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Feb
07
To be quite honest, I’m not the biggest fan of the Toyota FJ Cruiser styling. However, I appreciate the value for money this vehicle gives any aspiring off-roader. These are very capable vehicles and there are lots of aftermarket parts available to improve it. When Larry Chen of Speedhunters fame bought his manual transmission FJ and started posting his stunning pictures, I literally looked at it in a different light. When modified, it doesn’t look bad at all and I was wondering what I could do to make my vision stand out from all the other modified FJs out there. Even though the design doesn’t naturally lend itself to being modified into a 2-door version, I thought I’d give it a try. To keep one of the main design features of the FJ, I carried the door/roof line over to the concept and kept the two-tone paint scheme. The shorter wheelbase I first tried looked rather silly due to odd proportions and therefore I decided to keep the original. The resulting proportions hint at the equivalent Land Rover Defender 110. A meatier set of BF Goodrich tires on budget-friendly steel wheels called for alterations of the front bumper, even though a lift kit with coil springs was utilized. While at it, the rear bumper was also modified to improve the departure angle and because two spare tires are better than one, I mounted them Dakar or Baja 1000 style in the area formerly occupied by the trunk.
If you want to compare the panel van conversion to the original picture, click here.
Jan
14
Staring at the undercarriage of a car that has massive rust issues is more depressing than inspiring. Combing the rust particles out of my scalp proved to be inspiring though, because the vehicle in question is a gorgeous Hofmeister-designed BMW E9 coupé a friend of mine bought last year – sight unseen. As always, I let my mind wander in the following days to see what ideas I could come up with. Shooting Break? No, I want to do something else with it and create something out of the ordinary. CS means Coupé Sport and while talking about the recent trend of labeling new BMWs Gran Coupé, the coin dropped. A long list of modifications would be necessary to bring this to life. It sounds easier to do this in Adobe Photoshop, but it went through a lot of iterations until I was happy with the result.
Apart from the obvious additon of two doors, there are many modifications you likely didn’t spot right away when looking at the picture. The wheelbase is slightly longer to create room for the passengers feet and the front doors are shorter to keep the proportions in check. Extending the roof was a challenge in itself, because I also had to adjust the chrome trim above the windows. The E9 has frameless windows and I wanted to keep it that way. In order to be able to open the rear windows fully, I had to design a guide for the window, because I didn’t want to alter the C-pillar. Subtle, elegant and practical, just as the Karmann designers and engineers might have done it when challenged with such a task back in the days. Content with how the 4-door body turned out, I turned my attention to the wheels. The dinky original 14″ wheels look too small even for the 2-door and therefore I decided to utilize 15″ wheels with the same design. The hubcaps were carried over from the original 14″ wheels.
For comparison, please take a look at the original picture.
Jan
10
Ever since driving an early Porsche 928 at the age of 21 I loved these futuristic but timeless grand tourers. The only thing that always bothered me design-wise was the shape of the fenders. On the later models they are wider, but still have a weird shape that make the car look strange when lowered. No worries though, as this can easily be improved with photoshop. While at it, I realized that this wouldn’t work on the real car and I had to find a solution. Overfenders have been popular to fix wheel fitment issues for decades and are now more popular than ever before. Instead of taking an exaggerated approach like Kato-san from LB Works, I designed a more subtle set of overfenders that tie into the original design of the 928 and cover the concave Forgiato wheels. To clean up the flanks, the door handles have been integrated into the side trim of the car. The air vents are integrated into the original bodywork and help to keep the brakes cool.
Originalists might cringe and prefer to look at the original picture.
Jan
07
Inspired by lead sleds and other vintage customs, I decided to apply a tried and tested recipe to a vehicle nobody ever customized: the 1954 Panhard Dyna Z. A top chop is a classic modification to alter the roofline and overall appearance of a car. It also reduces drag and therefore makes the car faster. Aerodynamic enhancements are especially important if adding more horsepower isn’t really an option. Mind you, this is a rather small vehicle and fitting an engine larger than the original 851cc engine would be a massive challenge. Not too many of the ~ 140.000 built are left and I doubt that many enthusiasts would enjoy seeing one of the few leftover Z cars “butchered” just for aesthetic purposes. However, nobody can object to modifying a couple of pixels. If you don’t like it, you might enjoy looking at the original picture instead.
Jan
01
Happy New Year! The first photoshop chop in 2018 is an old project from years ago that I finally got around to finish now. I found the original picture of the SAAB 96 and immediately thought this vehicle #needsmorelow. Lowering it and enlarging the wheels made it look better, but the little something that makes it special was still missing. In order to keep it period-correct, I used the natural lines and added some graphics. These days you would probably utilize vinyl stickers, but back then it would have been painted. All in all a fun little project to prove that every vehicle has potential to look better.
Dec
22
This photoshop chop took way longer to finish than all the other pictures I created this year. It all started with looking at a Peugeot 504 brochure from the 1970’s in January. Having always loved the Pininfarina-penned styling of the coupé and convertible, I wondered why there are no tastefully modified cars out there. These vehicles are not even too expensive to buy, despite having a history of motorsport ventures in rallye and racing. As always, the “what if (I had the money)” question followed immediately and all kinds of crazy modification ideas popped up in my mind. However, modifying this elegant coupé without messing up the lines completely posed a challenge. In the end I went with a retro-inspired theme the Japanese call works style. Imagine an engine with substantially more power, modern suspension and brakes. This necessitates larger wheels and a set of overfenders to cover them. I tried to keep them subtle and close to the original design of the fenders. Finding a period-correct design for the wheels also was a challenge. Campagnolos work well with the larger diameter and the conversion to the rather large Peugeot PCD. A good friend of mine suggested to add a ventilation flap on the roof, similar to the classic Jaguar E-Type race cars, and I happily adopted this brilliant idea. The hash marks on the fenders are Peugeot Talbot Sport colors from the early 1980’s, keeping with the idea that a conversion like this might have been built when this was just an affordable used car.
Fine art prints will be available early in 2018. Make sure to pre-order soon, as this will be a limited edition of only 73 numbered and signed pieces. The prints are without watermarks.
Click here to see the original picture.
Dec
20
Finding a photograph of a late 90’s Cadillac Fleewood Brougham towing an Airstream travel trailer got me thinking. What if the people owning a rig like this had a need for more trunk space, but still wanted to tow the trailer with a B-body based car? They would have had the choice of downgrading to a Buick Roadmaster oder Chevrolet Caprice – or converting their Cadillac into a wagon. This shouldn’t be too hard to do, right? However, instead of just using the rear glass from either one of the standard GM wagons, I went for a panel van look. As the Fleetwood Brougham already has a vinyl roof, it is a no-brainer to use this material for the wagon conversion. Not having windows also allows to add useful storage cabinets on both sides of the trunk. And because I have a reputation of never leaving the suspension height and stance as it came from the factory, the Cadillac was lowered and fitted with larger diameter wheels, shod with lower profile tires. To round it off and achieve a consistent design, the Airstream was also lowered and given a similar wheel treatment.
Dec
04
This was another one of those 15 minute challenges: create a camper van or RV that would be fun to drift, if equipped with an engine that makes suitable torque and horsepower. I started looking for a base picture to begin the photoshop chop. The Roadtrek 210 Popular, based on the rear wheel drive V8 Chevrolet Express Van, has a very nice and sporty looking body kit that accomodates a set of overfenders nicely. With a set of Watanabe-style wheels that are converted to an 8-lug pattern and a healthy drop in ride height this beast might take you to the race track, provide all kinds of drifting fun during the day and living quarters for the night. You would have to secure all your cutlery and other items very securely for the drift sessions, though. 😉
PS: It could also be a nice and capable tow-rig for a drift car.
Nov
12
This is another one of those lunch break quickies. Found an old picture of a Renault R21 Turbo, as driven by the French Gendarmerie Nationale. Larger diameter OEM+ wheels, lowering and a few details here and there. Done.
Oct
08
A friend of mine came up with the idea of converting a Nissan Skyline GT-R35 to transport a motorcycle in style. And hey, why shouldn’t you want to do do just that? All you need is a GT-R35, right? Measure the motorcycle, in this case a Kawasaki Ninja H2R, and figure out how you want it to sit once loaded. I prefer to have it flowing with the lines of the car, so I located it rather low. It should still clear the rear axle, though. Now just get the cutting tools out and have fun slicing this fine sportscar into various pieces. Extend the wheelbase, fabricate some panels and you’re almost finished. This is what I thought and the result didn’t please me one bit, to be honest. Therefore I went to the additional trouble of adding a set of butterfly doors à la Mazda RX-8 and a set of overfenders for the rear wheels. So far so good – but the conversion wouldn’t be complete without lowering and a set of nice Forgiato wheels and Pirelli P Zero tires. And while we are at it, we might as well add brakes from the Liberty Walk Lamborghini Murcielago for good measure to slow it down properly. Do you think Kato-san would approve?
Now load up your sportsbike, strap it down securely and have fun! 🙂
Oct
07
For a very long time I wanted to photoshop a Land Rover Defender but for some reason or another I never did. Today I thought about it again and went to work on it immediately. Starting with a plain 110 Utility Wagon I lifted it substantially, added bigger wheels with BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tires, relocated the overfenders for more clearance and cut the rear quarter panel for a better departure angle. Winch and snorkel are a must on any 4×4 in my opinion, but I went a different route with the roof rack. Instead of utilizing the old fashioned style, I tried to create an integrated and more aerodynamic version complete with spare tire and jerrycans. To finish it off, I added a blue camouflage design. Now… I’d love to hop in, take it off-road and get it dirty.
Click here to see the original picture.
Sep
13
“Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems.” Scott Adams
Nobody would have even the faintest doubt that the FIAT engineers created a lot of problems when they came up with the FIAT 130 and 130 Coupé, because these vehicles shared virtually no parts with other FIAT models from that period. Even the Aurelio Lampredi designed V6 engine is not identical with the machine used in the Dino. But nonetheless – the 130 Coupé is a beautiful automobile – and definitely more elegant than the somewhat baroque sedan model. The guys at the Pininfarina design studios must have had the same thought and created a four-door model based on the design of the coupé. Quite a stunning vehicle with almost perfect proportions – but as I never liked the tall and narrow wheels of the Seventies I updated the looks with more modern wheels and tires. Larger diameter, lower profile and a substantial drop in ride height all of a sudden make the vehicle look more contemporary timeless.
See the original image here for comparison.
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. 😉
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
25
Found this picture of a nice Maserati Shamal today and decided to have some fun and create a quick photoshop chop, Stance|Works style. Not much done here: lowered, USDM sidemarkers, tinted window frame and the same front lip and concave multi-piece OEM+ wheels I used on the Maserati Biturbo Spyder. Like it or not – it does put a smile on my face. 🙂
Edit: somebody asked me how the front of this Maserati Shamal would look like. Turns out to be a rather mean and evil looking Maserati Shamal.
Apr
20
A good friend of mine recently bought a SAAB 9000 which didn’t look bad at first sight, but upon closer inspection, showed many signs of advanced wear and tear. Nothing serious, but the little things that need to be fixed add up quickly. So I fired up my creativity and came up with a solution that is neither simple nor quick to achieve – but would be stunning and a head-turner. Let me present: the SAAB 9000 Høt Rød Cøncept. Proudly sponsored by the long-defunct ABA Swedish Airlines. 😉
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! ?
Sep
23
The FIAT based Abarth 750 GT by Zagato features the typical double-bubble roof. Rather diminutive in size, it packs a lot of power per kilogram in original guise. Imagine a Porsche flat six with a set of turbochargers in it and… you should be scared as hell by the power-to-weight ratio! Due to fitment issues, this fortunately isn’t possible in reality. Otherwise you would definitely need to register it as a weapon at your local DMV. 😉
