It was the crazy time of car tuning in Europe – the 1980s. It saw the personalisation of the motor car enter a new era; tuning specialists sprouted across Europe, with aftermarket projects replacing the bespoke work undertaken by experienced coachbuilders in the previous generation. Companies such as Gemballa, KOENIG, DP Motorsport, Zender, Benny S, Autocostruzione, Sbarro, Boschert, B&B and many others created fibreglass monstrosities, sometimes paired with extreme engine modifications.
There was a 1,000bhp Ferrari Testarossa, a road-going version of the Porsche 962 sports-prototype, Mercedes Coupes with gullwing-doors, flatnose 911 Turbos with an armada of pop-up headlights and tail-lights borrowed from the Porsche 928 or Audi 200. No doubt, German cars where the main focus of these tuning houses and many of their cars made it to North America’s TV shows such as Miami Vice.
