Spotted: Why would one need a camouflage sports car?

Camouflage makes a lot of sense on military vehicles heading into combat, because it helps them blend into the background and evade enemy fire. Its usefulness on an Audi R8 is less obvious. I spotted this wrapped apparition on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto.

Reader Janice Edwards spotted this tractor in Turkey.

The Toyota Sera was produced solely for the Japanese market, but enthusiasts have been known to import them to North America. I spotted this one in Toronto. The Sera’s name comes from the French word for “will be.”)

The Sera’s most striking feature is its butterfly door design. The doors swing up and out, like wings. The Sera’s doors served as an inspiration for McLaren designer Gordon Murray, who used a similar arrangement on the company’s legendary F1 supercar.

The Sera’s unique doors complicated the task of designing side windows. Engineers improvised by installing sliding inset panels that roll down into the door. The wrap-around glass makes for excellent visibility, but sunburn can be a problem.

The third-generation (C3) Corvette is an inherently shark-like machine. This owner’s modifications and gray primer paint job make it look even more like a Great White (or at least the cheesy fake one that Steven Spielberg used in Jaws.) I spotted this Corvette in Kensington Market, in Toronto.

The Corvette C3, which was produced from 1968 until 1982, was designed with flip-up headlight covers. Countless drivers came up with modifications. The C3 I spotted in Kensington looks like it was supposed to have clear plexiglass covers installed over the headlight tunnels, but they were never installed.

The molded-in, aftermarket spoiler on this C3 completes the shark motif.

I spotted this garage-door mural in Toronto.

I’m pretty sure this was the homeowner’s car. I spotted it on Dufferin Avenue, in Toronto.

When you’re running a massive, high-output motor, you need a big-bore exhaust system to carry away the torrential volumes of hot gas that explode out of the giant cylinders. And the finishing touch is a cannon-sized tailpipe that tells the world what you’ve got under the hood. But this is a stock Mazda Protégé. I spotted it on the Gardiner Expressway.

Reader Werner Watzdorf spotted this 1960’s Porsche 911 in Australia. The side perspective accentuates the long overhang Porsche used to accommodate the rear-mounted engine. Early 911’s weren’t for the unskilled – the pronounced rear weight bias made them easy to spin if you backed off the throttle in the middle of a corner.