Looney tuned | Six of the Best
Modified cars come in all shapes and sizes - here are some of the more extreme efforts...
Porsche 911 GT3 RS (991.1), 2015, 13k, £159,991
If you want a Porsche that’s brilliant on road and circuit, you buy a GT product. If you want probably the best track day car there is that’ll also get you home dry, buy a GT RS. And if you think of nothing else but lap times and downforce and being utterly exhilarated on four wheels, you get a Manthey-fettled Porsche GT RS. Now majority-owned by Porsche, Manthey forged its reputation over the years by making the best Nurburgring race cars going - nobody could build a Nordschleife-crushing Porsche like Manthey. So now it makes the road car equivalent as well, for those that spell Pistenklause without looking it up. This 991.1 GT3 RS includes upgrades such as KW adjustable coilovers, upgraded brake pads and lines, plus those stunning aerodisc wheels. This one has only covered 2,000 miles since last February - time to sort that out, pronto. Germany’s nice this time of year.
Brabus Range Rover SV, 2023, 60 miles, £329,995
From the sublime to the, er, sublime - but in a very different way. In the same way that Manthey is there for when the very best track car isn’t enough, Brabus aims to go that bit further when it comes to luxury models. This Bottrop bruiser is based on the new P615 SV, also known as the ultimate of the ultimate: the most luxurious, most powerful, most expensive Range Rover around. To that Brabus adds a beautifully redone interior (red perforated diamond quilting looks much better than it sounds), 24-inch wheels (because what SUV is complete without those?) and every single bit of Brabus aero addenda available. That means bumpers, diffusers, spoilers, skirts - the lot. And the kind of clout no mere Range Rover could dream of. This is a certified, official Brabus, you see, rather than a car that’s had parts added to it. Which still feels strange to say about something that isn’t a Mercedes, but there we are - call it diversification. Brabus-style.
Lotus Exige S3, 2019, 17k, £55,990
Modifications can be modest too, of course. And it’s hard to think of a bigger gap than the one that exists between a £300,000 Range Rover and an Exige helped along a little by Lotus specialists Komo-Tec. This 2019 car doesn’t even have one of the more extreme tunes of the supercharged V6, instead lightly tickled from the standard 350hp up to 370hp or so with a slight boost in torque as well. Like we said, modest - but no bad thing given how fast an S3 Exige is from the factory. This white example also benefits from a Cup 380 front clam for a bit of race car attitude, as well as the ultra-lightweight 10-spoke wheels. It all looks very motorsport, in fact, like it’s just waiting for a livery. All its services have been with Lotus main agents or specialists, and 17k is a reasonable return for five years. Every mile is memorable in an Exige, which should ring even more true for a slightly faster one.
VW Golf GTI Turbo Technics, 1986, 108k, PH Auction
Once upon a time, Turbo Technics was the name in forced induction. Didn’t matter if the cars weren’t turbocharged from the factory, Turbo Technics would make it happen. And create legends in the process. This is one of them, a Mk2 Golf GTI that was turbocharged just four months after first registration in April 1986. And nothing quite says April 1986 like a red GTI with two spoilers, white Compomotive wheels and a great big snail under the bonnet. Being sold in a PH auction by just its second owner, this Golf was treated to a £10k engine refresh a decade ago (with some forged internals) and is now 200hp strong. That’s kept under control by a Wavetrac diff and Tarox calipers. All proper stuff, basically. Should be a right old hoot as a result. The guide price is just £10,000-£12,500, and bidding starts in a fortnight - time to relive a misspent youth…
Land Rover Defender, 2015, 15k, £64,999
Now we’re talking. In the same way that a Porsche modified by Manthey will change track days forever, so no off-road adventure will ever be the same again once tackled in a Bowler Land Rover. Drew Bowler created his eponymous almost 40 years ago; he had built Series 1s for competition, and the company would sell uprated parts and complete vehicles for the ultimate go-anywhere experience. Perhaps most famous in the early '00s for cars like the Wildcat and Nemesis, Bowler has been best known in the past decade for preparing the Defender Rally Series cars. This one is interesting with lots of the motorsport mods - including uprated suspension, more power and Alcon brakes - but with just 15,000 road miles to its name. It even has CarPlay and a Focal audio system. Modified Land Rovers can be quite divisive (see above) apart from Bowler Defenders. Everyone loves a Bowler Defender.
Caterham Levante, 2011, 3k, £50,000
There’s modifying, and then there’s modifying. A Caterham Seven is brisk with a Suzuki Jimny engine in; this one, seemingly quite famous in the silly sports car corner of the internet, has a supercharged 2.4-litre V6 in it, for 600hp. In a 600kg car. There aren't many superbikes that can boast 1,000hp per tonne, so to have that performance potential in a car will be extreme to say the least. That wild power reaches the road through a Sadev six-speed sequential; with everything hooked up, it can apparently get to 100mph in 4.5 seconds. That’s not a typo. With Nitron dampers, big brakes and traction control as well, there’s not going to be anything faster in the dry. Once upon a time, this Caterham is said to have cost somebody £130,000. At £50k 3,000 miles later, it looks like something of a bargain given the phenomenal performance on offer. Hold on tight.
Least said about the RR the better!
ETA forgot the Defender! Get rid of the decals and make it a soft top.
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/16424619
It’s epic, but suspect less is more applies in this case.
I'll stick with my lowly 140bhp in a Caterham for the moment I reckon, and I'm not hairy enough of chest for that much for sure!
That Exige looks nice as well I think.
Is it actually a V8 rather than a V6 as the advert says
It looks like Russell Savory did/does a 2.2l V6 and a 2.4l V8 but not a 2.4l V6
Any knowledge out there ?
I'm not really interested in absolutely mental bhp, but I do love the idea of a bigger engine in such a light car though for sure.
Can I have that and the Lotus please
I so badly want a Capri before I die! My dad had a couple when I was growing up, so I do have a real soft spot for them. I'd probably think that they are terrible to drive though, but nostalgia does funny things to you I reckon.
Exige looks fantastic.
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