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Aug
04
To get the proportions of the Ford F-650 Super Crewzer just right, it didn’t need much. Larger diameter rims, a substantial lowering and a few tweaks here and there. Changes the whole appearance instantly, doesn’t it?
Aug
03
Look closely – the pictures are not identical! The modified version features a very subtle wide-body kit and has lost the rear butterfly doors. Therefore, my interpretation of the Mazdaspeed RX-8 is a proper two door coupé, retracing the heritage of the RX-7 models that preceded the RX-8. As of now there are no more rotary powered vehicles in production. But hey, who knows? A couple of years from now, Mazda might just develop a new rotary engine…
Jul
30
For many years I wanted to create an Opel Kadett C Coupé that is raceworthy, but doesn’t stray too much from the original design. No big spoilers and wings here, sir. I just lowered the CQP and moved the fenders up a little. This gives the car a more aggressive stance and a lower center of gravity. Bring on the curves and bends – this little RWD gem is going to tackle it with ease! I imagine a naturally aspirated 2.4 liter Mantzel engine under the hood would be fun.
Jul
29
This could have been a vehicle ADAC Straßenwacht drivers and mechanics craved in the 1980’s. The shape of the Opel Kadett D doesn’t really need many modifications, because it already looks quite good. A classic, boxy design with straight lines. Add a set of period-correct ATS 5-star wheels, lower the car, add a front lip and you’re done.
Jul
28
There are so many pictures of the Citroën Ami 6 and Ami 8 that inspire me. It’s basically the same idea every time, but the effect is still stunning. So, here comes another iteration of the theme I call “C’est magique”: the Ami 6 Break towing a period-correct caravan.
Jul
08
The Volkswagen T3 is on the best way to become a classic car icon, like all the previous VW transporters. The base model has been modified into a 4×4 version, called syncro. It still looked a little uninspired, so I decided to change the color to something more eye-catching. The Milka theme came to mind and has been realized. The tarp looks like it has been carried over from a well-used truck, contrasting with the freshly painted sheetmetal.
Jul
01
Alongside the Mustang BAJA concept, I worked on a BAJA-style vehicle based on the Volkswagen New Beetle. This vehicle was not only inspired by BAJA racers, but also by the beach buggies based on vintage Beetle chassis. I used the underpinnings from the Hummer HX concept car and modified it to fit under the New Beetle body. It’s not as a agressive as the Mustang BAJA I posted last week, but then – have you ever seen an agressive looking New Beetle? That’s downright impossible, lol.
Jul
01
The Peugeot 405 is one of those clean Pinifarina designs from the 80’s I always liked. The 405 Mi16 from back then had flat black fender flares. This iteration features widened fenders made from steel and blended into the original fenders. Gives it a much smoother look, doesn’t it? Same goes for the door handles, which have been removed. Lowered over a set of period correct, but oversized, wheels this vehicle looks just right. Pity such clean and timeless designs are not available any more.
Jun
08
Some vehicles have such a perfect shape and details, it’s really hard to change anything without messing it up. In fact, altering it often makes it look worse. One of those cars is the Venturi LM. Just as the Lotus Esprit and the Honda S2000, these cars have an almost perfect design right from the factory. I just added a larger spoiler to the Venturi 260 LM, enlarged the wheels slightly, lowered the car and tinted the windows. Done. Next would be a roll-cage and a racecar livery.
Jun
07
Though being a fan of the later ED9 model, I always liked the early Honda CRX. It’s a sporty little runabout that makes you grin at every roundabout. The CRX has lots of potential and I went ahead and tried to make the best of it. The body itself is nearly perfect with clear lines and, compared to the vehicles we see today, no unnecessary bling. Just straight lines in the best late 80’s fashion.
The car has been lowered over a set of period correct Ronal Turbo 15″ wheels and has been painted in Gulf colors. I did however retain the two-tone theme of the original.
Jun
03
Ever since my friend Gerd took delivery of his new corporate car, I thought it definitely needed a Hot Wheels sticker. The Renault Mégane with the GT package in Gordini blue just reminded me of the 1:64 scale models. Unfortunely Gerd didn’t like the idea of stickering his car – so I tinkered with the idea using Adobe Photoshop. Et voilà, mon ami.
Click here to see the HW toy in retro packaging and learn how to buy such things without spending your allowance cash 😉
May
27
Bien sûr! La Citroën Ami Super 6 – C’est magique!
Yet another one of the weird French cars without rear wheels. Click here to see all of them and wonder what the hell the Citroën engineers have been smoking back then in the swinging sixties. 😉
May
21
According to Toyota, 80% of all the Corollas sold in the last 20 years are still on the road. Not really hard to believe that it’s true. And you could probably buy the 5-door E80 Corolla somewhere in the world, if they’d re-invent it with my facelift as proposed here. I kept the basic bodywork and just changed subtle things such as the bumpers and side-skirts. The top has been chopped to get the proportions right and the body has been slammed over a set of old school 15″ wheels. Not convinced? Then think of it as the Prius predecessor that could have looked cool. 😉
May
13
With the 2012 Woerthersee Festival being held next weekend, I decided to post a couple of Volkswagen and Audi themed photoshop chops.
Click here to see the modified vehicles.
WÖRTHERSEE TREFFEN SPECIAL 2012
Das Wörthersee Treffen 2012 findet nächstes Wochenende statt. Deshalb habe ich mich entschieden, zu diesem Anlass ein Wörthersee Special mit modifizierten Volkswagen and Audi zu veröffentlichen.
Klickt hier um die modifizierten Fahrzeuge zu sehen.
May
01
For quite a long time I’ve been fiddling with the idea of creating a BAJA-spec truck. Not a regular truck, though. I wanted to start with a regular road car. Eventually I decided to start with a 2005 Ford Mustang convertible as a base. A BAJA-style Nissan Frontier donated the running gear and the rear part of the tube frame including the spare wheel carrier. The body of the Mustang has been modified extensively in order to fit the tube frame, suspension and massive tires. Looks quite mean now, doesn’t it?
Apr
25
The Honda CR-Z is inspired by the unforgettable ED9 CRX. Honda nailed it quite well, but I thought there is still room for improvement. I changed the B-pillar and side window to give the vehicle a more muscular touch. Apart from that the CR-Z has been lowered over a set of nice lightweight aluminum wheels and a body kit has been added. Changes the appearance quite a bit, doesn’t it?
Mar
24
Last winter I found a picture of the Marmon HCM V12. In my opinion it looks rather bland and isn’t really well proportioned. But you can hot rod everything, can’t you? 
I created a new picture with all the body parts on several layers. After finding some wheels that would fit the style I was looking for, I decided on the wheelbase. It is slightly longer compared to the original car and looks even longer, because I pushed the wheels out to the corners of the vehicle. Substantial lowering just had to be done for a proper stance. The roof was also chopped a little bit. I tried to keep the simple lines of the original body and just enhanced them. The color is the same as the donor cars’. I think the color is rather unique for a Hot Rod. And as always: some may like it, some may hate it. It’s just a matter of taste.
Mar
05
A friend of mine from Switzerland is a huge Ford enthusiast. He inspired me to create this Bonneville Salt Flats race car, which is based on the Mk2 Escort RS2000 and could run in the Speed Week. The body has been altered to streamline it even more for higher speeds. Just imagine the body now sits on a tube frame chassis. This could be one wild ride. The engine? Well, your choice of any engine that fits under that bonnet, really. Go ahead, make it happen in real life!
Mar
05
After a couple of years fiddling around with this picture, I decided to call it a day and get done with it. The picture is by no means perfect, but you get the idea. The inspiration was a discussion among friends about the addition of Porsche parts to classic Beetles. Why shouldn’t somebody try this with the New Beetle? This would, of course, be limited to body parts mostly, as the layout of the drivetrain is quite different these days. So I set to work and tried to fit the body panels from the Porsche Carrera GT to the New Beetle. It did look horrible, to be honest. So, a top chop was in order to get the proportions at least halfway right. I’m not 100% satisfied with the result, but decided to post it here anyways. So what are your thoughts on that conversion? Please leave feedback below, thank you.
Feb
27
The Citroën advertisements of the 1970’s have been equally weird as the cars they developed back then. Check it out and enjoy the vivid retro colors. Oh, wait a second. Isn’t there something missing?
Feb
26
The Messerschmidt Kabinenroller (or bubble car) is well known amongst small car enthusiasts. Cute as it is – I wouldn’t want to drive one of those on public roads. As the shape of the vehicle reminded me of more aquatic vehicles (and animals), I decided to take it down that direction. So, with just a few pixels moved around, we now have a nice little runabout I call KaRoJet. This could be fun and definitely has way more style than any other jet ski. The KaRoJet is based on a KR200 Kabinenroller and a regular jet ski. Now… somebody just needs to cough up some cash to build a real one! Now… would Willy Messerschmidt approve this or scream sacrilege?
Feb
20
Et vous croyez vraiment que ça marche? C‘est incroyable!
Citroën Ami. C’est magique!
Citroën is a company that has always been famous for building genius but sometimes rather weird vehicles. Well, how about a Citroën Ami 6 that doesn’t need rear wheels at all? The French engineers might have come up with something like that in the sixties. And no, I really don’t have an idea what they might have been smoking. 😉
Feb
16
Igor Sushko, founder of AutomotiveForums.com, asked the AF members to come up with livery ideas for a racing project in Japan. He wanted a livery based on a black car, to stand out from all the white car based liveries of most 911s. Well, here is what I came up with so far:
I used the Porsche logo as a base for my livery design. The idea is that the car is wrapped in it’s heritage, symbolized with the traditional crest. Didn’t like the colored version, so I tried out the same in grey-scale. Came out a bit dull, IMO. To add more contrast to the car, I decided on a black, white and red scheme. What do you think?
The white car (V04) is a more LeMans oriented livery. It features newspaper clippings from the good ol’ days of racing at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
To see the initial briefing and all other livery designs, please click here.
Feb
04
A TV commercial starring a rhino and a Renault Kangoo told you that this vehicle wins hearts, not beauty contests. It certainly never won a beauty contest and most definitely not my heart. This vehicle does exist, but I was just never interested in the concept. But nevertheless… even one of the ugliest vehicles may be turned into something a bit more desirable. Well, provided you have enough money and are willing to throw it at such a project. It could be fun, couldn’t it? Imagine opening the side doors and finding a twin-turbo mounted midships. Massive wheels and brakes, a proper suspension setup and low center of gravity. Obviously, the body has received a few minor tweaks as well.