Prius Stretch Limo Achieves 50mpg and Seats 8
Categories: Non Solar.
Earlier in the year, I reported on a guy who outfitted his Prius with solar cells to eke out 10% more efficiency. Well folks, we’ve got another Prius modder here that deserves some recognition as well. He did not use solar cells in his modification, but managed to stretch out his Prius and insert a row of seating to accommodate all his children. The result is a Prius SUV Limo contraption. I sure as hell would rather see this thing rolling around town instead of a gas guzzling juggernaut such as the stretch Hummer! This would probably catch on pretty well for the environmentalist hedonists in Portland. Lobbyists might actually feel good renting these things out to ferry legislators around the state or city. Apparently the car still is able to achieve 50mpg! From the guy with a lot of time on his hands: “I built the car to function like a minivan with the convenience of one door for every primary seat. Nothing fancy inside. Note the three bucket seats in the middle row that hold the child restraints.”
The following bits of notes were lifted from a Priuschat.com forum last month:
After looking at these pictures for a while I can almost tell you how the thing was built.
1. The rear end is a 04-05 Prius cut somewhere in the middle of the front door.
2. The front end is a 06-07 Prius cut somewhere in the middle of the rear door.
This would explain the color difference as well as the rear tail light and front hybrid emblem.
3. The middle door section is made with a rear prius door.
This would explain the need to make that weird looking curve in the door. The back of the rear door is higher than the front so you would have to dip it back down to make a nice straight line toward the rear. THe front part of the rear door would not need reshaped because its already in line with the rear of the front door. Confused yet? 
Since the middle section is a combination of two different shades of silver the owner just tried to blend them together instead of painting the whole car.
4. The center window must come from another type of car or custom made. haven’t really figured that part out.
5. The roof is made from the two cars and the antenna was left because of, well, two antennas are better than one! 
Oh and after seeing the high res pics I agree that the two dots are a sunshade.
Did I miss anything?
We need to see if we can get this guy to come to Hybridfest 2008.
From the mechanic/stud/sextuple child rearer:
“[The above speculator provides an] incredibly accurate description of how this car might have been built without even consulting the voodoo advisor! He is right on every count except the paint. The following are pictures of the process that illustrate his points. The color, by the way, is azure pearl, a scion color.”
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