(Photos: Kyle Hendrix via V.I.S.I.T.) The Ford Aspire….yeech, what a miserable little car. What did it do well? It made the Geo Metro look positively radiant by comparison, it sold more rebadged Kias in the U.S. market (it’s the Kia Avella), and it did sell with dual air bags standard and anti-lock brakes optional. Ok, we’re struggling here…the Aspire was a craptacular attempt at a city car, usually painted the color of an Easter egg, and seen ambling around half-dead and ready for the crusher only a couple of years after they were sold new. Truth be told, there is nothing there but a great set-up for a joke: if you Aspire to own one of these cars, you are failing at life hard.
And in stock form, that’s a truth. Make any claim you want for the Aspire, but unless you’re running one at ChumpCar or LeMons, it will take something highly dramatic to earn our interest. Something like a frame swap, a neon-green exo-cage, four-wheel-drive and not one single, solitary F! to be found anywhere. We have zero details on what this rig is all about, but we are interested. As small as the Aspire is, we don’t think a Bronco II frame swap would be feasible. More likely is a Geo Tracker, Suzuki Samurai or a similar-sized micro-ute, and we suspect four cylinders, five speeds and a fairly light curb weight. You’re still driving a Ford Aspire, but unlike most other people, the guy who built this little beastie has figured out how to look like a winner while doing it. Bravo, sir. Bravo.
Are my exes wonky or does it have a link suspension in the front with leaves and anti wrap bar in the back?
Sometimes I wonder WTF is the point of cars like this. Just spend the money on a proper 4×4 – but then that would be boring and not BangShifty at all!