By Colby Buchanan
As summer fast approaches you don’t want to be caught with your car’s top on while everyone else soaks in all the wonderful rays, especially in California. Lucky for you, this Newport based company will chop the roof off your Tesla Model 3! The issue here is that the price to get it done is almost the same cost as the car itself.
I get that it’s a ton of work and of course it’s something custom but I personally don’t think it’s worth the money. Sure it’ll be unique and people will probably turn their heads. But is it worth paying almost double for your car? I would say no.
A #Tesla Model 3 convertible has been created by California-based coachbuilding shop Newport Convertible Engineering https://t.co/dFs33FVSLs pic.twitter.com/11zTYofkzb
— CNET Cars (@CNETCars) May 21, 2020
Last Call indicates the end of Hooniverse’s broadcast day. It’s meant to be an open forum for anyone and anything. Thread jacking is not only accepted, but it’s also encouraged.
Jeff Glucker
Underfloor battery packs, infinity torques from standstill, and body flex… I’m not sure how that would go, or for how long.
::edit:: It appears to be braced underneath with square-section steel, but even then…
Plus I couldn’t pay money to have that top put on a car
And given that it doesn’t appear to be Tesla-approved, the owner probably lost any and all warranties and updates. Tesla tend to be nasty about that.
Funny how they managed to eh…cut the top off the last preview image, when all you want to see is how it looks like with the fabric on.
Yesterday, I wanted to reference the Beskid/Twingo-discussion and Google found a place I didn’t know existed:
https://i.ibb.co/B40NpWL/20200526-193533.jpg
🤪
Also, yesterday, I put a rubber mat in the boot of my new car. Standard behaviour with absolutely every car I have owned, but it feels a bit wrong with this one…
https://i.ibb.co/JQvg5rp/IMG-20200525-203233.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/bB4YTWs/IMG-20200526-204611.jpg
There are just things about the way that top lays. As well as the nose with that top that just make me think New Beetle convertible.
Ugh, cannot unsee now.
This made me take a second look. Volkswagen Hormiga (“ant”). Only 3600 made in Mexico (this one was sporting Ciudad de Mexico plates) and 2600 as kits in Germany in the late 1970s. Air cooled flat 4 cab-over-engine, not sure if it’s a tilt-cab.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/94bb384729c1a6e6e383a4855c17eedee6278ec444f1adb9ae3e155c6795f514.jpg
Pardon my thumb, I was trying to see if there was an engine back there and stooping over on my bicycle.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/003ca8651cd8282a9379c60311a20b6c3d6bdd1d7cdebbb736a8a17c827a3a4e.jpg
Very cool. I’ve only read about these, but it’s not like we see (m)any Mexican-market rigs around western Washington.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b17374c32e5f69da84e5e2e71d6ed84a7fbca28eb3b3115d07ebbe65d7278aa1.jpg
(picture stolen from https://jalopnik.com/another-weird-air-cooled-vw-youve-never-heard-of-basi-1335706069)
Very cool. I’ve only read about these, but it’s not like we see (m)any Mexican-market rigs around western Washington.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b17374c32e5f69da84e5e2e71d6ed84a7fbca28eb3b3115d07ebbe65d7278aa1.jpg
(picture stolen from https://jalopnik.com/another-weird-air-cooled-vw-youve-never-heard-of-basi-1335706069)
Very cool. I’ve only read about these, but it’s not like we see (m)any Mexican-market rigs around western Washington.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b17374c32e5f69da84e5e2e71d6ed84a7fbca28eb3b3115d07ebbe65d7278aa1.jpg
(picture stolen from https://jalopnik.com/another-weird-air-cooled-vw-youve-never-heard-of-basi-1335706069)
So is this like the Washington equivalent of Citroen H vans as the hipster peasant chic food van of choice? They’re so popular that traders have started using fibreglass replicas that are actually engineless towable trailers instead of the real thing.
This one was spotted in the wild as far north as San Francisco. dead_elvis, inc. doesn’t think they’ve made it up as far as Washington, but with climate change you never know.
Your fiberglass replica comment got me thinking that maybe Intermeccanica up in Canada might be persuaded to make a replica Horminga (or EA489 Basistransporter, as VW called them) to go with their Kubelwagen and Porsche 356 replicas.
I’ve never seen one in the sheet metal, and I’d bet there are none in Washington. All of the food trucks I’ve ever seen around here are domestic marques, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a handful of Citroens (I know there are some in Portland, ~175 miles to the south).
I hadn’t even heard of them (maybe I should read Jalopnik?) Even wikipedia says they’re the rarest VW “in the woorld”.
Jason Torchinsky is obsessed with obscure ACVWs, and an excellent reason to read Jalopnik.
There’s some blooger named Geoff Guckler who contributes over there occasionally too. No idea what else he does, though.
There are rumours of a Hooniverse mansion a bit too well stocked with supercars (hyper? schnyper?) and fine foods. Too much ad revenue can do that to you.
Otherwise, I agree. Torchinsky is, at times, the only reason I visit J-nik. And the Morning Shift is handy.
Funny how they managed to eh…cut the top off the last preview image, when all you want to see is how it looks like with the fabric on.
Yesterday, I wanted to reference the Beskid/Twingo-discussion and Google found a place I didn’t know existed:
https://i.ibb.co/B40NpWL/20200526-193533.jpg
🤪
Also, yesterday, I put a rubber mat in the boot of my new car. Standard behaviour with absolutely every car I have owned, but it feels a bit wrong with this one…
https://i.ibb.co/JQvg5rp/IMG-20200525-203233.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/bB4YTWs/IMG-20200526-204611.jpg
So we need to get swag from that museum.
That’s terrible at any price, let alone the $30K estimated.
Top up image:
https://i1.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/Tesla-Model-3-convertible-03.jpg
And look at the quality job of trimming out where they cut the roof off.
https://i2.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/Tesla-Model-3-convertible-02.jpg
What a hack-job that is. That’s awful.