Earlier this year, we presented dozens of the wildest restomods ever to turn a wheel in our latest book, Drive Different, produced in collaboration with Gestalten. You can get your copy from our shop right now, but while you wait for your book to be delivered, why not check out a small sample of 7 of the craziest restomods we’ve seen so far?
Automobili Amos Safarista
After spearheading the restomod charge with their Lancia Delta-based Futurista, Automobili Amos returned in a shower of gravel with this: the Safarista. Inspired by the lifted, all-terrain monsters of the World Rally Championship and Paris-Dakar, the Safarista is equipped with Reiger suspension and a 3MO differential and gearbox, all taken from Rallycross. “The idea behind the Safarista was that you can easily — without being scared or potentially killing yourself — have fun on your local B Roads between home and work, or on your commute to the kindergarten with your kids,” Eugenio Amos told us. Imagine pitching up to the school drop-off zone in this!
AGTZ Twin Tail
Based on the critically-acclaimed Alpine A110 sports car, the AGTZ Twin Tail pays homage to a legendary A220 racing car from Alpine’s motorsport heritage. Built in collaboration between La Squadra and Zagato, just 19 of these shape-shifting lightweight sports cars will ever be made. Like their inspiration, they allow owners to swap between high speed-focused longtail and agility-focused shorttail configurations, and it hasn’t taken long for these amazing machines to be snapped up, with Gordon Murray counted among the early custodians.
Coolnvintage Land Rovers
Lisbon-based Land Rover specialists Coolnvintage has garnered a cult following for putting their unique twist on Defenders and Series models since 2012. “The Land Rover is the shape of freedom and a symbol of limitless possibility,” explains founder and creative director Ricardo Pessoa. Coolnvintage may be one of hundreds of companies building Land Rover restomods, but it has forged its premier reputation for two reasons: the unparalleled quality of their work and their unique, bold aesthetics.
Get Lost Project Safari
The first-generation S1 Lotus Elise has long been considered one of the marque’s finest driver’s cars, which would make it the perfect candidate for a track-focused restomod. At least, that’s what you would think, but photographer-turned-restomod company founder George Williams saw an entirely different kind of potential hidden within the Elise’s featherweight frame. Enter the first model from Get Lost: a bold, ground-up reinterpretation of the iconic Elise S1. Titled Project Safari, Williams’ reimagined Elise blends rally-inspired capability, road trip practicality, and design-led innovation into a single, uncompromising package.
HWA EVO
Aside from the 300 SL Gullwing, arguably the most culturally significant non-AMG Mercedes-Benz of all time is the 190E EVO II. That made it the perfect canvas for one of AMG’s two founding fathers — Hans Werner Aufrecht — to perform a comprehensive makeover and bring it into the 21st century, resulting in the bombastic HWA EVO. Lift the hood and you’ll discover a HWA-tuned version of Mercedes’ widely-used M276 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6. Upgraded with a dry sump and a bespoke in-house ECU to name just a few tweaks, the HWA EVO produces between 444 and 493 horsepower depending on the state of tune, over twice as much as an original 190E EVO II.
Lanzante TAG Turbo
As no strangers to hypercar-levels of performance, the wizards at Lanzante are known for their road conversions of the ballistic track-only McLaren P1 GTR. But how do you endow the original 911 Turbo with that kind of lightning fast pace? Well, a Porsche-built twin-turbocharged 1.5-litre V6 Formula One engine should do the trick. Far more than just an engine swap, Lanzante worked tirelessly with Cosworth to tame these F1 engines for the public road, and while detuned for greater reliability, they still put out over 500 horsepower and redline at an eye-watering 9,000rpm.
Porsche 928 Reimagined by Nardone
Nardone Automotive set out with the goal of transforming the 928 into a tailor-made, modernised GT. Instead of starting from a blank slate, designer Carlo Borromeo chose to pursue a less-is-more approach, opting to preserve much of the 928’s timeless design while updating key elements such as the front and rear lights, the wheels, and of course the front and rear bumpers. Inside, the general architecture of the old 928 remains, but swathes of Foglizzo leather and Alcantara ensure this updated 928 feels every bit the luxury grand tourer. However, the upgrades aren’t just aesthetic, because Nardone Automotive revamped the 928’s naturally-aspirated V8 to produce 400bhp.
