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Mar
01
This might not be a surprise for regular VirtualModels visitors, but… I just love cars with straight lines. The design of 1980’s cars doesn’t need much tweaking at all to look awesome. A set of adjustable coilovers, a set of period correct wheels and low profile tires usually is enough. These ingredients easily give the vehicles a totally different appearance and character. In this case I used Toyota Supra wheels of the same vintage and a front air dam from the same car, modified to suit the proportions of the Toyota Camry Wagon (V20). I would so love to drive this lowered hauler as a daily!
Jan
17
Fond childhood memories include a Nissan Micra with a huge soft top that could be openend electrically. Even though this was a nice feature that I enjoyed as a young passenger, the car still lacked something with it’s red paint, skinny tires and off-road like stance. Other markets enjoyed Micra / March versions that packed more ponies under the hood. One of these was the Nissan March Super Turbo (EK10 GFR/GAR) – a limited production (10.000) homologation model. Fitted with a nice bodykit from the factory, all it needs is a set of mesh wheels and a healthy drop.
Jan
16
Ever since spending the holidays in France as a young boy, I had a weak spot for the Renault 25. Two years ago I created a quick chop of a Renault 25 Turbo. This time around it’s the luxurious Baccara version with the V6 engine, which gets treated to a makeover. Worthy of receiving a STANCE | WORKS sticker? You decide…
Jan
09
Recently I found this picture of a SAAB 96 towing a vintage Scandinavian caravan trailer. Even though the combination is rather cute as is, I thought it might look better with a healthy dose of lowering and a few tweaks here and there. Removing the turn signal lights and adding mesh to the air intakes below the headlights helps the front to look cleaner. Now – what do you think about going on a vacation in style? 😉
Aug
23
I know, I know. Nobody would modify an Alfa Romeo Spider this way in real life. Not even the unloved-by-most version with the rubber spoiler on the boot lid would receive bolt-on fender flares by any Alfista out there. Or am I possibly wrong and somebody already did this? Maybe in Japan or somewhere in Scandinavia? If you happen to know any such modified Spider, please let me know and I’ll post it here. Thank you very much in advance.
May
30
Most vehicles have been photoshopped at least once. But I bet you, that nobody ever attempted to photoshop a Peel P50. This cute little vehicle has no potential you say? Well… everything has potential – albeit some admittedly on a smaller scale (no pun intended). Let me present you, which is according to Top Gear The smallest car in the world. Lower anything (except a 4×4) and it instantly looks better than stock with the new stance. Add larger diameter wheels with less sidewall, a little bit of negative camber and top it all of with a set of vinyl stickers. Add a top chop for good measure and… Jeremy Clarkson will not fit anymore. Ask Richard Hammond instead. 🙂
Apr
27
About three years ago, John Roper found my interpretation of a Nissan Sunny B310 Shooting Break and featured it on his famous blog Japanese Classic Car. We exchanged a couple of nice emails and I was really proud that my photoshop chop even inspired him to attempt such a conversion on a real car.
What I wasn’t aware of is that the very same John Roper also wrote an article on Japanese Classic Car about my photoshopped E82 Toyota Corolla. I might have discovered the second article only last week, but hey… it’s never too late to say thank you!
To see more awesome classic and vintage Japanese vehicles, visit the Japanese Nostalgic Car homepage.
Apr
01
Today, I was rummaging through some boxes full of old car magazines and dealer brochures. While thinking about all the nice cars that are about to become classics, I found something interesting: a Nissan information brochure from 1985. In this brochure, the CUE-X Wagon concept car is presented with all the features and details, including engine specs. Considering the brochure is now 30 years old… this vehicle looks very modern even by today’s standards. I’d definitely consider buying one, if they’d offer it with the RB26DETT engine!
Mar
21
Zündapp Janus 7500 4×4
4x4 / Jeep / Panel Van Conversion / Photoshop Chops / Zündapp Posted by Sebastian Motsch
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Watching the second Pixar Cars movie inspired me to photoshop a Zündapp Janus. A couple of hours later, this little monster was born: a modified Janus body with partially blocked windows, sitting atop a Willys Jeep frame. Simple, clever and easy. OK, I admit that it might be a tad more challenging to create this in reality. However, I did find a Renault 4 bodied Jeep a couple of years ago in France.
Feb
23
Once again, a colleague challenged me to do a lunch break “quickie chop”. This time it was inspired by finding a stunning bagged and stanced Mercedes-Benz W123. A quick search provided an interesting base to start with: the W123 Pick-up by Baumgartner. Due to the limited time available, there was only so much I could do with it. Obviously, the vehicle is lowered substantially and sports period-correct aftermarket wheels. But there are also some modifications less obvious, like the shaved rear door and the relocated rear fender well. Hey… it could have been done that way back then. 😉
Jan
21
Let’s start the new year with modifying a design icon, shall we? As far as I know, nobody ever built a two-door wagon version of the Citroën DS. This is very unfortunate, because a shooting break of La Déesse would be more than awesome. Ever since seeing these fantastic automobiles in France as a young boy, I thought the roof line of the DS Break doesn’t really flow with the overall shape and lines of the car. Please, somebody with the funds and skills on hand, build this! Rest assured – it would certainly win a few prizes at a concours d’elegance in the future or fetch a high price at an auction.
Nov
25
Let’s suppose you are a Citroën enthusiast who, at some point in his life, wondered why the French automaker never bothered to produce a two-door Coupé version of the BX series. Well, dare I say it wouldn’t have looked ugly at all! The straight lines of the body actually are very inviting to try different styles, in my humble opinion. A shortened wheelbase, deleting the rear doors, adding a period correct set of alloy wheels and changing a few little things here and there make for a nice concept of what the Citroën BX Coupé could have looked like. Et voilà, mesdames et messieurs, c’est fini!
Nov
21
After modifying a Volvo VN series about two years ago and receiving many positive comments, I felt the urge to do it again. This time around it’s an older version of the much loved Volvo VN. Once again it turned out to be a great idea to keep it simple. Lowered over a set of larger chrome rims and adding a few aero enhancements do the trick quite easily. Hope you will like it!
Oct
12
Some cars have potential, but nobody ever realizes it. The Buick Reatta is one such vehicle. Based on the FWD E platform, the proportions are far from ideal. Therefore I tried to imagine what it could have looked like, if based on a proper platform: the F platform, for example. It would have been possible for GM to use this platform, but for some reason or another they decided they wanted front wheel drive. I bet the Buick Reatta would have sold a lot better if equipped with a V8 engine and rear wheel drive.
Oct
04
Imagine you own a catering service, specializing in fine Italian food and wines. To make your deliveries you could buy a nondescript van and wrap it in vinyl, advertising your services like everybody else does. When catering to upscale events at nice venues, you might be asked to park around the back with all the others. However, there is a solution that gives you and your business more positive exposure: the Lancia Trevi VX Camioncino.
Sep
28
Another one of those challenges from a friend who likes French cars: “Photoshop this picture of a Renault 25 in one hour, just using what you have in the picture. No imported wheels, spoilers or anything else.” Unfortunately, the car pictured is only a base model, meaning it doesn’t have painted bumpers. Now, who is happy about having flat black/grey bumpers? People in Paris! The traffic and parking is so bad that your bumpers are always going to receive a ding here and there (see Video below). Hence the Paris sticker 😉
There is not much more one can do with this particular picture, but I hope you like the outcome anyways.
Sep
24
The Lancia Thema is a nice example for timeless design from the 80’s/90’s. However, even in 8.32 guise it seems to be a little too slim. Grafting on a set of Lancia Delta Integrale inspired fenders on a four door sedan might not be that easy in reality – but well worth it! It gains so much presence when widened and lowered over a set of concave wheels. As often with VirtualModels modified pictures, you find some USDM sidemarker love in the picture. 😉
Sep
17
Everybody automatically thinks Porsche when hearing about air cooled, rear mounted engine configurations. But wait a minute, there are many more vehicles with this drivetrain concept around. Especially the vintage Tatras are often overlooked or simply forgotten. Combining the aerodynamic body of a Tatra T87 with an air-cooled engine made in Zuffenhausen is a logical step, don’t you think? Well then, why not go all the way then and make it a flat twelve, sourced from a legendary 917? Just imagine seeing the Mulsanne straight through that split front window…
Sep
17
Everybody automatically thinks Porsche when hearing about air cooled, rear mounted engine configurations. But wait a minute, there are many more vehicles with this drivetrain concept around. Especially the vintage Tatras are often overlooked or simply forgotten. Combining the aerodynamic body of a Tatra T87 with an air-cooled engine made in Zuffenhausen is a logical step, don’t you think? Well then, why not go all the way then and make it a flat twelve, sourced from a legendary 917? Just imagine seeing the Mulsanne straight through that split front window…
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Sep
14
Visiting the world famous Gatebil event at the Rudskogen Motorsenter and seeing all the crazy builds the Scandinavians crank out every year really messes with your mind and lets the creativity go bonkers. Thinking outside the box is the norm rather than the exception. Hell, some don’t even bother with boxes at all! And therefore I’m proud to present you something the guys at Volvo Cars could have build back then, but for some reason or another didn’t: The Volvo 460 Wagon. Not a stock version of course… because this is VirtualModels after all. 😉
Aug
17
If you have a friend with questionable bad taste, you get inspired once in a while to create something unique and really out of the box. Bespoke friend just bought a 2000 Lincoln Town Car and because of the wheels being in desperate need of replacement, we thought deep dish steelies would look great. One thing led to another and ten minutes later the vision nightmare was complete. But hold on, it now definitely needed “more low” and a wing. OK, finished! Let me present: the NASCAR style Lincoln Town Car.
Aug
14
Creating a photoshop chop is easy, provided you have the tools, dedication and patience to do it properly. Creating a picture that stops people in their tracks because “it looks so real” is an entirely different story – and exactly what I aim for with my chops. Thinking about the possibility of building the project in reality is very important. Sometimes this is extremely complicated and prohibitively expensive – and sometimes it should be the proverbial piece of cake. This time around it’s the latter, because of the Land Rovers’ simple architecture, based on a ladder frame, and the straight panels. Y aquí – el Hot Rod des Bomberos de Linares. Why Linares? That’s easy to answer: because the Santana Series IIa in the picture I found is red and it has been built there. Or to use the phrase a friend coined many years ago: you can hot rod everything!
Aug
14
Creating a photoshop chop is easy, provided you have the tools, dedication and patience to do it properly. Creating a picture that stops people in their tracks because “it looks so real” is an entirely different story – and exactly what I aim for with my chops. Thinking about the possibility of building the project in reality is very important. Sometimes this is extremely complicated and prohibitively expensive – and sometimes it should be the proverbial piece of cake. This time around it’s the latter, because of the Land Rovers’ simple architecture, based on a ladder frame, and the straight panels. Y aquí – el Hot Rod des Bomberos de Linares. Why Linares? That’s easy to answer: because the Santana Series IIa in the picture I found is red and it has been built there. Or to use the phrase a friend coined many years ago: you can hot rod everything!
Jul
30
The way to Gatebil may be a rough one! And quite frankly, this might not be the ideal vehicle to throw sideways around the corners of the track. But what the hell? It’s about arriving at the on-site camping with something even regular visitors have never seen before. Add a bit of creativity to the build and you might just as well have the only motor home with a giant bed, which can be leveled at the flick of a switch. Just imagine driving this the next time you head to Mantorp Park or Rudskogen! Why? #becausegatebil
And remember: Full Fart Spar Tid! ?
Jul
27
When Alfa Romeo and Nissan decided to team up and produce a car, they made a big mistake. The Arna featured Italian underpinnings and Japanese styling. Excuse me? Shouldn’t this be the other way around? As much as I like cars with straight lines, this one was just too bland and the scudetto up front is a joke. The car might have been fun to drive, but seriously lacked presence. Was it a runaway sales success? Well… trying to figure that out shouldn’t be too hard. However, even the blandest car may be used a base for something a little more exciting. This worked. Sort of. OK, not really. Sorry! Just look at the beautiful hood ornament then, will you? 😉