www.madmaxmovies.com

Hey guys!

So a couple of friends and me have a spare S-Type that had its engine swapped for parts, and since due to the documentation it would not be possible to put it back on the road again, we decided that the best way to use it is to turn it into a Mad Max vehicle. We dubbed it the Last V8, even though it's not intended to be a replica, just a "regular" wasteland ride. We have an entire car repair workshop at our disposal, with lots of obscure spare parts laying around(even Mig-21 jet scraps), so we're pretty much only bound by time and of course whatever money will be needed to spend on the engine.
I'm curious about any ideas or suggestions you might have, especially if you had a similar project before. I'll try to document the progress of the project here: http://thelastv8project.blogspot.co.uk/

The Hound wrote: I'm curious about any ideas or suggestions you might have

My only suggestion is you maintain a design philosophy of function over form. The beauty in the best Mad Max movies cars is that they have evolved to fit a purpose. This makes them come across as highly realistic. The more visual elements tend to stem from the design having to overcome practical setbacks or to show they belong to a certain tribe. There also seems to be an appeal in familiarity, a link back to normality where the vehicle hasn't become too distanced from it's original form and thus reminds us of a pre-apocalyptic era. I feel a lot of Mad Max inspired cars go wrong because the builder focuses on what would look cool and what they have to hand rather than what role the vehicle plays in that fantasy Mad Max universe. Very few movies would have gotten the vehicle design as spot on as Fury Road and I believe that's down to Miller's need to see the cars actually perform as described in the script - they had to be lightweight, they needed to have suspension articulation, they needed to serve a purpose such as being a platform for a lancer, carrying spare tyres, hauling resources etc etc.

We're definietly going for function over form. Even if it's just for fun and (hopefully ) we won't use it in any kind of post apocalyptic environment, the point still is to make something that could survive such circumstances. For now as we're in an early stage we were kind of just throwing ideas around. It will definietly get raised, and recieve a set of chrome wheels with off road tyres I have left over from a Land Cruiser, but we were also considering making two rubber tracked back wheels that can be changed in case the terrain demands it. We're also planning to add two large tanks to the back, just like the original Last V8. As for defense, I suppose in today's world you always have to think about some degree of bulletproofness, but I'm not sure if it will make much sense if we remove the windows. Either way, coating the chassis with kevlar or something like rhino skin might help. Other than that we're also thinking if we should add a machine gun somewhere. So far the only idea was to make something like the Jeep in Jurassic Park 2, where the front passenger seat can slide out to the side, but that might be just a bit too crazy and difficult to properly carry out.

Bringing some updates, the rebuild project for the S-Type intended for everyday use is about to end, so the project is finally about to start!
Even if you had doubts about an S-Type being a badass Mad Max car, just look at it, that bare front is just sexy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPxAKSRCLZ0

Another quick update, the S-Type is running! So as soon as it's back in rolling shape we can start the project, which is next week.
First, by clearing a place for the Last V8 in the corner of the courtyard