---
title: "So, Why Did Someone Graft a Lotus Face onto a Ford Mustang?"
description: "One of the oddest custom cars ever built is the final undertaking of a veteran metalworker."
date: "2018-01-05"
modified: "2018-01-05"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/17375/so-why-did-someone-graft-a-lotus-face-onto-a-ford-mustang"
categories:
  - "Builds"
  - "Culture"
  - "Ford News"
  - "Lotus News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Coupe"
  - "Craigslist Find"
  - "Custom Cars"
  - "Ford"
  - "Mustang"
  - "sports car"
  - "triumph"
---

# So, Why Did Someone Graft a Lotus Face onto a Ford Mustang?

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/01/elisetang-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

There are times when we all get captivated by what we can do, overlooking whether or not we should. On occasion, that enthusiasm manifests itself as a passion project, like a project car, and we don't see the error of our ways until we're faced with the finished product. Such a situation seems to have befallen a Ford Mustang owner in California as their once beloved [Mustang project](<https://web.archive.org/web/20180104035401/https://monterey.craigslist.org/cto/d/2007-customized-ford-mustang/6414638657.html>), first put up for sale [over two years ago](<https://www.reddit.com/r/Shitty_Car_Mods/comments/3fc7q2/ever_feel_like_owning_one_of_the_shittiest_cars/>), has seen its price slashed by over 75 percent, all because they decided that it would be a good idea to stick the front end of a Lotus Elise and the tail lights of a Cadillac on their Ford pony car.

Let's not beat around the bush; the resulting car has a face only its father loves. The workmanship is clearly of decent quality, but the face looks like a caricature from a political cartoon. While little good can be said of the car's looks, the Vortech V-3 supercharger ensures that this Mustang can scoot, if nothing else.

![message-editor%2F1515139930059-elisetangin.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1515139930059-elisetangin.jpg>)
*SheetMetalHappens.com*

![message-editor%2F1515140013347-elisetangr.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1515140013347-elisetangr.jpg>)
*SheetMetalHappens.com*

Visiting the [site listed in the ad](<https://www.sheetmetalhappens.com/customcars.html>) reveals that the builder of this Mustang has a history of making heavy modifications to pre-1960 cars and has built curiosities like a lengthened Triumph Mayflower and a retro-bodied Lincoln Mark VIII with a chopped roofline and altered to a coupe body style rather than the sedan it left the factory as.

![message-editor%2F1515140035489-restomodlincoln.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1515140035489-restomodlincoln.jpg>)
*SheetMetalHappens.com*

![message-editor%2F1515140044031-stretchedtriumph.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1515140044031-stretchedtriumph.jpg>)
*SheetMetalHappens.com*

It's clear the person behind the Elisetang is a skilled craftsman and fabricator, so why was this car built? I contacted the owner for further information, hoping to find out more. As it turns out, it is the builder's final project car, a 1,400 hour magnum opus, inspired by a variety of their favorite cars, and built for the sake of the experience, with the intent to sell.

"It is a collection of several cars that I saw photos of," the seller and builder tells me, "the front is from a low-slung European car, and the lower front fenders are from a Ferrari, as are the details on the doors. The tail lights are from a 1989 Cadillac, I hand formed the panels."

According to the owner, while it was a passion project, it was never one that they intended to keep for themselves.

"It was not to be a personal car, I never thought of it as such. \[...\] It was a personal project and was to be, as it is, my last effort. \[sic\]"

As for the reactions the car has gotten on the internet, the builder is unfazed. They remain proud of the project, and would not have changed a thing.

"I like it, but have had several bad comments on it, and nobody tells me what they do not like about it. \[...\] It turned out as it did, I had no plan for it. I am satisfied with the results, and would do nothing differently."

Out of respect for the effort the seller put into the car's creation, we at *The Drive* wish good luck upon the creator in their quest to sell the car.

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)