The Volkswagen Santana is a ubiquitous sight on the streets of most Chinese cities. The car that the rest of the world would know as a VW Quantum or Passat has been on sale in China since the mid-eighties, and is widely used in taxi services there.

Familiarity with the vehicle has apparently bred a bit of inventiveness in this owner, whose goal in modifying his Santana 1000 remains shrouded in mystery. The car wears an elaborate fiberglass body kit, fully covering the original VW bodywork, that is reminiscent of a Ferrari design in a sort of drunken mistake way. Not content with the altered profile alone, the owner has also added what can only be described as gull-wing windows, which hover stylishly above the passenger compartment while cruising.

The blaringly yellow Santana has also seen a functional upgrade with the unlikely addition of twin boat propellers, and some kind of propulsion/steering tube. We have our reservations about the seaworthiness of the craft but we’ll definitely award points for originality.

+ China Car Times: Santana + Fiber glass + mad weekend = ocean going vessel with gullwing doors