This September, Belgium’s national auto museum pays homage to the German Tuners of a long-gone era. In the age of yuppies and bright neon colours, Germany developed a unique industry to make their cars more exciting. The exhibition is open until 14 December, and for more info on this and upcoming exhibitions, check out their website.
One could say, these tuners were the modern-day coachbuilders, but their work usually limited itself to new body parts or headlights. Nevertheless, some of these aftermarket providers went on to develop their own models and also inspired the manufacturers themselves for the lining of future models, after having seen how their customers changed their cars after picking them up in the showroom. Autoworld brought together a dozen flashy cars to commemorate those crazy times.
The first one is the 1976 Rainbow Porsche redesigned by Buchmann & Buchmann-Auto. On the solid technical basis from Zuffenhausen, bb-Auto focused on equipment, interior design, and quality. With various stiffening measures, Buchmann and his team created a Targa body with a wider rear-end. Through an advertising cooperation with Polaroid, the car was given a legendary paint job with accents in rainbow colours.
The neighbouring podium features two cars, a 1983 Rieger Breitbau II VW Scirocco 2.0 16V Cabrio and a BMW from the E36 series. In the corner, we spotted a 1987 Arden AJ3 Shooting Brake pairing a 320 hp 5.3-litre V12 block with a practical boot.
The next podium features a duo of a white 1986 Porsche 935 DP and a black 1993 Strosek Ultra Wing Porsche 928 GTS.
Vittorio Strosek earned a reputation as one of the most influential Porsche tuners and one also of the most well-known designers in the German tuning scene. He joined the German designer legend Luigi Colani before starting his own company in 1984. From the very beginning, he focused on Porsches, initially the cheaper transaxle models that were already ripe for tuning. His preference for wide-body designs and small headlights became his trademark, as did his five-hole wheels. Only ten examples of this modified Porsche 928, with upward-hinged doors, were ever built.
The white 1986 Porsche 935 DP reminds us of the Kremer Moby Dick cars, and with good reason. This car started its life as a Porsche 930 and went straight to DP Motorsport for tuning. Chief designer Ekkehard Zimmermann used to work on aerodynamics at Kremer Motorsport, and it shows. The front spoiler closely resembles the Le Mans-winningg 935, and due to Zimmermann’s past with Kremer, this car was equipped with a Kremer-built 3.3 litre turbo engine. In its most boosted form, the engine delivers over 600 bhp. At racing events, wealthy German team owners and drivers often drove their 935 DP to the track and parked them in the paddock when they went racing their 935.
In the back, we saw a white 1986 Koenig Specials BMW KS 635 CSI from the E24 generation. Koenig is a Munich¬based tuner best known for his crazy Ferraris (in fact, we thought the Ferrari from this exhibition was theirs). Nevertheless, they also worked on several other brands, like Mercedes, Jaguars, and BMWs, even Lamborghinis and Porsches. This BMW is one of two 635s that Koenig transformed, reasting for many years in a London museum before being purchased by its current owner.
Next up is a 1992 Schulz Bigfoot, a beast that could have come from a Mad Max movie. This Bigfoot W124 coupé is mounted a G-Class chassis to catch falcons that might escape during the sheikh’s desert hunts, preventing them from freezing to death at night.
The Merc is paired with a black 1984 Treser Quattro Roadster. This car is from a limited series of 39 vehicles custom-built by Walter Treser GmbH between 1983 and 1989. Walter Treser was a former racing driver and test manager at Pirelli who led the development of special vehicles at Audi. From 1980, as Head of Audi Sport, he got in charge of Audi’s rally program. One year later, he founded his own company, Walter Treser GmbH, and in 1983, he presented the Treser Quattro Roadster at the IAA in Frankfurt. The car’s most striking feature was a patented electro-hydraulic controlled Hardtop, way ahead of its time, as the sales figures confirmed.
The next car is probably the most exuberant exhibit of the show, and that really says something. The black 1985 Mercedes SGS Arrow С1 is a styling statement of pure and unashamed extravaganza. The creator, Chris Hahn tried to tap the Middle Eastern craving for extreme motoring, and his ultimate C126 brainchild was no doubt this extravagant coupé. It attempted to seduce with gull-wing doors and a flat C-111-inspired front, Testarossa strokes on the sides and the rear end with a spoiler integrated in the rear boot. It can barely be described as a customized Mercedes but a thoroughbred SGS creation.
The centre stage is occupied by a true movie star, a 1987 Opel Manta from the German cult classic movie Manta Manta. German Tuner Mattig’s greatest fame came in 1992 with the film Manta Manta, in which a Manta B tuned by him with a “Super Extrem” body kit was cast as the hero car. For those who did not see the movie, the storyline was rather bland: a young (and not very sophisticated) guy, Bertie, clashes with an arrogant yuppie Axel, and challenges him and his expensive E190 Evo to a street race. What makes this movie special is how it still makes fun of the characters, and a lot of German actors launched their career with this movie. The film became a hit in Germany and also in Europe, and 2023 saw a sequel.
Saving the best for last, we give you the 1991 Lotec Т1000, a Ferrari Testarossa with an F40-inspired look. Lotec is among the few German tuners that managed to ascend the value chain and become a sports car manufacturer. In 1990, Lotec was commissioned by an oil baron from the United Arab Emirates to build a sports car for him. The vehicle (known as the Lotec C1000) was completed in 1995, at a final price of around $3.4 million (USD). Lotec was founded in 1962 by Kurt Lotterschmid and began building race cars and modifications for Porsches. From the ’80s, they also expanded to aftermarket aerodynamic and performance parts for Mercedes and Ferrari models.
The showcased Ferrari may resemble an F40, but it is actually based on a Testarossa on steroids. The flat-twelve engine is boosted by two turbos, delivering 1,000 hp and 1,100 Nm of torque. The car teleports from 0 to in just 4 seconds, while its top speed is claimed to be 370 km/h. Lotec did a comprehensive job, revising pretty much everything: suspension, brakes, gearbox, wheels, tyres – everything was upgraded and reinforced to cope with the car’s new capabilities, all for three times the price of an F40. For its lining, Lotec drew inspiration from the F40, but thanks to the gills of the Testarossa, the silhouette is softer.
