure in 12 to 14 months."
