I realize that the Tesla Cybertruck is a polarizing vehicle for a variety of reasons; I myself may have contributed to some of this polarizingnessitude, and I think we as an organization have accepted the futility of any sort of objectivity when it comes to this particular vehicle. That said, I think there may be one trait of the Cybertruck that everyone can agree on: the front of it is so blank and featureless that it could become an ideal canvas for changing the overall look and feel of the car in some simple yet dramatic ways.
How? Through the magic of stickers!
Well, maybe this is decals, or a partial wrap, or something similar. What I’m getting at is the Cybertruck’s boldly featureless front end is both a strange, unfeeling cypher, but also a potential place to really have some fun. And it’s not just me who thinks so; this little video clip was making the rounds recently:
I realize the caption on there states that whoever post or shot that claims to hate it, but I think they’re wrong, deeply, embarrassingly wrong! That Chevy K10 truck face completely changes the look and feel of the Cybertruck, and where there was once an uncomfortably empty expanse of unfeeling stainless, now we have a face, something to relate to, to anthropomorphize, and allow us to indulge in some healthy pareidolia! If you have a Cybertruck and feel like it’s missing some character that you associate with other cars and trucks, I think this may be a godsend.
Our own The Bishop made a quick edit to a frame of that video, replacing the Chevy face with a Ford F-150 Bricknose face:
It kind of works in a strange way, right? I think so. This got me thinking about what other fun and iconic car/truck face-decals might work well on the Cybertruck. I think they’d just need to be pretty rectangular and wide, proportionally, but I think there are a lot of great options. I mean, look at all this open real estate:
So what would work well here? I think the first obvious one would be that other stainless-steel, crisp-edged wedge of a car, the DeLorean DMC-12!
That works pretty well! It actually kind of feels like what a DeLorean truck could have been! But what if you want something more classic and rugged? Something low-tech, to contrast the high-tech tone of the Cybertruck? How about this?
An International Scout! This makes the Cybertruck feel a little more approachable, I think. Still feels simple and capable, though, and I like how that mesh grille works there. But maybe we should try something that relies less on a grille? Something unexpected? Something French! Like, say, a Renault 8 Gordini!
The Selective Yellow French headlights really sell this one I think, and, as a rear-engined car, there’s no grille to deal with. Just lights and that little Renault diamond. I almost think this look would be worth doing for real, with actual yellow foglamps installed.
How about another obscure-in-America European car?
A British Ford Cortina! This gives the brutalist Cybertruck a lot more style, I think, and a certain connoisseur’s sophistication. Now, if you want to go in the opposite direction, and embrace a more shitboxy sort of feeling, what about a Chevette?
I wonder what the market is for Cybertruck owners who want their trucks to look like Chevettes. I bet it’s fairly exclusive. This one should have more mass-market appeal:
A classic early Ford Mustang! It’s strange how well that mid-’60s Mustang face adapts to these huge low-polygonal slabs of body. That works better than it should.
Maybe instead of strictly nostalgic, you want friendly; how about a gen-1 Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit?
There’s a simple affability about the early Rabbits, with their big round headlight eyes and simple horizontal grille. I always liked the look of them; they felt at ease and comfortable with themselves, traits that I think certainly can’t hurt the Cybertruck.
There are so many more options! Tons of good cars with wide faces that have character and charm the Cybertruck could benefit from. Fiat Pandas? Ford Galaxies? Jensen Interceptors? I say if you feel an urge, grab that blank Cybertruck face from this post and throw something together and put it in the comments!
Can we post images in comments yet? Crap. Well, still, maybe just tell me about it, then.
It’s still lipstick on a pig, Jason. Nothing could improve the looks of that abomination to design.
With the Cybertruck being the official vehicle of people who think much, much to highly of themselves, this sort of whimsy is basically a requirement to “take the piss” out of what is an overly serious, antagonistic design, beloved only by bros who want to talk crypto and protein powder.
I genuinely like the Rabbit face on this, lol.
Make one look like The Iron Giant in Brad Bird’s film, “The Iron Giant.”
I’ve seen one in Anaheim with giant googly eyes, and that person is a hero.
Rabbit is apropos by the way they are multiplying every time I drive by the local lot. 1984 (non-convertible) square headlights would be more fitting.
Warning! The driver has no connection to steering and is looking at a screen!
I love all of these much more than stock.
Have you considered making these as kits? Probably little to nothing in startup costs once you have the graphics done (and we both know you’d do that for fun) and just print them to order.
These could completely change my opinion of the CT and its owners.
How does it look with a old Datsun or Toyota pickup face?
How about a brown paper bag option, that covers the entire vehicle?
Probably most appropriate to put an original VW, or WWII era Mercedes or BMW grille on your incEl Camino.
I think the Delorean might be my favorite. After the Chevy truck, I was actually hoping for an Aerostar front end, not the F150. But if you’re open to doing more than just that ugly face, what about a full body woodgrain wrap, with plywood stamps, and different grain directions on every panel?
I have to admit all suggested options are better than the original. However I sent Torch a far better idea since I couldn’t post it. I hope he adds it to the article
This is like a serial killer wearing their victim’s face, no thanks.
Cut holes in the front panel and install real, functional sealed beams or go home.
Really missing the Angry Eye Jeep Grille option
To me, the Chevette works best. Plus, shades of Magnante’s Bad Seed Chevette. And the CT reportedly has the huevos to honor that heritage.
If horrendous things go fast enough quick enough, they lose some ugliness and are judged by other metrics.
The cybertruck is still not fast enough to be attractive, though.
I think it’s a lot to expect creativity and whimsy from someone who would buy a CT.
That is what I have noticed as a trend in my peripheral circles. Cybertruck owners seem to take themselves very seriously, or at least have a tendency to think highly of themselves.
I might be bucking the trend here if I ever picked up my used shitbox one.
While I don’t know anyone who would buy one, they strike me as the vehicle for whiny misogynists who are concerned with being perceived as “alphas” by other insecure guys and who are into oppression tech, maybe tactical cosplay, and all the ones I’ve seen have done nothing to change that impression. Even when they’re wrapped, it’s most often in black or olive drab (without even a shark mouth, not that these guys could hold a piss bottle from an AVG pilot, but it’s aggressive and commonly imitated, so I’d think I’d have seen at least one if these guys had a hint of personality).
I want it to look like something that goes really fast and has really shifty build quality.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/robocop/images/f/f2/6000SUX3.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20151030004059
I still think the best wrap for a Cybertruck is one that makes each flat plane look like it was cut from a sheet of plywood.
Since there are no traditional headlights in the middle of those big flat sections, how about some grilles from the late 60’s, early 70’s with hidden headlights? Dodge Charger, Chrysler New Yorker/Imperial, Mercury Cougar and Marquise, Caddy Eldorado, etc.
that is friggin’ awesome! too bad it’s still a cybertruck
I see a fair amount in body wraps, but always just single color ones. If you’re going to own one of these, why not embrace the future-dystpoia thing and give it a Ridley Scott/Neill Blomkamp style big asymmetric checker pattern or prominent futuristic-seeming warning signs (“DANGER – AVOID POLARITY REVERSAL”)??
Tatra 603 front end would work perfectly!
I was actually working on thatt!
I have recently got hold of one, an ex film car, it’s early history is, erm. interestingly sinister.
I half thought that’s what the Gordini was supposed to be in the top shot, I love that multiple people got to the same answer.
What about a tiny, square mustache? Shut up, you were all thinking it!
Alex Jones Edition would probably sell pretty well.
#InfoWatts
Jones doesn’t take his CT to the beach in case he needs a recovery. He doesn’t believe in sandy hooks.