Tuned the Teutonic way | Six of the Best
He who rests, rusts. So goes the German proverb - no wonder they can't stop making good cars great...
Porsche 911 (996) GT3 RS with Manthey K410, 2004, 30k, £149,995
Every nation with a sizeable car industry (and an enthusiastic customer base to support it) has fostered a thriving aftermarket scene. But with due respect to anyone twirling spanners in the US, Britain or Japan, no one does it quite like the Germans. Mostly that’s to do with the proximity of global OEMs and an abundance of specialised talent. But also the nature of its domestic road network, a long-standing preoccupation with horsepower and widespread affection for motorsport. Oh, and the presence of the world’s foremost sports car. Manthey Racing is now majority Porsche-owned, but that just reflects its legacy of success with racing 911s. And tuning them. Case in point: this 996 GT3 RS with the Manthey K410 conversion and adjustable coilovers. A guaranteed spine-tingler for £150k.
Brabus 650 (C63 S), 2021, 5k, £99,990
Perhaps no firm better characterises what Germans like than Brabus, the tuner setup by Bodo Buschmann nearly 50 years ago with the express aim of making already senior Mercedes go faster still. It has a spectacular reputation for overachievement in that regard, one it has used it to expand its portfolio in recent years - not just to other car brands, but boats and dedicated off-road vehicles, too. Nevertheless, Mercedes is still what it does best, and its version of the previous C63 S rather says it all. The Brabus 650 not only increases the V8’s output to (you guessed it) 650hp, but this rare full factory spec example adds all the cosmetic tinsel as well. The seller reckons it cost its first owner £250k. Which makes its current £99,990 asking price, after just 5k miles, seem like the steal of the century.
Audi RS6 ABT Legacy Edition, 2023, 33 miles, £229,950
Abt Sportsline GmbH is another tuner born of a race team - one with an extensive history. In fact, the Abt family can trace its history back to 1896, when it was in the blacksmith trade. The modern incarnation really came into its own in 1991, and has been a big name in DTM for the last 25 years. Its aftermarket programme kicked into high gear in 2015 and hasn’t looked back since. Some of this is run-of-the-mill tuning, but its special edition stuff tends to be worth getting excited about, not least the R8-based XGT it revealed last year. Also launched in 2023 was the Abt RS6 Legacy Edition, which, as a tribute to Audi’s outgoing V8, extracted 760hp from it thanks to beefier turbochargers. The model was limited to just 200 examples globally - which accounts for the £230k asking price of this as-new example.
Alpina B3 Bi-Turbo, 2008, 63k, PH Auctions
A heaving trophy cabinet is not the only way to make it big. Despite making a splash in European motorsport in the ‘70s, Alpina eventually veered in the opposite direction, eschewing an emphasis on track testing to help distinguish it from BMW M. And boy, did it pay off: the firm - which was famously a manufacturer in its own right before BMW acquired the brand in 2022 - has produced some of the great road cars of the last quarter century. Even better, thanks to their capacity for absorbing big mileages, they tend to be pleasingly accessible. Take the E92 B3 Bi-Turbo currently making for the gavel to come down in PH Auctions. Not nearly as intense as the V8-powered M3 - but that’s all part of it. What’s left is just a 3 Series with a stonking straight six and sympathetic suspension. One of life’s great pleasures, in other words.
Ferrari 812 Superfast with Novitec kit, 2019, 1k, £275,000
Novitec is a comparative newcomer to the aftermarket scene and arguably flies under the radar in the UK. But the Bavaria-based tuner is well-known in Europe for its often extravagant reinterpretations of very high-end cars, and commands serious money for its efforts. It is notable, too, for the breadth of its approach, and includes Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, McLaren and Maserati among its chosen brands - while pointedly avoiding anything German. Not every one of its creations hits the mark (especially the often wide-bodied N-Largo stuff) but you don’t have to go the whole hog; this 2019 Ferrari 812 Superfast features the Novitec wheels, suspension and sports exhaust - and looks the business in Bianco Italia. Sometimes, less is more.
Porsche 911 Turbo (997) TechArt GTStreet, 2007, 8k, £109,995
And sometimes more is more. We make no apologies for returning to Porsche and the 911; after all, it sustains such a healthy slice of the German aftermarket scene that it qualifies as a segment all of its own. Ruf, justly famous for repeatedly taking the biscuit, would’ve made for a good sign-off - but we couldn’t get past this super-rare TechArt GTStreet. Its maker has been around since the late ’80s, and like most German tuners, is fastidious about achieving OEM quality in everything it does. This extends to pretty much anything that can be tweaked, but its wholesale, custom-built conversions tend to be pretty special. The seller reckons this 997 Turbo has had £80k lavished on it, including the special sauce that sees it output improve to 660hp. You’ll almost certainly never see another - so potentially a snip at £110k.
Ferrari out of that lot please
…!)They were really good cars to start with, and those ‘improvers’ do have pedigree and know what they are about…
None of them are that gauche, the Brabus would be great with some extra depreciation on it - if it went to about £70k…
Always seems a shame to ‘interfere’ with a fezza - they come with all the panache they need from the factory - for me…
Abt - yeah, I guess? Not sure about that price though…!!
Forgot the Alpina, am sure it’s great - from a time when cars were just ‘different’ (in a good way) to how they are now. For me it’s just a bit too old & a bit too, er, old tech… sorry Alpina - no offence intended at all..!
…!)
You were so spot on with that too, and you completely read my mind!
As soon as I saw the article my eyes went directly to the 996's headlights for sure. Anyhow...that is a nice list, but you definitely need a few quid to get onboard though I reckon.
The only difference is that they are more 'codified' as companies, offering specific packages - and that's solely down to the TUV rules they have.
No one does it quite as boring as the Germans more like.
really like the 996 design and dimensions, even more so in GT3 spec with the subtle mods.
king gopping. To each their own but it's way over styled and tatty. The quality of some of the transformation is amazing though, as it should be for doubling the price of the car. The power the Street R whatever is remarkable in a Turbo S though, borderline frightening.I was around a 991 GT that was having a tech art kit installed and it was utter dogs
t. The installer was having a lovely time modifying and trimming bits to get it to work and it still looked Halford's. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff