Latest news with #restomod
Top Gear
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Sehr gut! This restomod is a German take on the classic C1 Chevy Corvette
Sehr gut! This restomod is a German take on the classic C1 Chevy Corvette Pogea Classics gives a 1950s 'Vette 427bhp and 'Rosso Corsa' Ferrari paint Skip 20 photos in the image carousel and continue reading Turn on Javascript to see all the available pictures. 1 / 20 To our American friends, this will probably look like a fairly standard C1 Corvette restomod. However, this particular 1950s Chevy was actually given its new lease of life in Germany. Yep, this is the work of Friedrichshafen tuner Pogea Racing, or more specifically its reasonably new sub-brand Pogea Classics. We led with the decade rather than the specific year, because Pogea quickly discovered this particular car was a cut-und-shut: the front half a 1959 car bolted to the rear of one from 1958. Advertisement - Page continues below 'Doors would neither open nor close properly, and panel gaps were beyond correction,' said Pogea. 'The central tub had been crudely severed and poorly fused.' Ouchy. Time for a makeover. It's the third C1 Pogea has taken on, and this 'Vette has been fitted with a GM LS3 V8 making 427bhp from its 6.3-litre capacity. To cope with that power, there's a reinforced tubular chassis (developed in cooperation with SRIII Motorsports and the Technical University of Munich), a four-speed automatic gearbox and a custom Pogea exhaust, plus fully adjustable coilovers and the front brakes from a C6 Corvette. The rear brakes are from a C5 while the servo is from a C4. Whole lot of mix-und-matching going on here. The wheels are 19in items from Pogea's own range, and we're told the bonnet, doors, fabric roof and bootlid are all new parts manufactured in Germany. The paint on top of those panels is another mix though, with a Ferrari shade of 'Rosso Corsa' and 'Ibis White' from Audi. This customer also specced Pogea's LED rear lights, while the chrome trim is apparently all original GM that has been refurbished and replated. Inside there's red leather from Lamborghini and white from Rolls-Royce, while the door cards and a number of trim pieces were apparently manufactured in-house. There are digital instruments too, plus a RetroSound head unit for the full Apple CarPlay in a restomod experience. Advertisement - Page continues below Quite the FrankenVette's monster, no? Top Gear Newsletter Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. Success Your Email*
Auto Car
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Auto Car
I love this rear-engined, air-cooled, ultra-exclusive restomod - because it's not what you think...
Have you seen the Twisted TBug? Twisted, the friendly, Yorkshire-based modifier of classic Land Rover Defenders (and now owner of a marine division as well), has started offering a Volkswagen Beetle Baja Bug restomod too. (If it starts doing Hillman Imps, our respective garages will look even more alike.) Unsurprisingly, the TBug looks somewhat nicer than my Baja Bug, because Twisted are people who are used to doing things properly. The interior looks trimmed beautifully, the stance is just so (I'm tempted to have a word with the front end of mine and a grinder) and there's a reinforced chassis, a new engine, new electrics and LED lights that don't look daft. The power output has been about doubled over the original, but it's still making less than 80bhp, so it isn't a fast car – but that doesn't matter a bit. 'What makes the TBug special is that it makes you smile every time you slide behind the wheel,' says Twisted founder Charles Fawcett. 'In a world of increasingly serious and complex vehicles, there's something wonderfully refreshing about that.' As they might have said in the 1970s, I can dig that. Unlike Twisted Defenders and Suzuki Jimnys, this car exists in the 'special projects' bit of the company's offerings. Lots of personalisation and customisation is on offer and it's the sort of thing you could get lost for days in with the designers – although Twisted has made three for sale already to its thinking, in grey, green and yellow. You can spend around £95,000.
Auto Car
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Auto Car
I love this rear-engined, air-cooled, ultra-exclusive resto mod - because it's not what you think...
Have you seen the Twisted TBug? Twisted, the friendly, Yorkshire-based modifier of classic Land Rover Defenders (and now owner of a marine division as well), has started offering a Volkswagen Beetle Baja Bug restomod too. (If it starts doing Hillman Imps, our respective garages will look even more alike.) Unsurprisingly, the TBug looks somewhat nicer than my Baja Bug, because Twisted are people who are used to doing things properly. The interior looks trimmed beautifully, the stance is just so (I'm tempted to have a word with the front end of mine and a grinder) and there's a reinforced chassis, a new engine, new electrics and LED lights that don't look daft. The power output has been about doubled over the original, but it's still making less than 80bhp, so it isn't a fast car – but that doesn't matter a bit. 'What makes the TBug special is that it makes you smile every time you slide behind the wheel,' says Twisted founder Charles Fawcett. 'In a world of increasingly serious and complex vehicles, there's something wonderfully refreshing about that.' As they might have said in the 1970s, I can dig that. Unlike Twisted Defenders and Suzuki Jimnys, this car exists in the 'special projects' bit of the company's offerings. Lots of personalisation and customisation is on offer and it's the sort of thing you could get lost for days in with the designers – although Twisted has made three for sale already to its thinking, in grey, green and yellow. You can spend around £95,000.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Forbes
Test-Driving The 2025 Gunther Werks Turbo
The 2025 Gunther Werks Turbo. 'What if' is one of those hypotheticals that every automotive enthusiast regularly dreams of. What if I had $100,000 to spend on a single, brand-new sports car? What if I were to swap X modern powertrain into Y vehicle from the past? Another scenario that truly lives rent-free in enthusiasts' heads: What if an automaker could create the pinnacle version of a beloved car of yore, utilizing the most up-to-date modern technology and sparing no expense along the way? When it comes to Porsche, Gunther Werks has brought this to life in various iterations, based on the mid-1990s' 993-generation 911. Recently, the Southern California operation has debuted a new model and it's the most powerful, yet: The Turbo. Starting at $850,000, this handcrafted extra-high-performance machine is more than just a restomod; it's an almost entirely in-house-produced love letter to the legendary 911 badge. Recently, I had the chance to check out Gunther Werks' facility in Huntington Beach, as well as take this new creation for a spin. Gunther Werks' boutique showroom. Getting To Know the Brand To get a good idea of what GW is all about, Peter Nam, CEO/Founder and Ross Pisarkiewicz, Director of Client Relations and Marketing, gave me a thorough tour of the building. When clients walk through the front door, they enter a beautiful showroom with carefully curated color samples, interior equipment displays, and at least one of its models bathed in beautiful showroom lighting. It's more boutique than front office, devoid of clutter, and GW even offers carefully planned dining experiences with chef-prepared meals to break bread and discuss bringing visions to life. Moving deeper down the main hallway, personnel offices face a special room designated for hand-assembling opulent interior pieces, steps away from where engineers make concepts a reality. Across the hall, craftsmen carefully put together cars' complex harnesses using aerospace-grade wiring and connectors. Finally, through the back doorway is where the majority of production kicks off. Gunther Werks' assembly facility. Here, countless carbon fiber components are carefully organized on shelves, from interior accouterments to seats, panels and aerodynamic features. Several bodywork and paint bays prepare the classic 911 shape for full assembly, and massive machinery turns out a variety of lightweight alloy and carbon-fiber wheels. Nam shared that around 90% of parts are made in-house, including the carbon fiber bodywork. This maximizes freedom in the creative process, as well as significantly decreases tariffs' impact. GW also has the ability to offer an unlimited selection of paint colors to firmly secure its place in high-end automotive customization. The 4.0-liter air-cooled flat-six engine that bolts up behind each example's rear wheels comes from Rothsport Racing, an authority in its own right, which GW enjoys an excellent technological partnership with. Suspension and electronic components are sourced from a myriad of top-tier suppliers with endless experience in motorsports, such as Motec, JRZ and KW. Visions truly come to life in the final room: Craftsmen move about each assembly bay carefully bolting models together, from heat exchanger piping to finely stitched, opulent interior pieces. It's a place where enthusiasts with an appreciation for anything classified as coach-built could spend all day poring over details. The 2025 Gunther Werks Turbo. Hopping In In the middle of this room sat my ride for the day: A 2025 Gunther Werks Turbo painted in gorgeous pearlescent orange. Limited to just 75 examples, this wide-body work of art pays homage to Porsche's own circuit-ready 993 911 RSR and Turbo, inside-out. While customers may choose from a selection of aerodynamic features, this one sported a massive carbon fiber wing for maximum grip and motorsports aesthetic. The instrument cluster stays true to the classic Porsche formula with five finely machined gauges reporting on the engine's vitals—three readings are dedicated to oil, since there are no coolant channels cut into its case. There's no shortage of beautiful Alcantara, carbon fiber and stitched leather inside, though simplicity is definitely the main theme. It's an open and airy environment, rich in opulence and surprisingly spacious. As the Turbo is based on an older 911, overall visibility is quite good in spite of the wing occupying almost all of the rear-view mirror. The 2025 Gunther Werks Turbo's interior. Firing it up produces an awe-inspiring, even-firing roar, and the event truly begins. After a few miles with Pisarkiewicz at the helm to help me get acclimated and soak it all in, it was my turn to take the wheel. Not to oversimplify the experience, but every finely machined metal surface felt perfect. From the bottom-hinged and perfectly placed pedals to the lightweight titanium shifter. The 2025 Gunther Werks Turbo. Massive Vehicular Joy Selecting first gear and becoming acquainted with the right ratio of clutch to gas pedal was, in a word, easy. The clutch possessed quite a bit of weight behind it, but finding the take-up point was a cinch, and the gas pedal quickly introduced me to how fast the independent throttle body-equipped 4.0 revved. Once underway, I was quickly up to speed with smooth rev-matching, heel-toe downshifts, and learning what percentage of throttle input dilated my pupils the most. The 2025 Gunther Werks Turbo's shifter. The Turbo's hydraulically assisted steering was rich in texture and feedback, with a brilliant ratio to match, and the brake pedal was reassuring in both its power and easy modulation. This is one rapid little sports car. No, scratch that, hypercar. With under 2,800 pounds to haul, the twin-turbo 4.0 produces as much as 840 horsepower and 594 pound-feet of torque in its most powerful Track mode. Here, 0-60 mph takes a little over three seconds, and the quarter mile comes and goes in 11 at over 134 mph. Prefer a tamer experience? A quick turn of a knob on the steering wheel cuts output to just 650 and 518, respectively, in Sport. Then, 513 and 458 are available in Comfort—it's basically always fast. There's no electronic traction or stability control to speak of, but rather the analogue kind; an aggressive aero package, massive carbon-ceramic brakes, and 295-wide track-ready tires. The 2025 Gunther Werks Turbo's engine. Power was brilliantly linear with barely any turbo lag to speak of, thanks to the turbos' somewhat reasonable size, generous air-to-water intercooling and a very short path for the intake charge to travel. Yet, there was never any fear of aggressive throttle inputs sending us straight into a nearby wall. All we experienced was thrilling acceleration achieved by way of a little courage and a blessedly good manual gearbox sporting perfect gearing. And then there was the beautiful soundtrack: Strong notes of quintessential Porsche howl and boost-building crescendos, followed by pronounced blow-off valve and wastegate actuations. The shove back into the seat was unreal in each gear, including some eyebrow-raising passes on the nearby freeway in sixth. Finally, thanks to intuitive adaptive shocks that adjust damping rates on the fly—compensating for every minuscule bit of pitch and roll—the Turbo rode quite comfortably. While I didn't get the chance to wring out its abilities on any winding canyon roads, It dipped in and out of traffic with precision, and dealt with Southern California's most battered roads like any number of more luxury-centric fare. To increase comfort even further, a nose lift system was equipped to make easy work of steep driveways. Combine all this with its vivacious powerplant, and I was taken aback by how effortless and daily-ready this monster was to drive. In terms of downsides, well, they really weren't any. The turning radius rivaled that of a seafaring vessel, and there was plenty of road and engine noise inside. But these are miniscule in the grand scheme of things. The Gunther Werks Turbo is an all-around idyllic high-performance driving experience. The 2025 Gunther Werks Turbo. Pinnacle There's no mistaking that every fine-tuned aspect of the Gunther Werks Turbo's assembly resulted in an equally fine-tuned driving experience. Quality of construction and materials were second-to-none, its visceral driving experience was a highlight of my career, and I'm still amazed over its brutal-yet-user-friendly performance. Anyone who gets behind the wheel will agree—kudos to GW for creating a blank-check scenario that blends '90s 911 and modern hypercar technology so well. The 2025 Gunther Werks Turbo.
Top Gear
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
MST's latest Ford Escort restomod is a £89k homage to the Mk1 ‘Mexico'
MST's latest Ford Escort restomod is a £89k homage to the Mk1 'Mexico' Anyone for a H-pattern manual, 180bhp and racing stripes for days? Skip 4 photos in the image carousel and continue reading Turn on Javascript to see all the available pictures. 1 / 4 Got your eyes on a Mk1 Ford Escort 'Mexico' but unable to source just the right one? MST might have the solution for you with its new 'Mk1 Sports', based on the rallying hero but with a modern twist to the engineering. Armed with a rorty 180bhp twin-cam four-pot, the Sports gets individual throttle bodies, a lightweight flywheel and a performance manifold and exhaust. Expect it to sound - and go - like the clappers. Advertisement - Page continues below There's a five-speed H-pattern close ratio manual for that properly old-school feel, plus adjustable suspension and dampers, and a limited slip differential wedged in amongst all this goodness. MST's hand-built body is almost identical to an original Mexico, with a choice of six colour combinations and the iconic side and roof stripes. You'll also have the option to add extra spotlamps, because who doesn't want extra spotlamps on their road-legal rally car? As expected, the cabin will be fairly minimal. Aside from an Alpine infotainment system, there are sports seats, a three-spoke suede steering wheel, bits of scaffolding out back and… not much else. You're looking at a base price of £89,400 for the Mk1 Sports, which is roughly twice what an original, used Mexico ought to set you back at current rates. Reckon it's worth the extra spend? Advertisement - Page continues below Top Gear Newsletter Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. Success Your Email*
