A standard Lotus Elise S1 from the late 1990s already sits near the bottom of the weight chart for road cars. Analogue Automotive took one of those chassis, removed nearly everything that could be removed, and rebuilt it around a single carbon-fiber seat placed dead in the middle of the tub. The result is the VHPK, a limited-run restomod that tips the scales at under 600 kilograms and costs £350,000 before tax.
Photo credit: Barrett-Jackson
Mitchell Button of Button Built took a 1996 Ferrari F355 and refused to leave any part of it alone. The result appeared at the 2019 SEMA Show and has spent the years since turning up at shops, retail spaces, and museums. Now the car crosses the block at Barrett-Jackson’s Las Vegas auction in mid-September with no reserve.
Mars, also known as Maria, lives full-time in Betty, a 2021 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 170-inch 4×4 she built herself after leaving Crete. She wanted the interior to recall the stone-and-plaster houses of her home island, so she coated the walls and ceiling in Roman clay. The finish stays slightly uneven and tactile on purpose. Black laminate cabinets, wood-look vinyl plank floors, and a painted faux-stone backsplash complete the look. She mixed drywall putty into the plastic panels’ joints so the “stone” would feel built rather than stuck on.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles spent years teasing an electric California and even paused the project once over weight and demand. ID. California Cruise now sits on the show floor at Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf as the first factory all-electric member of that family. It is an ID. Buzz Pro in short or long wheelbase form, dressed with California lettering on the liftgate, Cruise decals along the sides, and exclusive Miwo seat covers that carry the California wordmark. First deliveries are scheduled for early 2027 and German pricing starts at €60,761.
Dodge never made another Viper quite like the GTS-R. Chrysler showed the race car at Monterey in 1995 as a limited GT weapon for the world’s endurance circuits. Bob Lutz called it a no-holds-barred competition car. An 8.0-liter V10 made more than 700 horsepower in race trim. Oreca prepared the European cars. Side pipes returned from the original RT/10. By 1998 the GTS-R had a class win at Le Mans. In 1999 Vipers locked out the first six places in class at the same race. In 2000 an Oreca entry won the Rolex 24 at Daytona outright, outlasting prototypes and the Corvette C5-R. That is the car LEGO chose for Technic set 42234.