What cars could benefit from a redesigned body?

OK, lets say that you were going to do an entire reskin of a car, which models would be worth the trouble to do so on? Which cars (or trucks) have good platforms, dynamics and drivetrains but are let down by their exteriors?

Here's an example of a reskined Z3 that really works for me:

Miata is the answer, and has been tried many times with varying degrees of success

Volvo 1800 with the cockpit moved back 6" or 8" to more easily accommodate the 6 cylinder engine Volvo never put into it.

AM6 Aston Martin Vantage. Don't know how I'd fix it, but since 2018 it has looked so inelegant.

It works in race guise but on the street it looks like someone put on a body kit.

Someone had to say it lol

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

OK, lets say that you were going to do an entire reskin of a car, which models would be worth the trouble to do so on? Which cars (or trucks) have good platforms, dynamics and drivetrains but are let down by their exteriors?

Here's an example of a reskined Z3 that really works for me:

Dang. That does look good. 

Every Tesla

Honda Clarity 

David S. Wallens said:

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

OK, lets say that you were going to do an entire reskin of a car, which models would be worth the trouble to do so on? Which cars (or trucks) have good platforms, dynamics and drivetrains but are let down by their exteriors?

Here's an example of a reskined Z3 that really works for me:

Dang. That does look good. 

5000 quid for the kit. That rear quarter window is key to the design IMO. Having a blank panel there would scream "kit car" while the extra detail makes it look custom or OEM. 

Cybertruck.

wvumtnbkr said:

Cybertruck.

Considering the general problems with it, I don't know that just a reskin will fit the bill.

Mazda should have built a minivan on the GD platform, so a rebody of the 626 into a volume seller car-like small family van instead of the truckish MPV that they instead built.  

Am I doing this right?

pres589 (djronnebaum) said:

Mazda should have built a minivan on the GD platform, so a rebody of the 626 into a volume seller car-like small family van instead of the truckish MPV that they instead built.  

Am I doing this right?

Like a Mazda 5?

wvumtnbkr said:

pres589 (djronnebaum) said:

Mazda should have built a minivan on the GD platform, so a rebody of the 626 into a volume seller car-like small family van instead of the truckish MPV that they instead built.  

Am I doing this right?

Like a Mazda 5?

Yeah, but in 1988 when the GD platform came out.  Or maybe a year later with a stronger pair of transmissions (which would have been fed back to the rest of the cars on that platform), so the 2.2 and 2.2 Turbo engines and everything else from the 626.

The Daimler SP250/Dart wins this game every time.

2.5 liter Hemi V8, four wheel disc brakes, hideous fiberglass body.

In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :

The rear quarter window on that custom Z3 sure looks like the one on a GT6 to me...

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

To be fair, it's mostly the hideous bassmouth on the front of it.  The rest of it isn't horrible.

Ok, bare with me. 

Porsche Boxster. 

If you consider it a blank canvas, it's a mid engine rear drive convertible that has good suspension and a pretty decent engine. If you want to go nuts there are LS swap options. They have a very porsche-distinctive "it's an oval" look that you could do interesting things breaking up. It was produced in decent numbers and the early ones are getting affordable so if you were looking for a business case rather than a one off you have a chance...

Additionally, with a Porsche as a basis, if you do it well, you have more upmarket possibilities in marketing.

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

The Daimler SP250/Dart wins this game every time.

2.5 liter Hemi V8, four wheel disc brakes, hideous fiberglass body.

I like weird enough that it doesn't bother me much, but I totally get what you're saying. Unfortunately, those cars are rare enough that I'd feel guilty doing any customizing to one.

Apexcarver said:

Ok, bare with me. 

Porsche Boxster. 

If you consider it a blank canvas, it's a mid engine rear drive convertible that has good suspension and a pretty decent engine. If you want to go nuts there are LS swap options. They have a very porsche-distinctive "it's an oval" look that you could do interesting things breaking up. It was produced in decent numbers and the early ones are getting affordable so if you were looking for a business case rather than a one off you have a chance...

 

Additionally, with a Porsche as a basis, if you do it well, you have more upmarket possibilities in marketing.

Now that's thought provoking. I absolutely loved the Boxter when it first came out, but now it's kinda dry and ubiquitous. It's a (vastly improved) 914. The car that other Porsche owners didn't want to talk about. That said, it's far from ugly. Some have done it, and done it well.

Vale:

It's also been made into an updated speedster:

In reply to Mr_Asa :

To my eyes there's not a good line on the SP250.  Jaguar created an SP252 based on the general platform of the SP250, and there's still one prototype of the thing, and it looks pretty fantastic by comparison.  I don't know how Daimler got the SP250 so wrong.  Reading about the car, the only good thing they did was the engine.

Tell me my old Jensen CV8 wouldn't have looked better with an Interceptor body....

Bugatti Veyron.

Even accounting for the massive VW based kit car market, I bet the most rebodied car in the world is still the original Austin seven