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Sep
09
Who didn’t love “spot the differences” pictures as a kid?
A friend of mine recently bought a Pontiac Bonneville SSE and one of the line-drawings in the manual left us guessing which car it actually depicted. It definitely wasn’t a Bonneville, that’s for sure. But, as always, our collective car brains eventually figured out what it was: an A-body Chevrolet Celebrity. While searching our brains google I found this old ad for the aforementioned vehicle and send it to my friends. We had a good laugh, mostly because of the mentioning of advanced technology. 🙂
Anyway… being the photoshop artist I am, there was no way I could leave the picture alone. Keeping with my motto that every vehicle has at least some sort of potential to look less boring I went to work. Ten minutes later it was finished: lowered, wheels enlarged and changed from convex to concave surface, sideskirts modified and a front airdam added. Looks less forgetable now, doesn’t it?
Time and again it is basically just a matter of subtle changes like lowering the car and adding a nice(er) set of wheels to make it look better…
Original picture for reference:
Jul
26
“Every great inspiration is but an experiment – though every experiment we know, is not a great inspiration.” Charles Ives
Inspiration comes from many sources. When it comes to cars, a friend of mine often unwittingly provides inspiration for photoshop chops. He had been looking at a car with the possible intent of buying it and sent a set of pictures to our Facebook group. None of us recognized the vehicle even after he told us what it was, but everybody came up with the same joke in return: Plymouth Reliant? Oh wait… wasn’t there a funny tricycle called Reliant Robin that kept rolling over in one of the TopGear episodes a few years ago? We had a good laugh and forgot about the malaise era car immediately afterwards. See it, turn around and the next second the memory is blank again. Not really what you would call an enthusiast car, right? Yes… but hey, I can’t help it: the pictures of the pale yellow car and the Reliant Robin jokes sparked an idea…
Here is the inspirational TopGear video mentioned above:
Jul
21
The Jaguar E-Type is one of the automotive icons of the 20th century, along with the Citroën DS. Most people, including most of my friends from Passau Classics, think that these iconic cars should not be messed with and any modification deviating from 100% originality is deemed evil. If you are a regular reader you already know that I created a DS Shooting Break and hence you will not be surprised about the latest creation. Unlike the DS, which is completely my idea and design, the Jaguar E-Type Mk3 V12 you see below is inspired by the current trend of bolting fender flares to cars.
As per my opinion that parts should not only be cosmetic but also serve a purpose, I choose the Jaguar as a base for this conversion. The original body of the E-Type is not designed to accomodate wide wheels due to the shape of the fenders. An update to state-of-the art coilovers along with a healthy drop in ride height and a set of larger and wider wheels necessitates the above mentioned bolt-on fenders. Oh… and of course cutting off substantial parts of the original bodywork in the process. The purists out there might not like it a tiny bit or even hate it, but like-minded enthusiasts might love it even more. 😉
May
28
Aston Martin Lagonda Panel Van Conversion
Aston Martin / Panel Van Conversion / Photoshop Chops / Shooting Brake / Shooting Break Posted by Sebastian Motsch
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4 comments
Five years ago I created a photoshop chop image of an Aston Martin Lagonda Limousine Dragster. Ever since then I wondered what an accompagnying shop truck could look like. Today, while watching the 24h race of the Nürburgring, I finally did it. From the front to the B-pillar it is 100% original, but everything further back has been modified. In order to prevent the vehicle to look tail-heavy, I decided to add a window just aft of the B-pillar. This makes the vehicle look more elegant and concentrates more optical weight in the center of the car. And to make an already long car look even longer, I lowered it. Larger diameter wheels with less sidewall give it a more modern look and the pinstripe is the icing on the cake. Now – who wouldn’t love to haul parts for the shop with this rig?
May
27
The designers of the Subaru SVX (aka Alcyone) went all out to create something very futuristic in the 1990’s. My favorite color combination on this UFO car is white and black, because it gives the vehicle an elegant look. But stock cars are not really my thing – I love to modify them to better suit my taste. Especially with delicate designs I try to keep the modifications rather subtle, because I don’t want to mess up the original lines and ruin it in the process. That’s why I only lowered it over a set of Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am wheels that resemble the classic BBS E50. The front and rear skirts have been modified to give them more volume and to line them up with the sideskirts. Please let me know in the comments if you would drive it like that or what you would do differently. Thanks in advance. 🙂
Apr
30
Out of pure curiousity I wanted to know what a Mercedes-Benz C107 450 SLC would look like as a shooting break. However, midway throught the project I decided to create a panel van of the MAMPE Lufthansa Cocktail liveried racecar instead of the civilian shooting break. 😉
Apr
23
The Mitsubishi Sapporo Coupé is one of those vehicles with great lines and design details. All in all a nice car, but it somehow lacks something. However, this can be fixed easily: a healthy dose of lowering, larger diameter “OEM+” wheels and a few details here and there. The two-tone paint is more pronounced now, the taillights are all red and the front grille darker. The front airdam is the icing on the cake.
This photoshop chop only took half an hour, give or take. I just love to enhance original design so the changes are hardly visible to those not familiar with the original car. 😉
Nov
21
Creating the BMW 2002 Touring was so much fun that I decided to run with the idea and turn it into a panel wagon. I kept the shortened front doors to maximize cargo space in the spacious rear compartment. Having done that I noticed that the half of the vehicle looked rather bland. 2002 Turbo fender flares and BBS E50 center-lock wheels help tremendously to remedy this situation. Gotta haul those BMW Motorsport parts in style!
PS: Wait for the next iteration if you don’t like the period-correct Saharabeige (oo6) of this version. 😉
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.
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
29
The angle of the car pictured here inspired me to try a new design for fender flares. Worked quite well – but the really wide rear fenders on the short-wheelbase AMC AMX create a somewhat odd shape, though. It just adds to the character of the vehicle, I guess 😉
AMC AMX Stage 1 | photoshop chop © Sebastian Motsch (2013)
AMC AMX | reference picture
Feb
14
A friend of mine built a scale model of a Chrysler 300C Coupé. This inspired me to create this virtual model when the SRT8 version was unveiled. The body has been cleaned, bigger wheels and exhaust tips have been added. Even though it might look like – but the roof is not chopped.
Jan
18
Having spent considerable time of my youth on holidays in France, French cars always remind me of those days. This Renault 5 has been transformed into a little pocket rocket with a turbocharger and intercooler. I have tried a new technique on this one to make body panels look like they have holes.
Jan
17
When the new Lotus Europa came out I was a bit disappointed with the styling. To me it looked rather boring. Therefore I decided to turn it into a racecar. Whether it fits GT2 or GT3 specifications was not relevant back then.
Jan
17
Converting this Startech 300C was quite a lot of fun. Initially, I planned to enter it into a contest many years ago. I wanted to create something different, apart from the usual lowering, Lambo-style doors and wheel changes. The bold look of the vehicle inspired me to convert the 300C into a (mini)truck.
Jan
17
One of my oldest photoshop chops is the Maybach Exelero. Not much done here, just a few minor tweaks. The factory paintjob has been upgraded to a two-tone paintjob, Aston Martin wheels have been added and the winglets have been removed.