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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.]
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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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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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
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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Dec
24
2018 was a successful year for my photoshop blog VirtualModels. Many thanks to everybody for your support, encouraging words and great ideas for improvements.
I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
2018 war ein erfolgreiches Jahr für meinen Photoshop Blog VirtualModels. Herzlichen Dank an alle für Eure Unterstützung, ermunternde Worte und großartige Verbesserungsvorschläge.
Ich wünsche Euch allen Frohe Weihnachten und einen Guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr!
Herzliche Grüße and yours sincerely – Sebastian Motsch
Merry Christmas to everybody! Frohe Weihnachten!
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.
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. 😉
Nov
23
In case you’re not a friend of the Saharabeige BMW 2002 Turbo Panel Wagon, here is a different version for you: medium grey with M-colored turbo stripes. Instead of placing them on the usual location on the front fender, I opted to put it on the door. This creates a nice mirror-like effect with the A-pillar, which is almost shaped like an arrowhead pointing in the direction of travel. Next up will be an El Camino style pick-up. Stay tuned!
Check out the BMW 2002 4-door touring this conversion is based on.
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. 😉
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
