Prius Stretch Limo Achieves 50mpg and Seats 8

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Published on October 22, 2007 by Dan Hahn.
Categories: Non Solar.

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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.”

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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? 102207 2322 priusstretc4 Prius Stretch Limo Achieves 50mpg and Seats 8

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! 102207 2322 priusstretc5 Prius Stretch Limo Achieves 50mpg and Seats 8

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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Pingback on October 30th, 2007.

[...] you probably saw our posting about the makeshift solar powered Prius and also the guy who stretched his prius into a limo that Dan wrote a few days ago. Well this post is about the company that is now offering kits to [...]

Joe Average Identicon Icon Joe Average
Comment on December 19th, 2007.

I have long thought about doing this to our CR-V. Rather than buy a HUGE SUV we could have 3 rows of seats while keeping the cargo space. In the Philippines our Gen 1 CR-V could be gotten with a 3rd row seat in the cargo area but then where would we put our stuff (dog and luggage)?

My main concerns would be that we would then have a large vehicle that got driven 365 days a year b/c the CR-V is one of our two primary vehicles. Our other is a 34 mpg VW Cabrio. The other problem would be decreased braking ability. Already when we are loaded to the max (5 people and a dog) mountain roads are tense because there just isn’t enough reserve braking once the brakes are hot. A stretched CR-V would have additional weight fulltime and the same brakes. Yes I could add cross drilled rotors or ceramic brakes but c’mon…

Lastly would be the 146 HP 4 cylinder engine plus all that weight all the time… The engine is great. We’ve towed heavy loads of building materials (1500 lbs) and the engine is capable of getting the job done. I even on several occasions towed friends’ cars home after break-downs on my tow-dolly. While the engine is capable the brakes are not and worse the chassis weight is not heavy enough to keep the two vehicles straight under hard braking. I don’t need V-8 performance but I do need a reasonable amount of reserve power to climb the hills. I am used to driving vintage aircooled VWs with 40-65 horsepower so I am a patient man. That said, I do recognize that modern traffic requires a certain amount of power to be safe. I can drive really, really slow but as the speed differential increases the safety factors go down and the chance I’ll “get run over” increases.

What I recommend is a small minivan. Keep your old car. Drive it 200K miles. Meanwhile buy a small minivan like the Mazda MPV for occasional use only. We are working towards two small daily drivers (Mini and Cabrio) while keeping a travel vehicle on reserve in the garage. I wish we also got the Ford S-Max here in the states. I realize that the MPV and S-Max prob share alot of the same genes.

Another idea is to buy a small weather tight trailer which any car is capable of pulling. Your luggage is dry and locked in the trailer and the car only has to carry the passengers and their entertainment gadgets. Not difficult to drive or park expect in dense urban areas.

The cost to have three children is close to our heart as we debate having child #3. Another $500 a month in childcare. We’d have to consider the cost of transportation (replacing a vehicle or taking two everywhere and the added cost of fuel). The cost of food and diapers isn’t even an issue. The numbers promise that we’ll stay with two kids.

Just a few ideas…

Chris in Cookeville, TN

Comment on September 30th, 2008.

hey, i give him credit for it and & apreciate all of you looking to get the MPG but dont you crave the rumble and smell of a snorting fire breathing monster engine? i get a half chub for 2 strokes which I love. it makes the hair on the back of my kneck stand up to smell the burning castor bean oil in my 2 stroke motorcycle or ATV as well as that unforgettable cackle. I also die for the chug of a high HP carburated V8 70s muscle car. 80% of greenhouse emissions comes from energy production not passenger vehicles and diesle trucks create a large portion of the vehicle carbon footprint as well. once again thumbs up for you guys but i dont think i could do it even if they made hybrids with the same power, i dont know that it would make me tingle inside

Joe Average Identicon Icon Joe Average
Comment on November 30th, 2008.

Many months later and I look back to my original comment and the finished Prius and I’ve got to say I’m more impressed than I was originally. Wonder why the car makers aren’t offering six door sedans? Yeah, unconventional isn’t always well received but why not? WAY easier to get into that third row seat than an SUV or minivan.

Christine Identicon Icon Christine
Comment on April 6th, 2009.

I want one! How do I get it?

Pingback on November 18th, 2009.

[...] Here are some links to the story. Limousine-style Prius is hand made, still gets 50 mpg | DVICE Prius Stretch Limo Achieves 50mpg and Seats 8 Toyota Prius Stretch Limo! – Carscoop Made by a guy to haul his family around in and still gets 50 [...]