Popular sports cars from across the globe are often subject to redesigns at the hands of tuning companies or creative individuals who want to put their own stamp on a well-loved icon. Usually, these modifications might go as far as more aggressive bumpers, lower stance, or a few trim additions. In some cases though, tuners take a more extreme approach to their builds.
These cars are subjected to all sorts of modifications that confuse their design language or draw inspiration from other models in that brand's lineup. Sometimes, builders reshape their cars so much it's absolutely impossible to work out how they could ever have come up with such an idea. Let's take a look at ten of the craziest examples where people took iconic sports cars and modified them beyond recognition.
10 Re-Amemiya's Mazda RX-7 Kit
The Mazda RX-7 is a tuning icon and has been given several strange facelifts at the hands of tuners. This one is a particularly unusual take, with the RX-7's distinctive lights and front bumper reworked into something more reminiscent of a Porsche.
The rear of the RX-7 is also redesigned, but it looks like a different car completely. It's not quite as obvious what the rear bumper and taillight design is based on. There seems to be elements of the Aston Martin DB7 for some reason, mixed with a hint of first-gen Miata. It vaguely resembles a lot of cars, but manages to look nothing like the RX-7 it's based on.
9 Whatever Happened To This Poor Mustang
This bewildering Mustang briefly appeared on an auction site before being taken down, so it's hard to find many images of it. It appears to sport custom bodywork that vaguely resembles several classic American cars but doesn't convincingly look like any of them.
As the original posting was removed several years ago, it's impossible to tell if this was just a body kit or whether there were also mechanical changes underneath. Unfortunately due to the lack of other information out there this Mustang will remain a mystery until its owner can be found.
8 A "Fat" Porsche
Austrian artist Erwin Wurm takes cars and makes them into uncomfortable, bulging sculptures. One of his most famous works is this Porsche 911, with so much "fat" added that the shape of the original car is barely noticeable.
It was designed as an art piece but still retains most practical functions, with the lights and wheels poking out from underneath all the metallic fat. It's definitely weird, but in a cool, logic-defying way.
7 This Honda NSX-Based Mitsuoka
It's been crowned one of the ugliest vehicles ever made, looking almost like a cross between a car and an angry sea creature. That would be okay if the car wasn't built on the first-gen Honda NSX, an all-round awesome machine.
Although the body is custom built, just knowing that the Orochi could have been made into a new NSX instead is enough to put off most car fans. Owners of this Mitsuoka can at least say they've got a unique car, but that's about all it's got going for it.
6 Gemballa's Extremo Biturbo Porsche 911
It's very yellow, very German and very much unrecognizable from its stock form. This build from tuning house Gemballa uses a 993 Porsche 911 as a base. It's more respectful of the Porsche's lines than some other tuner abominations, but the heavily redesigned front end still makes it unidentifiable as a 993 at a glance.
The Extremo seems to have used Porsche's 968 as a heavy inspiration for the redesign, with a hint of 911 Flatnose influence. As far as modifications go, at least with this build Gemballa took from Porsche's own design language and kept the main lines of the stock car. It's debatable whether it looks good or not, but it's certainly not a bad reinterpretation.
5 Confusing Camo'd Camaro
The most notable modification on this Camaro is the psychedelic paint job, which distorts the natural lines of the car so much that from a distance it could be mistaken for another muscle car of a similar age. Granted, it's not the most extreme of redesigns, but the fact that a simple paint change can distort the car so much is very impressive.
The Camaro also deploys the usual custom-car checklist of bagged suspension, new rims and large rear spoiler. It's actually a good looking build, which is more than can be said for many other cars on this list.
4 A Rolls-Royce Caprice?
It looks like a bad Photoshop, but this car is in fact real and has been seen at various donk shows around the US. Underneath the car is a '72 Chevy Caprice, but a faux-Rolls Phantom front end has been grafted on for some unknown reason.
The front, especially the grille, looks way out of proportion with the rest of the car, and the squared-off angles don't help either. It's certainly a unique build, and let's say it's an acquired taste too.
3 Toyota Supra Mk4 - But Make It Veilside
Veilside are a Japanese tuning house best known for their Fast & Furious-featured RX-7, but in the years since that moment of fame they've been keeping busy. This is one of their more recent creations, which at first glance appears to be a modified Bentley Continental.
In fact, it's actually a Mk4 Toyota Supra, dressed in Veilside's 4509 GTR conversion kit. Why anybody would want to pay to convert their Supra into a Bentley when they could just buy a Bentley is a good question. Nevertheless, Veilside are here for any owners who think their Supra needs to look a bit more British.
2 Mazda MX-5/Miata "Cobra"
Sold by S2 Racing, this MX-5/Miata conversion kit purports to transform an owner's Mazda into a legendary Shelby. It doesn't quite achieve that, instead only managing an awkward halfway house between Cobra and Mazda.
It looks confused, and quite dated with the very '00s taillights. It's probably a better idea for anyone wanting a Shelby replica to just buy one instead of trying to convert their Miata to look like one.
1 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Batmobile
It doesn't get much more unrecognizable than this Indian S-Class conversion. The car that was once a favorite among businessmen and diplomats is now an all-out Batmobile tribute, even if it looks a bit rough round the edges.
The BatMercbile is so heavily modified that it would be impossible to tell what car it was just by looking at it. What's even stranger is despite being built on a working car chassis, the front windscreen is opaque, meaning it would be impossible to drive this creation even if were somehow road legal.