Insane Car Upgrades in Nigeria

I stumbled upon a tweet encapsulating how a Nigerian car technician upgraded a 2008 Mercedes Benz S-Class to a 2022 model. I have seen crazy car upgrades in the past but this one in particular was mind boggling. Car upgrades are not a rare sight in Nigeria as older Benz, Toyota and Lexus models are upgraded to newer and more recent year models. Hence, the discussion for today is the ''how'' and ''why'' of these drastic car upgrades in Nigeria.

Mercedes Benz S-Class; 2008 (Above), 2022 (Below)

HOW?

1. DESIGN LANGUAGE

Every car company has a specific design language; The first impression of a car design is usually formed by its silhouette, this is why a car enthusiast such as myself can tell what car is parked across the street without seeing it's badge. To explain this concept, I will be using Porsche, a car company with exceptional design language. It is very easy to conclude that the cars in the image below are the same exact car but are they really? Yes, they are all Porsches but they are all from different model years, hence the answer is no.

Porsche Design Language

One would say that the only difference they can physically notice is in the individual headlights of the cars and there you have it. In order to upgrade a car, sometimes all you need to do is change the headlights as well as tail lights. The car model already has a unique body design and this design is rarely tampered with over the years, so this makes most car upgrades in Nigeria very easy as only the physical aesthetics such as lights and grills are swapped out to make your car look more recent. For example, G-Wagon and Toyota Prado upgrades are majorly based on this, as all you need to do is swap out your 2008 G-Wagon headlights, tail lights and grill for a more recent year model. Basically a facelift. 

Mercedes Benz G-Wagon; 2008 (Above), 2022 (Below)

Toyota Land Cruiser Prado; 2010 (Above), 2020 (Below)

2. SHARED PLATFORMS

Car upgrades in Nigeria are common among Toyota and Lexus models, some car technicians even go as far as converting a Toyota into a Lexus. My Turbo Nerdz will do well to remember the Automobile Siblings episode in which we made it clear that Toyota and Lexus are basically the same car company. Being the same car company means that sometimes share the same chassis, car parts and have the same overall car shape, this is what I mean by shared platforms.

2011 Toyota Avalon (Above); 2011 Lexus ES350 (Below)

Surface level anatomy, what do you notice from the picture above? It is the same car but one has a Toyota badge while the other has a Lexus badge, it is that simple. In Nigeria, people are only interested in what meets the eye. We rarely do internal component upgrades like engine swap, it is all mere aesthetics. These car companies have made it so easy for our Nigerian car technicians to easily convert car models like Toyota to a Lexus or Honda to an Acura. Take note of the distinctive resemblance between the cars below.

2019 Lexus ES350 (Left); 2019 Toyota Camry (Right)

WHY?

Simply put, it is the cheaper alternative. Let me site two examples to put things in perspective.

1. A 2023 G-Wagon costs about 200 million naira while a 2010 G-Wagon costs about 10 million naira. To upgrade my 2010 G-Wagon, I would need to buy some parts and these parts would cost about 8 million naira. Of course the parts themselves are expensive, you don't expect to buy 2023 G-Wagon headlights for 200K but at the end of the day, you supposedly have a 2023 G-Wagon for a bargain at about 20 million naira. Would you rather spend 20 or 200 million to look cool?

Car Upgrade Parts

2. Lexus is seen as the luxury brand of Toyota. Hence, a 2022 Lexus will cost significantly more than a 2022 Toyota but I can buy Lexus parts for cheap and install them into my Toyota and no one would know. So why not? 

Thank you reading and always remember to Turbo that engine!