Filed under: Aftermarket, Gadgets, Tuners, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Tech, Toyota, Lifestyle
The most obnoxiously tuned Toyota Prius... Ever
Click above to view video after the jump
We truly do appreciate the custom-car scene, in all of its various guises. There is, however, a problem with the custom Prius you see above and in the video embedded after the break. Generally speaking, the goal of modifying a car is to either A) make it go faster or B) make it look better.
When Classe Gustafson, Elvis Häggbom and Kenny Kyrk from Sweden had finished spending $184,000 customizing a Toyota Prius, they had accomplished neither. This Prius-trocity, which was modified for a television show, is anything but subtle. It lost two doors during its transformation from mild-mannered hybrid eco-mobile to whacked out sport compact that just happens to get good fuel economy, though it did get scissor-style portals that are nearly impossible to open in the process. And it also gained a huge honkin' stereo and the body-kit from a Volvo SUV. The over-the-top paint-job is the final touch. The Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain, however, went untouched save for the obligatory fart-can exhaust. Nice.
[Source: Wired]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
mark 8:04PM (8/22/2008)
those guys should be shot and the car should be blown up... fast.
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KeatMP 1:51AM (8/23/2008)
+1
I'm speechless.....
retsel 8:07PM (8/22/2008)
what a waste of talent... and did u see the phone... sad.... its a house phone...
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Swede 7:10AM (8/23/2008)
It's a Turbo3G dongle.
Harrison 8:11PM (8/22/2008)
What a waste of money! that car is pure crap!
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Geeky1 8:19PM (8/22/2008)
Just goes to show that sometimes some turds will remain turds, no matter how much you polish them, eh?
BoneHeadOtto 11:05PM (8/23/2008)
Every car that is customized to that degree looks like a piece of crap. Its not the Prius fault. Those customizations would ruin a Z06 or GT-R. What a waste of money.
Randy 8:11PM (8/22/2008)
Didn't look at the video. Was it good?
Sorry. Lack of interest.
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xpolarx 10:05PM (8/22/2008)
Well Randy, let me sum it up for you...they pulled it out of the garage with the door "open." I quote open because it's been jack knifed backwards. They only show part of the open/closing procedure, probably because it's awkward and unwieldy. They don't bother showing ingress/egress because the open door position and the absurd placement of the audio equipment probably makes getting out of the bolstered rally-style seats an acrobatic event. They show it driving around town...what they don't show are the horrified expressions on the faces of passers-by; though if you look hard enough, you can see them in the reflection of the glossy clear coat. The glare off the clear coat is a welcome alternative to the truly unfortunate paint job. The rest of the video is genuinely upsetting. I'm worse off for having seen it. I envy you, Randy...I really do.
ugg.tryptophan 12:31AM (8/23/2008)
the best part is when the caption at the bottom says, " 19-inch rims not standard"
clicketyclack 11:10AM (8/23/2008)
pmsl @ xpolarx. I needed a laugh after that video.
Geeky1 8:13PM (8/22/2008)
And here I was thinking it was impossible to make those, ah, "transportation appliances" (nothing that drives as poorly as a Prius does deserves to be called a car) any more vile than they are stock. Disgusting.
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knifetramp 5:49AM (8/23/2008)
+1 Spot on.
dskinner 8:18PM (8/22/2008)
At least you don't have to hear the annoying miss-shift downshifts that are associated with boy-racers. The lovely synergy drive will shut off the engine and tin-can muffler during slow-down.
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obie 8:19PM (8/22/2008)
Wow... that looks terrible (interior included).
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JW 8:22PM (8/22/2008)
That's plain retarded, they should have tried to make a normal looking car have the same technology as the prius instead.
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4agze 8:28PM (8/22/2008)
thats really sad
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catgirlshyla 8:28PM (8/22/2008)
Didn't AutoblogGreen cover this like a week or so ago?
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TwinTurbo3000GT 8:31PM (8/22/2008)
Idiot #1; "I have an idea! Lets spend a crap load of dough modifying one of the slowest, ugliest cars money can buy"
Idiot #2; "Brilliant!"
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Mi key 8:45PM (8/22/2008)
Since this was just for a TV Show, I guess they just went Mutha-Trucking crazy. The body work isn't that bad, if they stuck with a toned down paint job (a flat blk would have been great). I like the center Exhaust tip. The k-neg type doors look dorky. All that stereo equipment is just crazy, and whats with the house phone. Really!
House Phone! Really! :P
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