Jumped the Shark - the Black Shark

There are two things going wrong with this picture.

1. It's matte black - a trend quickly getting played out.
2. It's yet another company or "tuner" who's taken the most basic concept of modifying cars: a new exhaust, 20 inch "performance wheels", modified suspension and custom seats. This is a modified Audi S5 as dressed up by SR Auto Group as an Audi S5 Typhon.

I know it sounds whiney but I just don't get it. It seems like every day another company turns up as a supposed tuner just because they've slapped bigger wheels and brakes on a car. I guess I don't understand how these cars are tuned when they're doing upgrades that, with the use of the internet, most anyone could do themselves.

Also, it appears that if you're going to tune a car - it is a prerequisite that you provide it with a matte finish. I thought it looked good for a while, but after seeing everything from a Honda Civic all the way up to a McLaren-Mercedes SLR carry the paint then perhaps it is a bit played out.



What happened to the days of Alpina, Ruf, and AMG(prior to being absorbed by Benz) when to tune a car you had to truly improve performance and set it apart from the pack. These days, splash of carbon fiber on the visible spots, oversized wheels, and some silly custom paint and an exhaust and you have a "tuned car."

This type of tuning reminds me guys at the local gym who only work out glamor muscles so they look impressive but don't have the stones to back it up.

If you're going to take the time to design something for performance and speed - make sure you don't build a car that has only moderate abilities beyond the base model and mated to a suspension/wheels that will crush your bones at every expansion joint. Seems silly but this still isn't anything more than a dressed up boulevard cruiser.

(Source: Autoblog)