A Californian Custom Shop Is Building A ’65 Mustang-Bodied BMW E46 With A Challenger Hellcat Front

While the images contained in this article are renderings made by Abimelec Design, Californian tuning shop Custom FN Customs is said to be in the process of building this unique creation.

The world of custom cars is really pushing it, and this render by Abimelic Design commissioned by Custom FN Customs is a prime example. Combining numerous cars, we’re not quite clear about whether it’s a Frankensteinian abomination or a pleasing mashup.

The body is mostly Mustang. Based on a 1965 model, according to the designer, it’s clearly highly modified and the wide fender flares give a much more modern look.

While the fender flares are a little anachronistic for a pony car, the front fascia is a bigger departure still, having come from a modern day Dodge Challenger Hellcat. From a pure design perspective, I actually think it works kind of well, though I suspect that both Ford and Mopar fans will have something to say about it.

But the wild combinations from tradition don’t stop there. That’s because the chassis for this apparently American car is coming all the way from Germany.

That’s right, under all the bodywork will be an E46 BMW 3-Series from the 2000s, meaning that there isn’t even a V8 under the hood but rather a straight-six. While Mustangs were by no means strangers to straight-sixes, they’re certainly not the best-remembered Mustang engines. Importing it from a BMW, though, is kind of a nifty idea.

It’s coming to life by Custom FN Customs

Interestingly, this build is not pure fantasy. The rendering was commissioned by Custom FN Customs, a shop in northern California that is said to be is in the process of building the car that will be named “Wallenstein”.

Even more intriguing is the fact that the E46 M3 and the first-gen Mustang are fairly similar in size.With a wheelbase of 2,743 mm and a width of 1,740 mm (107.9×68.5 inches), the Mustang isn’t much larger than the BMW E46 sedan, which has a 2,725 mm wheelbase and a 1,732 mm width (107.2×68.1 inches). It’s not a perfect fit, but not far from it.

Is all of that enough to defend this build, or is it still an abomination? What do you think?