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May
04
Dear readers,
please find the latest photoshop chops at the new location:
sebastianmotsch.com/photoshop
Thank you for the continued support. You can also follow me on instagram
@photoshopchops
Sep
14
Mercedes-Benz W109 300 SEL 6.3 | Dragster
2019.09 | Photoshop Chop | Dragster Conversion
“Länge läuft”
This is a German expression about cars with a long wheelbase being superior at high speed driving on the Autobahn. This concept also applies to dragsters, even though the acceleration run ends at a the 1/4 mile marker, where the fun on the German high speed road network begins. In the spirit of Hot Rod Magazine Drag Week, I created a capable Citroën DS Dragster last year. This year, a Mercedes-Benz W109 300 SEL 6.3 painted in Hellelfenbein received the same treatment. The long wheelbase was extended an additional inch in order to fit the drag slicks while retaining the rear doors. The fender flares have been altered to accomodate the wheels and the chrome trim was modified to keep the stock look. This vehicle should be comfortable on the highways with a trailer in tow and rather quick down the quarter mile on the dragstrips visited during Drag Week.
Aug
30
Jaguar F-Type Group 44 | GT4-spec
Ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I don’t like green cars. At all. However, to every rule there is an exception and in my case, the exceptions are the (predominantly white) Group 44 cars with their two-tone green liveries sponsored by Quaker State.
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Aug
25
Citroën CX 22 TRS
2019.08 | Photoshop Chop | Tuning
Growing up at the French border gave me the opportunity to enjoy the weird and quirky French cars. At a very young age, I was fascinated by the sheer elegance of the big Citroën cars parked in the lowest position of the hydropneumatic suspension. Seeing them sink into or rise from their “sleep” position always was the icing on the cake and put a smile on my face. These days now, air suspension setups are the norm, but for me it will always be a reminder of days long gone, when the French engineers’ ingeniuity and driving comfort was more important than the bean counters interference in vehicle development. This photoshop depicts a dream of my younger self: being able to actually drive the Citroën CX in the low position and fit larger multipiece wheels. Ça c’est une voiture très belle.
Aug
24
Jaguar E-Type Zero
Yes, there is something missing in this picture. No, I didn’t photoshop it out. This Jaguar E-Type doesn’t have exhaust pipes because it has an electric drivetrain. Jaguar unveiled a modern revival of the E-Type roadster with an all-electric, zero-emission powertrain in 2017. The vehicle is called the E-Type Zero and has a 40 kWh battery-powered electric motor. It can accelerate to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds and has a range of 168 miles (270km) on a full charge. The battery pack is designed to fit in the space occupied by the original six-cylinder motor without any modifications, and will fit in any model Jaguar using the same motor. The single-speed transmission replaces the original gearbox. In August 2018, Jaguar confirmed it will offer all-electric E-Types for sale starting in summer 2020. You can order yours now. To wet your appetite, I lowered the E-Type for an improved stance and fitted a more contemporary wheel and tire combination.
Aug
23
Audi 100 C1 2-Door USDM
A quick lunchtime photoshop chop once again. A friend complained that I hardly ever photoshop Audis. Well, there’s a reason for that, but I made an exception and went creative on a classic Audi 100 C1. Found this tracking shot of a USDM model and modified it. Obviously the car was lowered and the steelies have a larger diameter now, albeit still featuring a thin white-wall line so typical for this period and location. The rear fender has been relocated because I didn’t want the wheel to disappear into the fender. Quick & dirty? No. Quick and clean style just for fun.
Aug
12
Opel Rekord C Delivery Van
It is not often that I use an old black and white picture as a base for a photoshop chop. But sometimes I stumble upon a picture and immediately know what to do with it. Subtle, clean and simple, but with great impact was the idea this time around. The Opel Rekord C delivery van (Lieferwagen) has been lowered, the rear fenders have been widened and the grille has been modified. This gives it a muscle-car-like look and certainly more presence, doesn’t it? Just the right amount of lowering to give it a proper stance adds to the presence. Larger diameter and wider steel wheels with dog dish hubcaps go well with the classic overall look and keep the retro vibes.
Jul
28
SAAB 900 Turbo Cabriolet | Bōsōzoku Style
Avid readers of Speedhunters and Japanese Nostalgic Car are familiar with the Japanese outlaw groups called 暴走族 (Bōsōzoku) and their tastefully modified vehicles. Most common base for building such vehicles are 1980’s JDM rear wheel drive sedans and coupés. However, if the owner has identified potential for an idea, just about any car might be used as a starting point and customized in one of these particular styles.
A friend recently challenged me to create a Bōsōzoku inspired photoshop chop. Instead of resorting to the popular base vehicles, I opted to start with the least likely vehicle to be modified in this outrageous style: a safe and sensible Swedish SAAB 900 Turbo Cabriolet. SAAB could be ordered with three spoke alloys from the factory and therefore Yokohama Super Advan wheels suit perfectly. Converting this classic and throwing all the visual key elements into the mix was hilarious fun. Based on the prototype of the convertible, my interpretation of a Swedish Bōsōzoku vehicle includes many elements of Shakotan, Grachan and Bōsōzoku styles. Modified bonnet, oil cooler with externally routed oil lines, custom made sideskirts and massive front splitter, classic JDM fender mirrors, riveted overfenders and wonderfully tacky exhaust setup mounted in an unusual location. But because this is still a Swedish car, there are warnings stenciled onto the pipes. Safety first!
[Disclaimer: This picture was created without any serious thoughts. No SAAB was harmed in the process.]
Jul
13
Mercedes-Benz C107 450 SLC with custom top chop
When I found the original picture of this Mercedes-Benz C107 450 SLC parked in front of the Nice Matin building, I fell in love with it immediately. The color hues and saturation just scream late 70’s / early 80’s!
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Jul
05
The BMW 2002 ti was a proposal designed by Marcello Gandini and built by Bertone. It was displayed at the 1970 Salon d’Automobile in Geneva and disappeared after the show ended, never to be seen again.
Jun
15
Chevrolet 4400 Chassis Cab | Hot Rod Concept
Sometimes a “quickie lunchbreak photoshop chop” is abandoned because of a small glitch that can’t be fixed at the time. In this case, I forgot the picture on my hard drive for a couple of years. With years more experience now, the then-unfixable glitch was remedied in a matter of not even 15 minutes and the chop finished.
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Jun
02
The Porsche 928 is a grand tourer by definition and was never intended to be used for motorsports. Covering long distances at high speeds is what this vehicle feels most comfortable at.
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Apr
28
1938 Sparks-Thorne Little Six racecar with six wheels [Tyrell P34]
The first Tamiya catalogue I had as an aspiring young scale modeler, featured a Tyrell P34 Formula 1 racecar with six wheels on the cover page. Needless to say that I was fascinated by the weird looks. Back then at the age of nine and with easy access to information on the internet decades away, I didn’t know why they came up with the idea of adding an axle. I just loved it because it was quirky and stood out from the other F1 cars of the time.
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Apr
25
Bentley Continental SC Sedanca Coupé
Tastefully modifying the Bentley S1 Continental by Mulliner was very rewarding and I wanted to create a more modern customized Bentley in a similar style.
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Apr
19
Jaguar XJ-S Notchback Hot Rod
Building the Hasegawa Jaguar XJ-S kit in 1:24 scale, I noticed that it is virtually impossible to lower the car properly without modifying the wheel arches. Bolt-on overfender are always an option, but it didn’t feel right with the lines of this classy coupé. Instead of cutting up the body of the plastic model, I put it back into the box and switched to Adobe Photoshop. After many failed attempts to relocate the wheel arches, I decided to hotrod the sled just for fun. This is entirely fictional for now, but could be done in reality. XJ-S prices are low and it isn’t exactly a rare car nobody dares to cut apart and weld back together in a different way.
The frame was extended to get the proportions right and to make it less butt-heavy than the stock design, I reshaped the C-pillars. Inspiration for this mod came, believe it or not, from the foxbody Mustang notchback. I think it improves the proportions of the car, but at the same time takes away one of the design quirks that make the XJ-S so unique and instantly recognizable. In order to keep with the classic hot rod theme, I didn’t use the Jaguar V12, but added four cylinders to a Ford V8 just for the heck of it. Open headers should provide an adequate soundtrack to match the visual impact.
Mar
24
Creating the Sonett I Roadster and the Sonett II Club Racer was tremendous fun and I wanted to add a SAAB Sonett III the collection. Looking at the Sonett III pictures on my hard drive for many months, I struggled to come up with an idea for the conversion. The inspiration finally hit when I found a picture of an old Indy car. Why not convert the Sergio Coggiola and Gunnar A. Sjögren designed four cylinder “sportscar” into a beast with a compact V8? I set to work and came up with the idea of relocating the wheel arches in order to fit some mighty race car rubber under the widened fiberglass body while lowering the overall height. To increase strength, the quarter windows behind the doors have been eliminated and filled in. The rear fenders are re-sculpted and flow into the ducktail spoiler, providing much needed downforce along with the front spoiler. I really like the 1970’s chrome accents on the otherwise more 80’s looking body and kept most of them. The paint scheme is more 70’s orientated: the blue and yellow paint scheme resemble the colors of the Swedish flag and the shape of the yellow stripe mimics the silhouette of a classic glider plane, to add the aeronautics reference typical for SAAB vehicles.
Click here to see the original picture.
Mar
15
Bugatti EB100 Widebody Conversion
Some may say that bolt-on overfenders and widebody kits are a little played out now and I tend to agree somewhat. However – if applied to a platform that nobody has on the radar, there is still an element of surprise. I always had a love/hate relationship with the Bugatti EB110.
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Feb
06
Lamborghini LM002 4×4 Camper
After hooking up an Airstream caravan to a lowered Suzuki Jimny just for fun, I thought it’s time to post a project I’ve been working on for a long time: the Lamborghini LM002 4×4 camper conversion. Form follows function and therefore the design of the vehicle is rather architectural. The lines of the base vehicle are a good place to start, because there are virtually no curves. Getting the proportions right is always important, but functionality is the highest priority with such a project. My friend Martino Sifredi suggested to mimic the vent design in the windows, as seen in his sketch below, but in the end I decided against it and went with rectangular ones for practical reasons. The interior could be furnished to match the customers taste, either in a very minimalistic design to reflect the military origins of the LM002 or in splendid luxury like a Riva yacht. The 4×4 vehicles ability could take you where most campervans can’t go, although an engine swap might be a wise choice to improve the range, due to the thirst of the original V12 engine.
This is what it could look like at night:
Click here to see the original picture.
Feb
01
Yeah… this is a rather unlikely combination, but I just did it for fun. Who in real life would lower a very capable 4×4 like the new Suzuki Jimny JB74 to the ground, stick NASCAR wheels on the hubs and hook a rather heavy camping trailer to the tow bar? Nobody. But hey… it was a lunchbreak photoshop challenge #justforfun.
Jan
27
Bentley S1 Continental by Mulliner
Class and distinguished elegance. This is what most people associate with the Mulliner-bodied Bentley S1 Continental.
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Jan
19
Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Interim
The Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Interim is a super rare car and nobody in his right mind would modify this Pininfarina styled beauty. Mind you – I wouldn’t do this to a real vehicle either, but pixels never complain.
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Jan
17
Toyota GR Supra Targa (A90)
After teasing enthousiasts with prototypes for years, Toyota has finally reveiled the brand new GR Supra (A90) earlier this week.
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Jan
16
Morris Marina Coupé (ADO28) | Brexit
The Morris Marina was never known for bullet-proof reliability. In fact, it was widely known as one of the worst cars ever produced. Bad image, rust issues and questionable quality caused prices to drop and vehicles to be scrapped as a result.
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Jan
08
Lancia Flaminia Speciale 3C Outlaw
At first glance, you might be tempted to think that there hasn’t been done a lot of work to this Lancia Flaminia 3C. Compare it to the original picture and try to spot the subtle changes on my version of this stunningly beautiful classic Italian car.
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Jan
02
Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC AMG Widebody with Overfenders (C126)
A good friend of mine recently complained that most of my photoshop chops are side-view only. That is true, because I have more ideas than time and 3/4 view pictures need a lot more time to finish properly than the simpler side-view pictures.
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