Featured: A perfect R8 for the Stormtrooper

[Tom]

This week we bring you Exotic Mods' corporate showpiece Audi. As you can tell from the pictures, it's not the regular Euro hatch or sedan that they normally thrive on. Barely a year old, this V8 R8 has been slammed, wrapped and dubbed which, in layman terms, rides centimeters off the ground, vinyl body-wrapped in white and rolls on 20" wheels. Perfect attention seeker to aid the Euro mod house's marketing direction for 2011.



No car leaves Exotic Mods' untouched and this R8, is of course, not an exception. Treated with super-sharp Rieger Tuning front lip spoiler, side skirts and dry-CF rear wing and then wrapped in Frost White vinyl for that satin, yet non glossy white finish.



Carbon-Fiber also adorn the killer whale super-Audi where applicable. CF mirrors are produced in-house.



In this case, even the R8 trademark side-blades weren't spared from Exotic Mods' Midas touch.



The R8 is further sharpened with a set of knife-edged AEZ wheels that the company proudly distributes. These wheels in particular are custom finished 20" AEZ's Lascars wrapped in 245/30ZR20 and 285/25ZR20 Toyo T1-R.



Massive calipers that sit under the blades are painted in yellow to match the company's corporate colours.



H&R springs compliment the R8's magnetic ride and provides the razor on wheels a closer, deeper shave.



R8 GT rear taillight clusters warns would-be tailgaters with a dark evil stare



Subtle exhaust tailpipes hide the bad-ass Technocraft F1 Valvetronic system that transforms from throaty Rick Dees into howling Aerosmith with a touch of a button



Relatively stock 4.2 V8 benefits from a 40bhp increase with Exotic Mods' engine re-map, taking the lump to 460bhp.



As clean as a Stormtrooper, the Four Rings and badges have been shaved for that flushed de-badged look.



Luscious cockpit made even more desirable with Exotic Mods custom Alcantara accents on steering and sports seats plus CF inserts on airbag surround.



A candidate Darth Vader would be proud to recruit



Photos: Sherman Anion

Specifications

Engine
Exotic Mods Custom ECU Remap
Technocraft F1 Valvetronic Cat-Back Exhaust System

Exterior
Exotic Mods Carbon Fiber Side Mirrors
Exotic Mods Carbon Fiber Side Blades
Rieger Tuning Front Lip
Rieger Tuning Side Skirts
Rieger Tuning Dry Carbon Fiber Rear Spoiler
Motorsport Playground Complete Frost White Body Wrap
VPS Vehicle Protection System's Smash Proof Tints

Wheels
AEZ Lascar Custom-Finished 20" Wheels
Toyo Proxes T1-R Tires all around (245/30ZR20 Front, 285/25ZR20 Rear)

Interior
Exotic Mods Custom Alcantara Steering Wrap
Exotic Mods Custom Alcantara Sport Seats Wrap
Exotic Mods Custom Carbon Fiber Look Sport Seats Wrap

Suspension & Braking
H&R Sport Springs
Custom Painted Brake Calipers (Front & Rear)

Lighting
Prius 6000k Xenon Bulbs in Headlamps

Horsepower : 460bhp

Tuner:
Exotic Mods (Sunway Damansara)
-WELCOME TO EXOTICMODS--

 

[wsukun]

reminds me of swiss army knife

 

[cRazYee]

if you can give us some figure how much this package cost

 

[Izso]

if you can give us some figure how much this package cost

With all due respect to you bro, it's like they say : "If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it"



No offense intended!

 

[Kevin Lee]

orca whale

 

[Won]

Nice write-up and pics, Tom. Going to try and use some of the ideas from the lighting here, in my future shoots. Hopefully, I can replicate this for some better results.

 

[wsukun]

that shot was rigged..
probably only use PS to remove the suction pole and some PP
still never seen such feat were shot indoor!

I might be wrong

Edit: look closely I can see there one or two person behind it
Suction guy perhaps? Lol

 

[skazareth]

i love pic #7 as well.. couldnt agree more... about the wheel and that obviously seen yellow R8 caliper, i'm a bit anxious to know how it can be done.. the wheels spun that fast or what.. how?

as for the car, no need to say any... i like the car but the mod is... i dunno... maybe my eyes not that good.

 

[yeehau86]

About the rim spinning effect in pic#7, I'm not sure whether Tom uses the same method as what I think it is but I have done on other cars, using photoshop's radial blur effect and playing around with layers.

First you make 2 layers: 1st layer with just the caliper copied out and 2nd layer is the original picture. Then you use the Lasso tool and highlight the rim in the 2nd layer, go to the radial blur function and select the 'spin' effect as shown below. Do the trial and error with the 'amount' option; the higher the amount, the higher the spin effect. Same applies to the background effect as well, so the car will look as it is moving while actually the car is still sitting stationary on the ground. Tom might be using more advance method, but this is what I know as I am still newbie in photoshop.

Function: Filter --> Blur --> Radial Blur

 

[skazareth]

thanks bro..so it's like that..

got it..got it.. can try now.

 

[Kevin Lee]

i believe the photos are by sherman, not tom, i think he has a better answer to that. most of sherman's work incorporate fast moving background with still car in the middle

 

[langsuyrx]

 

[Izso]

Knowing Sherman, he rarely PPs his pics. He's a pretty damn good cameraman! I think #7 is his trademark style as he does this with almost all his car shoots so I doubt he'll reveal how he does this.

 

[Tom]

Nice write-up and pics, Tom. Going to try and use some of the ideas from the lighting here, in my future shoots. Hopefully, I can replicate this for some better results.

sherman has a host of lighting equipment cleverly positioned for the shots. I specified a dark, industrial feel for this feature which he executed beautifully. You could try it with a couple of remote flashguns at different positions, then merge the lighted layers with photoshop if you wish to gain an all-round illuminated pic.

that shot was rigged..
probably only use PS to remove the suction pole and some PP
still never seen such feat were shot indoor!

I might be wrong

Edit: look closely I can see there one or two person behind it
Suction guy perhaps? Lol

yes it is, such shots are rigged to the subject. it's quite an extensive equipment to assemble for the sake of one shot but the results are unachievable otherwise. Though some people replicate similar shots with a fixed mount on a chase car instead, results are generally not the same.

and those to the left of the car aren't people, honest.

 

[JiMastra]

sherman is a very good photographer. he got most of the equipment as tom said. for the rig shot, i believed sherman used the "car rig" to capture the image. yes he uses suction cups and a pole to hold the camera stills. once everything is set up, the camera will capture an image during the car moves. as for the picture u cant tell whether its going forward or backward. The camera able to capture the speed motion due to slow shutter of the camera. thats why the yellow brakes are clearly seen while the rims are spinning.. thumbs up sherman. :D