Normally when we talk about a chopped car, it’s some kind of vintage hot rod with an elegantly lower roofline. In this case, however, it’s a drastically reconfigured hatchback with hilarious lines. Even better, it’s now up for sale!
As covered by the Autopian, the car in question is a 2011 Ford Fiesta. Originally starting life as a four-door hatch, the chassis was chopped and fettled until it became a much tinier two-door hatch instead. The logic? Eleven years ago, the original builder wanted a small car to tow behind their RV, and presumably options like the Fiat 500 and Smart Fortwo didn’t appeal. Thus, the Fiesta was cut down to suit.
No pristine Fiestas were harmed in the creation of this vehicle, as the build is based on a salvage-titled example that had 7,000 miles on the clock. A full three feet was hacked out of the body, taking the Fiesta from 13 feet down to a diminutive 10 feet long. It’s still longer than a Smart Fortwo, but only by about 14 inches.
As you might expect, the body mods do come with some drawbacks. The airbags don’t work, and we’d forget about any semblance of safety in a crash given the missing crumple zones. You might also expect that the chop removed the rear seats, but you’d be wrong. The front seats were tossed out, with the rear bench becoming the only seating in the car.
Styling-wise, though, the design is quite compelling. The jagged gap in the roofline actually kind of works, and we could almost imagine this as a weird second generation of the wacky Ford Ka design. The car has many adoring fans all over the Internet, who typically end up hunting for a “squished Ford Fiesta.” It even maintains some semblance of boot space, which is great for grocery duty given there’s so little space up front.
When it comes to performance, the newly-lightened car should be spritely given the weight savings involved. With such a short wheelbase, and probably suspect handling, the 120 horsepower output from the original engine should be just about enough. Joy of joys, too, it’s got a manual transmission. That should make it both more fun to drive, and easier to tow behind a camper, to boot.
If you’re short enough to get in and simply have to have the weird Fiesta, the good news is that it’s for sale on Craigslist. The owner is looking for $5,100, which is probably about fair for something this strange, assuming it runs and drives well. Given it now has 59,300 miles on the clock, it seems to be driving just fine. Bonus points if you book it in for a wheel alignment at your local shop for a laugh.
Got a tip? Let the author know: lewin@thedrive.com