The Award For Car That Most Resembles Cheese Goes To...

"Jim Spanfeller" (awesomeaustinv)
12/03/2019 at 13:50 • Filed to: None

Meet the Jehle Saphier, possibly the only car more triangular than the Cybertruck. Also one of the only sports cars to come from Liechtenstein! Before the Saphier, Jehle was a tuning company that made modified De Tomaso Panteras, some of which had as much as 600 horsepower, so that’s something.

However, Xavier Jehle, the company’s founder, wanted to start making his own cars. They started with two different buggies based on Volkswagens and Citroens, and a little while later, they added a sports car to the mix; the Saphier. The Saphier featured pop-up headlights, a canopy that opened upwards, and the world’s most literal interpretation of wedge styling.

The Saphier was originally based on a Beetle chassis with a turbocharged VW Golf engine, But Xavier Jehle didn’t think it was fast enough, so he then proceeded to create a version with a custom chassis and a mid-mounted Ford V8 making around 300 hp. That still wasn’t fast enough for him though, so the version after that produced 500 hp from the V8. Then he apparently went insane and created a version with 1,000 hp, but that last one didn’t make it into production because at that point the company had run out of money developing a Lamborghini-esque V12 supercar. Which is too bad, because I for one think the world could use more wedge cars.

DISCUSSION (18)

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Jim Spanfeller
12/03/2019 at 15:34

So cheesy.

What are your thoughts on the new wedge truck? Someone should really paint one yellow...

Nauraushaun > Jim Spanfeller
12/03/2019 at 16:08

But what about Cheese Louise?

Kinja'd!!!

Jim Spanfeller > Nauraushaun
12/03/2019 at 16:12

That too is a very satisfyingly cheese-shaped car.

user314 > Jim Spanfeller
12/03/2019 at 16:15

How did something like that not get painted gray or black and used in a “future” movie like Demolition Man or BT TF 2 ?

Jim Spanfeller > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/03/2019 at 16:18

I think the design is shocking at first but starts to look more appealing the more you look at it. It’s a bit of an acquired taste. And I seriously hope someone puts some sort of cheese wrap on one if it actually ends up looking like that.

Jim Spanfeller > user314
12/03/2019 at 16:20

Probably because they didn’t sell any outside of Liechtenstein. But it definitely belongs in a movie.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Jim Spanfeller
12/03/2019 at 17:25

If he was going for sales, I think it will be a terrible failure (despite all the $100 deposits they’re getting). If he was going for attention, it was a huge win. Even the glass breaking got them even more attention - ha!

Will be interesting to see what it really ends up looking like in 3 years. I guess if it’s nothing like what they’ve shown, folks can’t complain that much, since they only shelled out a hundo.

The new Roadster was promised in 2020. We’ll see how that goes...

ttyymmnn > Jim Spanfeller
12/03/2019 at 17:39

Kinja'd!!!

Richard Scarry did it first.

Jim Spanfeller > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
12/03/2019 at 17:42

Yeah, there’s no way it’s gonna be a volume seller if it actually looks like that. But it’ll definitely turn heads if it does. I wonder if in the future when VW Beetles become less and less common sights on the road, if instead of yelling “Slugbug!” before punching each other, children will yell “Triangle truck”?

Jim Spanfeller > ttyymmnn
12/03/2019 at 17:46

I’ve never heard of Richard Scarry. He seems like an interesting fellow. He must be B ritish, since that cheese car appears to be Reliant-based.

ttyymmnn > Jim Spanfeller
12/03/2019 at 17:57

Richard Scarry was an American, actually, and if you’ve never read or seen this book, or any of his others, then you need to rectify that. Especially if you have kids, or plan to have kids.

Kinja'd!!!