A restomod is a long journey. No matter how carefully you plan and organize everything, there will always be unexpected issues, delays, and the occasional setback. We’re no exception.
But despite it all, the project is moving forward. The car is gradually taking shape, and we’ve reached another major milestone: the chassis work is now complete.
The 504 Coupé chassis is complete
The first and most fundamental part of the project — the chassis — has finally been completed. In fact, the work has been finished for a little while now, since May of this year.
And yes, we’ll almost certainly be revisiting it again, but no longer for design or fabrication work. From here on, it will be about fine-tuning, making minor adjustments and corrections, and, above all, preparing the chassis for paint — including the cataphoretic coating treatment we plan to apply.
© Allure Provence Automotive
We won’t go over all the work we’ve carried out on the chassis here — you can find more details in some of our previous articles. But, in a nutshell, this was far more than a simple chassis reinforcement. We completely re-engineered the chassis and added a roll cage.
The result is a 504 Coupé restomod capable of safely handling its new power, while delivering the kind of performance you would expect from some of today’s finest GTs — and even sports cars. The newly designed, much more capable subframes also play a key role in achieving this.
So, where do we stand? What comes next?
Talking about “next steps” isn’t really the right way to put it. We haven’t been working on the chassis in isolation. From the very beginning, we’ve been working simultaneously on the many different areas involved in developing a car.
And that’s without even mentioning the “administrative” side of things, including homologation and all the steps required to get there. Since the start of the project, we’ve been working on a wide range of areas:
- the suspension and running gear,
- the engine,
- the interior design and development,
- the exterior design — because yes, there is one,
- the wheel design…
© Allure Provence Automotive, Redesigning the grille
Above, you can catch a glimpse of the work we’re currently doing on the grille.
Without altering Pininfarina’s original design, our grille is an entirely original piece that we designed ourselves. The first prototype has already been built and fitted to our car, allowing us to identify anything that needs refining and validate our design choices.
A 3D model certainly makes the development process easier, but a full-scale physical prototype is essential to truly understand how the part will look and work once it is on the car. It allows us to confirm not only our design decisions, but also our technical choices — from mounting points to materials — and ultimately validate the part’s aesthetics, strength, and functionality.
A closer look at some of the other developments
The other area of development that naturally attracts a lot of interest and questions is, of course, the engine.
After a few delays beyond our control, and a first version that was ultimately abandoned for reasons we won’t disclose, V2 is now complete and should be fitted to our car shortly, during the fourth quarter.
The wiring harness and ECU have been selected, and development work on both will begin soon.
As for the interior, the preliminary design is already well advanced. Fabrics and materials have been ordered, and we’re now waiting for them to arrive before starting work on the first prototypes.
To sum things up — and avoid turning this into an endless list — every area of development is now underway, and we’ll soon be able to share more of the progress with you.
© Allure Provence Automotive
And in the meantime...
Bodywork will begin next week, with certain areas being prepared for moulding. This will allow us to develop carbon-fibre components in the future.
At the same time, the new subframes will be removed and refurbished.
Our new suspension components have already arrived, and we’re expecting the brake discs and calipers to arrive within the next few days.
This should allow us to quickly carry out a preliminary assembly of the car with its final chassis and running-gear configuration.
The engine and its wiring harness will follow shortly, and we should soon have our first rolling test mule ready for initial testing.
In summary:
- The chassis is ready.
- Bodywork is about to begin, including final finishing and initial preparation for the future paintwork.
- The suspension, running gear, discs and brakes will be fitted to the car.
- The engine is now finalized and will be installed in our 504 Coupé shortly.
- The wiring harness and ECU are currently being developed.
- The interior design is well advanced. The fabrics have already been ordered, and the front seats should be completed soon…
The end of the year is shaping up to be an exciting one for our Projet-A 504. Despite a few delays to our original schedule, we’re making good progress, and we should soon see the developments that will bring us closer to completing our “Model 0” — from its first start-up to its first time on the road.
We won’t be able to show or reveal everything, but we hope you’ll be there with us as we take these next steps together.
