Holden Sandman Concept

Holden Sandman Concept :

Based on the VU Holden Ute the one-off special Holden Sandman is the result of a creative collaboration with Australian surf and streetwear company, Mambo.

The Sandman features a ‘Bushfire’ custom paint finish in the blazing combination of red, orange and tangerine. There’s a new retro style Sandman graphic on the tailgate, and spray-painted on its sides are updated Mambo versions of the traditional panel van mural. Depicting uniquely Australian ‘beach and bush goddess’ themes, they are interpretations of original paintings by Mambo project art director, David McKay.

The Sandman interior is equally extravagant. The rear compartment, referred to as a ‘chill out zone’, has been transformed into a lush, plush relaxation space with freeform seating and a surround sound mobile theatre system that’s anything but a blast from the past.

In the cabin, Mambo’s ‘Burnin’ Love’ interior theme extends to flame appliqued red leather, tangerine suede and orange velour seats and custom touches such as a translucent red instrument facia and bushfire alert instrument cluster.

Holden’s Executive In Charge of Design, Michael Simcoe, says the Sandman panel van concept began as a sketch doodled in 1997 by young designer Andrew Smith, who was working on the new VU Holden Ute program.

Custom Star Wars Van

Custom Star Wars Van :

Toyota F3r Concept Car

Toyota F3r Concept Car :

The minivan segment had only 500,000 first-time buyers in 2004, versus 900,000 such buyers in 1994. The average age of minivan owners has inched up to 51 years. This stagnation surprises no one who follows the automotive scene. Toyota maintains–and we agree–that minivans are still incredibly efficient and practical vehicles. The F3R is Toyota’s stab at making the minivan relevant for a new generation of consumers.

The problem, of course, is that minivans aren’t cool. Today’s young people, who were carted around in their parents’ minivans, now avoid them like the Avian Flu. The work of Calty, Toyota’s Southern California design studio, the F3R takes everything we know about minivans and turns it on its head. Exterior and packaging designer Ian Cartabiano had three main goals that he felt would distinguish the F3R from more pedestrian family haulers:
1. A very aggressive stance, with big, 22-inch wheels out at the corners.
2. A distinctive profile, with a very high nose and a wedge-shaped roof. “We didn’t want a weak, needle-nosed effect,” Cartabiano says. The inverted D-pillar is also the opposite of what you expect from a minivan.
3. A distinctive face and graphics, with a strong, T-shaped grille.

The resulting futuristic transport van has a thousand times more street cred than any minivan we’ve ever seen. The radical styling statements continue inside the F3R’s super spacious cabin, which has a nightclub-style seating pit softly illuminated by recessed lighting. Since the F3R is some 90 millimeters, or nearly four inches, wider than the current Toyota Sienna minivan, there’s lots of room here to stretch out after a day at the soccer field or during a night out on the town.

Rather than sliding doors–the death knell of the minivan–the F3R has a conventional middle door mated to a suicide-style rearmost door. Together, they create a huge opening in the side of the vehicle. Step into the airy, futuristic cabin and settle into one of the asymmetrically shaped red leather seats. Two long panorama moonroofs–something we first saw in the Nissan Quest concept several years ago–stretch the length of the cabin and let in lots of light. The instrument panel can be set either to display normal driving functions or converted to an ambient lighting panel for when the car is not in use. The floor is made of recycled rubber.

Guess the JDM Minivan :

Any way, I did an interview with the creator of this one-of-a-kind custom (I say one-of-a-kind, because unlike Japan, there are virtually no JDM Minivans available in the US). Introducing Mr. Shin Okamoto from AirRunner Suspension Systems. Mr. Okamoto was kind enough to give a presentation of his van, and his product at the DUB Booth.

Honda Odyssey 1996 :

If we had our way, we'd devote an entire issue of Super Street to the JDM van craze-but we can't. Not only do we not have the power to do so, but there aren't enough JDM vans here in the States to warrant 100-plus glossy pages of tuned mom wagon hotness, either. You can probably count the number of sick JDM vans in the United States on one hand, and here's one of them.

variation for car wheels

variation for car wheels :

The first thing any car needs is a new set of wheels. Billet Star Japan was showing off its 17-inch rims designed specifically for these Kei cars.

VIP Style definitions for Minivans Gallery:

Toyota Estimas are still huge in Japan. One of our favorites is this Sexy Custom Estima. No, we didn't make that name up.

It was common to see 10-plus monitors in most of these vans. Unlike what we see here in the States (and Europe), Japanese coachbuilders somehow found a way to cram a s***load of monitors into these vans without turning any of them DUB-show reject eyesores. Who could have thought that an interior packed with 25 monitors could still somehow look understated and reserved

Lounge-like interiors and 50-inch flat screens were common in many of these vans. Our favorite Pimp My Ride-shaming interior belonged to luxury tuner Fabulous; these guys didn't just stop at a 50-inch plasma and leather recliners - they installed marble flooring!

Check out the sexy demon camber!

Blind Date Custom Van

Blind Date Custom Van Pivture :

Custom Green Microvan

Custom Green Microvan Picture :

extreme Japanese custom vans

extreme Japanese custom vans Galleries :

MINI’s JCW Challenge Race Car

MINI’s New JCW Challenge Race Car :

Power enhancements are at the core of the striking CHALLENGE car’s modifications. As well as a re-developed twin-scroll turbocharger, the standard MINI Cooper S engine receives modified pistons, air filter, air intake passage, catalytic converter, exhaust components, electronic sensors and engine management system.

Numerous chassis and suspension tweaks add to what is a finely-tuned racing package. The new suspension system features adjustable damper units from KW Automotive, designed specifically for motorsport. A six-speed manual gearbox transmits power to 17″ front wheels made by Borbet and shod with exclusive new racing tyres manufactured by Dunlop.

Body revisions based on the John Cooper Works Aerodynamic Kit, currently available from all MINI dealers, are key features of the CHALLENGE car’s set-up. To generate increased downforce at higher speeds, CHALLENGE car owners can expect a new adjustable rear spoiler, rear diffuser and performance front spoiler. The new braking system performs exceptionally. Large four-piston calipers mean the car can go from 62 â€“ 0mph in just 3.1 seconds. A race-specific ABS configuration and an air-pressure elevating system complete the product modifications, which together equate to a vehicle 30kg lighter than the previous CHALLENGE car.

Safety measures perfect the array of MINI CHALLENGE car features. A roll cage welded firmly to the body of the car houses RECARO bucket seats combined with a six-point safety belt, along with the HANS (Head And Neck Support) system used in Formula 1 cars.

Although the car is designed for race participation, private owners may find owning a MINI CHALLENGE car a compelling prospect. However, the car will not be licensed for public roads and as such is expected to maintain its appeal among racing enthusiasts.

The MINI Challenge race series is fast gaining presence and popularity around the world. Since 2004, Challenge races have been staged in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and New Zealand. In 2008, MINI Australia will also hold a Challenge competition.

Race teams will receive the first MINI CHALLENGE cars from March 2008. Private customers not competing in the MINI Challenge series can expect deliveries of cars from June 2008. An order form for the car can be downloaded from 11 September 2007 at www.MINI.com/challenge-car and the expected price is â‚¬49,900 inc. VAT.

Hamann Mini Cooper R56

Hamann Mini Cooper R56 :

At the beginning of 2007 Hamann created a special aerodynamic kit for Mini R56. After a year and a half the car tuning company completes this tuning package with performance improvements for all engines that equip this small speedy car. For Mini Cooper S the guys from Hamann modified the control unit and the 1.6 turbo engine can develop now 204 HP. They also offer a stronger kit for this Cooper S called SportKit CS 230 that will upgrade the car’s engine cooling unit and it also has a new intercooler and exhaust system. This performance kit will take the car to 230 HP and 330 Nm. As a result, this car’s top speed is now 238 km/h and it could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 6.6 seconds. For Mini Cooper D, a car that normally has 110 HP, Hamann offers a power boost of 26 HP.

Mini Cooper S-217 Limited Edition Body-kit :

The introduction of the Mini One wasn't that impressive but as time went by more and more people who drove the car came out very impressed. It became clear that the BMW engineers had taken care of the smallest details. The happy few who have driven one will know : this is a serious fun car.

The people at Carzone Specials realized this and they decided to develop a bodykit for the new mini according to the well known CS standards : aggressive but in perfect harmony with the original lines of the car.

This bodykit consists of : full front bumper, full rear bumper, sideskirts and wheelarch extensions. The kit will fit the Mini One, Cooper and Cooper S. The bonnet grille and double center-exit exhaust shown in the pictures are available from your local Carzone Specials dealer too.

The car in the pictures below is a Mini Cooper S. Belgian tuner FGA Motorsport provided the extra power which gives this Mini 217bhp. To get the extra power safely on the tarmac we upgraded the suspension with a German KW inox-line coilover kit giving this car a superbe roadhandling. Alessio`s ‘Turbo brimetal’ 18x7.5 alu wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport 225/40 ZR18 tyres make this package complete.

Carzone Specials wants to emphasize the exclusiveness of this bodykit and therefor a "Limited Edition" of this bodykit will be limited to 100 pieces per country. This bodykit will be availeble only as a complete set with an exclusive certificate.

MINI Creates a New U.S.

MINI Creates a New U.S. Segment :

There is no other car like the MINI Cooper in the U.S. marketplace: MINI Cooper's size, quality, engineering, and distinctive design gives the car a unique position. MINI is creating a completely new market in the U.S., the small, premium car sector.

The new MINI Cooper is the first all-new product from the MINI brand since its inception in 1959. The 11' 10" Cooper features the latest in BMW Group engineering and safety technology such as six airbags, all‑round disc brakes as standard, and features such as Dynamic Stability Control and Electronic Brake Distribution are available as options.

MINI Cooper 1960's

1960's MINI Cooper 2 :

Mini Cooper Racing Car

Mini Cooper Racing Car :

Next up in my Tokyo Auto Salon coverage, Toyota and Lexus. Recently, Japan’s biggest automaker hasn’t been offering as many enthusiast-friendly cars as its competitors, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t find a bunch of interesting Toyotas at Auto Salon this year. You’ve already seen some of them sprinkled among my other Auto Salon posts, but there are plenty of others I haven’t covered yet.

Feast your eyes on Tokyo Auto Salon 2008, a show that eclipses SEMA in every way possible. This annual auto show held at the Makuhari Messe of Tokyo’s Nippon Convention Center (located about 1.5 hours away from Tokyo Station) draws the biggest and baddest tuners in the Japanese aftermarket car industry.

If you manage to weave through the hundreds of thousands of visitors and Japanese men with mini-ladders trying to take photos of the cute models, you’ll find the quality of tuned cars and beautifully designed booths are unrivaled. Other auto shows really need to take a cue from Tokyo Auto Salon’s insanely nice setup.

There was no question the feature car of the show was Nissan’s GT-R (variations of this new beast were available from Blitz, HKS, Work Wheels and many other tuners), but my heart was set out to find it’s German rival — BMW’s E92 M3.

Sema 2010

Darrell’s 2009 Challenger SRT-8

To jack the ride height up by the required seven inches, Wizard Performance whipped up a quartet of coilovers packing King Springs and Rancho adjustable dampers, with a beefed-up swaybar up front and a chromoly panhard bar in the rear to stop too much rear axle movement. The whole lot was covered in original Holden Hot House Green for a show finish, while the steering was converted to Toyota Hilux 5H set-up by close mate Brent Davies, to suit the new frame.

Wheels of choice are 15x10-inch American Racing alloys running gigantic Super Swamper rubber that spans a truly insane 39.5x15x15 ratio, but costs the two-door 110kW of grunt at the rear wheels over smaller 32-inch Swamper tyres, dropping power from 335kW to "only" 225kW! Somewhat disturbingly, DAHULK runs standard GQ Patrol discs and drums braking set-up, though it doesn't see road use (though engineering is currently being undertaken) and there's no risk of it taking to a racing circuit so that eases some concerns

Body wise, the fat kit adorning Bruce Banner's weapon of choice is all custom with lurid flares being moulded onto the fibreglass front guards and four-inch bar work used throughout (except for the front bar which uses three-inch). It was in this form that DAHULK started appearing at car shows and winning plenty of trophies, however, Gary felt there was something missing, something that would really blow everyone's minds and set this ute off as a completely lunatic piece of Aussie home-built engineering: a kicking audio visual system.

Anime Car

Gumpert Cars

It’s called the Veritas RS 111, and the production version of this incredible looking sports car was shown to the world for the first time last week, at London’s exclusive Salon Prive.

CarAdvice road testers Alborz Fallah and Anthony Crawford, recently drove the prototype car near lake Garda in Italy and were blown away by the performance and deafening engine note, as they blasted through tunnel after tunnel, without helmets or earplugs.

Make no mistake, the Veritas RS 111 is the ultimate crowd puller, as the guys reported both Porsche and Ferrari owners were doing U-turns in an attempt get a close up of the car.

car modification

Holden Sandman Concept

Custom Star Wars Van

Toyota F3r Concept Car