Click on the image for more shots of this custom Prius convertible

We would surely welcome a convertible Prius to Toyota's official list of offerings, but we doubt it would end up looking much like this one. Custom ordered by someone who goes by the handle 'exproducer' on Prius Chat, the Waveline Blue sedan has had its roof professionally removed, raising the cost of the Prius from about $28 grand to $46 grand. That's a lot of dough, to be sure. Four-door convertibles are quite rare, and they rarely look as good as their sportier two-door cousins. In this case, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. The owner loves their car, which is, of course, all that really matters. Still, the general consensus, even among Prius owners, seems to be that this particular Prius lost more than just its roof in this conversion. Whatever your opinions on the looks (we would prefer the window-frames removed), the work that went into this particular custom was very well done. On an efficiency note, the owner claims that their Prius convertible managed to pick up four miles per gallon while driving with the top up, and a loss of just two miles per gallon with it down.


[Source: Prius Chat]

Click image for high-res gallery

Dealer specials are nothing new. Many offer an extensive catalog of aftermarket accessories that can be fitted to any car a customer might be shopping for to further personalize it to taste (or lack thereof). I must say, however, that until today, I hadn't yet seen a significantly personalized Prius during my normal day-to-day commute, and Toyota's trademark little hybrid is a fairly common sight in my Connecticut environs, along with its more conventional-looking showroom siblings, the Camry and Highlander hybrids.

Jemca Toyota in London has finally gone and done what dealers are wont to do: prep a car to a buyer's specific requirements. In this case, the car in question is a Prius, and while the changes are subtle, they certainly do look quite nice. The exterior is finished in Brechin Slate, a blue/silver metallic finish that's normally used on Lexus cars. Inside, the cabin is redone with hand-stiched leather. And not just the seats, mind you, from the photo in the gallery you'll see that the center armrest and door panels also get the luxe treatment. Finally, a spiffy set of multi-spoke polished steel wheels finish the look nicely. All that work drove the price tag up to £32,900, no small amount for a Prius, but for that money, the new owner has a unique car he can truly call his own.

Speaking personally, I actually saw a nicely modified Prius on my commute home today. It was black, debadged, tinted, and had black alloys. I'll be the first to say that the Prius is far from being my favorite car, appearance-wise, but it looked significantly better after seeing that bit of mild personalization applied to it. I'm surprised I haven't seen more like this.

Gallery: Custom Prius by Jemca Toyota (UK)

[Source: Toyota GB]