Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

The owner of a local Porsche restomod shop came by with his new demo car. Tesla performance motor in the back, 74kWh battery pack, custum carbon body panels, custom interior, 0 to 62 in a shade under 4 seconds. I need a massive raise…

4 Attachments

• 1C251F1E-B0BC-49EF-A096-C2ADEC4D620C.MOV
• 
• 
• 

This is the future of classic cars. Can't wait for this to be a more affordable option.

Ahh I'm sorry to hear that dude. Was a great car and I was hoping to potentially buy it back from you one day. Glad you got some fun out of it though, reckon taking it down to cornwall was probably the most fun I've had on 4 wheels

That's lovely - lottery win daily driver material!

I sometimes see a Targa 4s near me in a similar green with the tan interior & the big Fuchs-esque wheels, bold move on something so modern but it works.

I'm a fan of the concept, but not (that) execution.

I would make some different choices myself (I hate Fuchs wheels) but this is the first EV conversion I’ve seen in the flesh where someone thought about all the details.

Well, it’s down at a breakers in Poole. If you’re quick and want to throw £2.5k at a recon gearbox before they carve it up it could see another sunrise!

I was pretty miserable at first but being sentimental about cars is silly.

I've got a 2014 Ka, cheap as chips to buy, run and insure. Got one or two quirks..... The glove box lid falls off when you open it and the locking petrol cap has a mind of its own to name 2.

Bought it last July and must give it a wash, it's sort of black but with a years grime. Doesn't seem to get any dirtier though.

Welcome to the club :)

It is a FIAT, check the rear beam as the springs cups rust out.

Widest track of the 500/panda and does handle quite well.

Dealer replaced all springs and shocks when they took it in a couple of weeks ago- they didn’t didn’t need doing but they do it as a matter of course as it’s a known one. Apparently they always give the underside a once over on them.
Also had a new cambelt at the same time.

One teeny ding just behind drivers door but not a scuff anywhere and ‘feels’ new according to pa.

Run it on the steels or get some moon discs for lols? I’ll just chuck the trims in the cupboard til I move it on either way. They’re hideous.

very cool

Not sure there is an issue with the springs and shocks on the KA as they are different spring and damping rates compared to the Panda/500. The KA gets a rear roll bar that only the abarths get. The rims are 4 x98 and 35 offset.

If it is the 8v FIRE engine, it is a non interference engine. The 16v may not be, and the cambelt, water pump and tensioner is around £250 at a garage for a decent kit.

Steel wheels painted the same colour as the car seem to look good.

You can fit the seats from the 100hp and fiat 500 abarths to the ka.

Still have a soft spot for the MK1 KA with the 1.6 engine...

A couple of excellent condition wire wheeled British icon spots. A series 3 E-type, the rarer one with the V12.


And I guess the DB5 is more valuable because James Bond had one, but I think the DB6 is better looking, and is apparently better performing too. They don't come much cleaner than this....


After all those seductive curves how about something a bit more angular. Looks like its just driven off the set of the Cannonball Run, a 5th gen Skyline, otherwise known as the Datsun 240K GT.

Wonder what the toyota is all about?

Just got back from a fortnight in Portugal driving a VW T-roc. Got into the XC60 and was really reminded how nice a car it is. I’m supposed to be picking up the Model Y and selling the XC60 in a couple weeks. But I’m slightly having second thoughts…

Was also looking at model Y prices on autotrader and they seem to be going for £65k vs £56k retail - is that just impatient buyers? Making a ten bag for nothing is tempting!

My dad hates his t-roc after a couple of years - finds the boot a bit smaller than he expected and not comfy for their frequent trips back to the uk from France. Driving locally and towing stuff it’s great tho apparently

The boot is tiny! It’s basically the same size as a polo just slightly higher.

We had a t-cross as a courtesy car, where the boot is even smaller.

Didn't work out very well as soon as we added a dog and a pram

To me makes more sense in an old jag or a 7 series another larger car. I'm certain the charm is lost on the 911.

Still cool.

Oh where in France? Guess who needs stuff from the UK to france ;)

I would take the Don’t Stop over those two wired wheels borefests any day. Nice shrubbery too

The owner of the car took me for a spin; it’s not. I’ve driven older 911s before and this is so much more fun and at the same time much more usable day to day. Downside is this is a €300.000+ car and this demo might be used dailyish but I can’t see many customers do the same.

€300,000. Fuck me. People are fucked

It’s out of reach for most people now, but the tech will get cheaper.

Average cost of customising a Defender is around £80,000 and that’s just cosmetics- and that bill can be much higher.

Custom anything is expensive.

My take on that 911 is I don’t want to be able to see that it’s not original, things like the screen hanging down below the dash I really don’t like. However- that’s cosmetic, I’m sure how it drives is fun, although I wonder where the weight is.

To me makes more sense in an old jag or a 7 series another larger car

This is the bit about classic E-conversions that i don't get, would it not be better to start with a lightweight vehicle to minimise the battery weight required? Better handling and better for the environment. Taking a big old heavy vehicle and then stuffing it full of batteries can't be great for handling and hardly seems progressive.

I have no idea what the kerb weight of a modern EV is without the running gear in comparison to an older/combustion engine car of similar proportions. Be interesting to know if more attention if given on cutting weight. I'd love to do my 900 one day but can never see it being an affordable option.