Time magazine (January 4, 1960) says Dali’s space age suit is gold, not silver as your black & white photograph reading brain might tell you. Also that article describes the Ovocipede as “a transparent plastic sphere that rolls merrily along while its operator sits comfortably.” Can anyone say “hamster ball”?
More from the April 1960 issue of Popular Mechanics:
Found via Pour 15 Minutes, which gives a date of December, 1959; the Fanantique photos are from the December 7, 1972 presentation at the Palais des glaces. (Just four years later, I would see Travolta star in The Boy In The Plastic Bubble. I probably cried.)
Normally I don’t recommend asking “why” when it comes to Dali; I believe his greatest talent ultimately lay in his ability to live life — and not asking about limits. However, it appears Dali didn’t drive and eschewed air travel until late in his life, so perhaps that’s why he invented such a mode of transportation.