|
Xtreme
Show Preview |
Broadcast
date : 22nd April 2007 |
|
For the past four years the
Castrol Xtreme Auto Show has been the place to be if you’re
into the crazy world of customising.
The Castrol Xtreme exhibition has ridden the wave of motorhead
madness that’s gripped the country over the past
half-a-dozen years, and many customisers base their schedules
around it, making sure that their prize projects debut at the
show.
In the beginning, there was the fifty-five Chevy. That’s not
strictly true, because street-rodding was around in the 1930s.
But the '55 Chevy is the car that gave us the immortal
small-block Chevy V8 engine, which has formed the basis for
millions of street rods ever since.
This is a 210 model that has been converted from a four-door
into a two-door Bel Air look-alike. It’s a veteran of the
show circuits, and currently owned by well-known customiser
Clinton Coleman.
What makes the '55 Chevy so popular is that it’s a car you
can use as a daily driver, and stock parts are still produced
by the million in America, as well as hot-rodding parts. It’s
a fine mix of classic and street rod.
The seats are BMW but covered in American sofa fashion, while
the basic paint of this car is over 15 years old. As for
power, this has one wild motor.
|
|
|
|
|
Ever since the movie Gone in
Sixty Seconds came out starring Nicholas Cage in a Mustang
called Elanore, Mustang mania has gripped the planet.
Many customisers are recreating Elanores from late sixties
Mustangs, but this car is far more collectible than the movie
car which was based on a 390 GT. This is a genuine 1969
Shelby GT350 Mustang, the only one of its kind on the African
continent and one of just 800 produced.
|
|
This Schnitzer Beemer was
cutomised by JSN Motors in Bryanston. This is the M6 Schnitzer
Tension, a limited-edition model that was seen at the
Frankfurt Motor Show in 2005 as a concept car, show-casing
Schnitzer dress-up goodies.
The dual-tone colour scheme changes the look completely,
giving the M6 a 1930s coach-built flavour. This is a show-car
colour scheme first seen in Frankfurt in 2003 on the Z4
Topster concept.
|
|
Another coupe that’s in the
mega-buck league is this Mercedes-Benz CL 500, the baseline to
the much wilder CL63 which will no doubt be a highlight of the
show.
By show time it’ll have a full AMG conversion carried out by
AMG SA, which, unlike the DaimlerChrysler AMG division,
carries out various stages of conversions according to
customer preference.
The nice thing about fitting AMG goodies to your pricey Merc
is that they are approved by DaimlerChrysler and don’t
affect the warranty.
|
|
Another car opting for the
dual-tone 1930s Bugatti-type look is this DTM Merc AMG. It’s
one of just three in the country, and with a value of close to
R4-million, viewers may be shocked that anyone would change
the paint scheme.
But Brett assures us the sponsor-driven colour-change is a
stick-on vinyl job.
|
|
And for performance freaks who
like to have a good view of the road ahead, there’s this
specially imported G55 AMG, all 355 kilowatts of it, thanks to
supercharged V8 motivation.
|
|
While the G55 is a wolf in
farmer’s clothing, the opposite may be said of this be-blinged
Nissan Navara with 22 inch Racing Heart wheels.
But who cares about its bog-stock diesel motor when you have
Sound to worm its way right into your DNA.
Rockford’s Power range is the game in this particular town,
with two potent amps from the same company driving a pair of
eight-inch P3 subs.
Each door has 32 lights that glow when the system is pumping,
and the beautiful install is courtesy of Moniers Car Sound in
Lenasia.
Drop-down DVDs and other fun items are part of the fun-pack.
|
|
|
This is a Pro One chopper. Apart
from traffic-stopping looks, it comes with a steep frame-rake,
long forks and a cruise speed of 140 km/h plus. The Motor is a
114 inch Total Performance unit.
The orange and blue flame-job beauty is known as a Pro Street,
and Tommy Roos says it has amazing high-speed stability, with
a top end of 200 plus.
But these are cruisers, meant for kicking back and smelling
the roses in your open-faced helmet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Did you enjoy reading this article?
Why not recommend it to a friend - Click here
|
|
|
|
|
Car Torque is
produced by

|
|
|
|