10 restomods ready for Radwood
Radwood-era cars of the 1980s and 1990s are the new hot classics. Largely ignored and undervalued for decades, they’re now among the most aspirational automobiles, and prices are soaring.
The increase in appreciation for these modern classics has made them ripe for resto-modding, adding 21st-century power, performance, and luxury features that even the creators of Back to The Future couldn’t have imagined.
Here are ten examples of Radwood-ready restomods you can buy today.
DeLorean Industries DMC-12
Fittingly, we begin with the ultimate star car of the ’80s: the DeLorean DMC-12. DeLorean Industries of Akron, Ohio, will refit Doc Brown’s radical ride with a huge variety of upgrades. (In case you hadn’t heard of the Ohio DeLorean, you aren’t crazy; several companies are claiming the DeLorean name.) You can add a turbo to the original Renault motor or swap it for an LS3 V-8, a five-liter Ford Coyote V-8, a 2.3-liter Ecoboost, or even the all-electric running gear from a Mustang Mach-E. Steering and suspension can be appropriately updated, and Akron will also restore the interior trim and stainless steel bodywork.
Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer
Singer is probably the most high-profile (and high-priced) player in the restomod game. The California company began restoring Porsches in 2009,sStarting with mid-Rad 964-chassis 911s (1989–1994). Its latest Dynamics & Lightweighting Study (DLS) Turbo Study is its most powerful build to date, offering 700 hp, or around double the output of the original.
Nardone Porsche 928
“Porsche. There is no substitute.” So declared a youthful Tom Cruise in 1983’s Risky Business, not long before dropping his dad’s 928 into a lake. If it is a modern take on Porsche’s supercoupe you want, then look no further than France’s Nardone Automotive. The curvaceous bodywork is recreated in carbon fiber, the interior is lavishly re-trimmed, there’s active suspension, and the V-8 is upgraded to 400 hp.
Officine Fioravanti Ferrari Testarossa
From arcade favorite Outrun to Miami Vice, the Ferrari Testarossa took over our small screens in the ’80s. Some 40 years later Switzerland’s Officine Fioravanti has redefined the redhead, uprating the flat-12 engine to 510 hp and cutting 266 pounds in weight from the car. Öhlins adjustable dampers are fitted, and there’s ABS brakes and traction control, too.
Automobili Amos Lancia Delta Integrale Futurista
The Lancia Delta Integrale dominated the real World Rally Championship and the virtual one in Sega World Rally Championship, winning legions of fans the world over. Italian coachbuilder Automobili Amos reimagined the Lancia with a widebody kit built from carbon and aluminum. The company didn’t stop there; it also added an overhauled engine that makes over 330 hp.
Manhart BMW M3
German über-tuner Manhart also offers an interpretation of the Integrale, but the Bavarian’s version of the box-arched BMW E30 M3 is its most bodacious restomod. To meet Touring Car regs, the original M3 had a 2.3-liter four-cylinder motor; Manhart removed it in favor of a 3.5-liter turbocharged six from the Alpina B7. The engine is further fettled to produce 405 hp, and the car is lightweighted with lashings of carbon. Coilover suspension, beefed-up brakes, and a leather-lined interior complete the package.
Eccentrica Lamborghini Diablo
The words subtle and Lamborghini aren’t usually uttered in the same sentence, but Eccentrica’s updates of the Diablo are quite low-key. There’s some smoothing out of the nose, including installation of modern lighting, and a gentle stretching of the body all round, along with some aero work and bigger, 19-inch rims. Inside it’s Alcantara and eight-bit digital displays, while the 5.7-liter V-12 gets new internals to boost power to 550 hp, allowing for a top speed of 220 mph.
Legende Automobiles Renault 5 Turbo 3
This car may have originated in France, but the Americans were the ones to turn the Renault 5 Turbo 2 into the Turbo 3. California’s Legende Automobiles has gone to town with an even wider carbon body for the mighty-but-mini, mid-engined Frenchie. The 1.4-liter four-cylinder motor is boosted beyond all reason, producing 400 hp and driving through a sequential transmission.
Peugeot 205 GTi Tolman Edition
The 205 GTi was the affordable hot hatch that every ’80s boy or girl racer wanted, including British engineer Chris Tolman, who has now given the 205 extra pace and grace. Bilstein suspension and a highly-tuned 1.6- or 1.9-liter engine are fitted, providing up to 200 hp, while over 700 hours of labor go into making sure the car is assembled to modern standards.
Niels van Roij Fiat Panda Piccolo Lusso
Dutch designer Niels van Roij has marked the 40 anniversary of the Fiat Panda 4×4 with a delightful restomod. The emphasis is on style, with a classy Azzurro Blu paint job and a Mediterranean leather interior that’s far fancier than any Panda has seen before. Teak wood decking in the trunk adds a slightly nautical feel. It’s a one-off for now, but it’s great to see even the most inexpensive of ’80s icons getting some resto love.
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Number of these cars are just modern resto mods that do not represent the era.
The SInger is a much better car than the original cars from the 80’s. Some of the others are non existent in the states.
Radwood needs to remain true to the era to preserve these cars with mods of that era. Otherwise it is just another car show.
Please, please, please can we have a story about the DeLorean Industries cars? Side by side tests of an LS3 vs the Ecoboost (most like a modern version of the original) vs. the electric model. It would be epic.
Charting the critical 0 – 88 acceleration time?
The DeLorean! But only if the modification includes a flux gate capacitor. That way I could go back in time and buy something, like a tri five chevy convertable at 1950’s prices.
You’d better take along some 1950s currency. You surely don’t want to be caught passing counterfeit 2000s money.
I’m curious, too about how the LS3 vs. Coyote vs. EcoBoost vs. MachE motor would pan out.
An EV motor in a DeLorean even makes sense to me on some levels. I’m certain Doc Brown would have chosen that option, if available. For one, accelerating to 88mph would be easy. For another, it’s easier to get to 1.21 gigawatts starting from electric. Even the EV sound would seem fitting.
For me the “regular” Singer 911s are the most artful and respectful of all.
I’m not a fan, really, of 4-sylinder cars, except for economy cars, where they’re mostly inevitable.
I’d no sooner have an EV than cut my own heart out; which is essentially the same thing.
If you only knew how much you are missing out on. The 4 cylinder you probably drove was an anemic K-car or some other 50hp american ’80’s schmozzle.
Let me please be the first to select Option #11- “None of the above”. I prefer the bone-stock 1995 LT-1, ZF-6 speed sitting in the garage. Consumable items are the only things changed since the day it left Bowling Green, KY. Inspection marks still visible on the underside. That’s “Rad” enough for me. Happy Motoring!
I agree. Nothing there of any interest.
Pretty much any of the little ones- minus the Panda, that reminds me a little too much of living in a Communist country. Other ones like the Porsches are exceedingly beautiful but I’d surely be the first one to accidentally scuff it and would have to jump off a bridge. So, drop an R5 or Lancia off with the keys and registration, please, and thank you! 😋🤗😍
Leave them as they were including all their foibles. I have a 1960 Desoto Fireflight which I have left as it was when it left the factory. This includes steering by appointment only and brakes that only work when clenching one’s sphincter! If you want a resto-mod that handles well, goes like stink. and stops on a sixpence then just buy a modern car. Enjoy the oldies for what they are, underpowered, badly handling antiques.
“Steering by appointment only” Gold! I have owned cars that I thought had a 7-second delay built into the steering wheel.
why are the vast majority jumped up tarted out too fat-tyred boy-racer specials?
only the Testarrosa look anything like a car someone other than a child would drive;
This article gives new meaning to the word “obscure”. And I’m being kind.
Why do I think an article about restoring a rusted out ‘66 Valiant would prove more interesting?
Because it WOULD.
i cant even pick one,give me a muscle car from the seventies,and thats that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
I’m glad people had sense enough not to engine-swap the Italians. That power upgrade in the Testarossa would allow it to hold its own in modern context. Sure, it won’t be the fastest car on the road today, but it’ll put up a respectable performance.
I have been to a lot of car shows during the last two decades and have reached the conclusion that the term resto mod and man toys have become interchangeable. The line between original production and highly modified has been erased. Personally, I don’t care about another person’s toy. A 19XX Ford, Chevy, Plymouth etc with a 20XX engine, brakes and transmission is not true and does not pay honor to any production vehicle nor any drive train. It is also an insult to originality. As original should be the showcase for the owner’s skill level and knowledge.
On a good original, I agree that it should be left stock in most cases. But I have a 1965 Truck that will not run, needs a new drivetrain. Being tired of spending money on 1965 parts, it is getting an updated LS, modern transmission, power steering and brakes. It will look very little different than it did in 1965 on the outside. (Have to go for better wheels and tires than stock 1965).
Insulting originality is something we specialize in because money doesn’t grow on trees. Ever looked into the cost of a 928 engine and survived the heart attack? Now all due respect to 80’s parts SBC and BBC with monstrous Holley carbs make perfect replacements.
As for Jaguars, we still refer to them as “another British car screaming for a small block”, just as we have since the fifties.
The only thing different is the starting point, the fun is in the solution.
American cars not allowed?
Expensive resto-mods that remove the 80’s fun/joy/pain. No thanks for the most part. Radwood ready? Oh please.
Hate to admit it, but I was kind of ho-humming my way thru the list till I came to the Lancia Delta Integrale… That stopped the scrolling for the two or three seconds it took my mind to jump to my favorite Lancia ever – the Stratos. Then immediately from there to the Hawk Cars Stratos. This of course sent me scurrying thru the rest of the list in the hopes that it would be included… but it was not.
I think most people build them with an Alfa V6, but I recently read about one that someone had put a 2.0L V8 in the middle that is based on a bike engine… Oh PLEASE somebody look that up, go take a ride/drive, and then tell us about it in great detail. Pretty please?
Oh – the R5 Turbo is also cool.
It’s been 10 years since I first heard of and seen a Singer Porsche. I had just bought a 1992 911 C2 and thought the story that they only use the “964” platform was cool. As one person above mentions, the “original” Singer was cool……..the DLS, Turbo and the latest 935 (Dickenson’s nightmare in my opinion) is just boredom setting in. I think it is time that Mr. Dickenson stops destroying what has to be a pinnacle of the original Porsche design and maybe build his own chassis.
RUF does it right and to me the CTR Anniversary and the SCR of today are at the top of the 911 food chain……..durability and performance unsurpassed without destroying a classic 911.