Tuned the Teutonic way | Six of the Best

Every nation with a sizeable car industry (and an enthusiastic customer base to support it) has fostered a thriving aftermarket scene. But with due respect to anyone twirling spanners in the US, Britain or Japan, no one does it quite like the Germans. Mostly that’s to do with the proximity of global OEMs and an abundance of specialised talent. But also the nature of its domestic road network, a long-standing preoccupation with horsepower and widespread affection for motorsport. Oh, and the presence of the world’s foremost sports car. Manthey Racing is now majority Porsche-owned, but that just reflects its legacy of success with racing 911s. And tuning them. Case in point: this 996 GT3 RS with the Manthey K410 conversion and adjustable coilovers. A guaranteed spine-tingler for £150k. 

Perhaps no firm better characterises what Germans like than Brabus, the tuner setup by Bodo Buschmann nearly 50 years ago with the express aim of making already senior Mercedes go faster still. It has a spectacular reputation for overachievement in that regard, one it has used it to expand its portfolio in recent years – not just to other car brands, but boats and dedicated off-road vehicles, too. Nevertheless, Mercedes is still what it does best, and its version of the previous C63 S rather says it all. The Brabus 650 not only increases the V8’s output to (you guessed it) 650hp, but this rare full factory spec example adds all the cosmetic tinsel as well. The seller reckons it cost its first owner £250k. Which makes its current £99,990 asking price, after just 5k miles, seem like the steal of the century. 

Abt Sportsline GmbH is another tuner born of a race team – one with an extensive history. In fact, the Abt family can trace its history back to 1896, when it was in the blacksmith trade. The modern incarnation really came into its own in 1991, and has been a big name in DTM for the last 25 years. Its aftermarket programme kicked into high gear in 2015 and hasn’t looked back since. Some of this is run-of-the-mill tuning, but its special edition stuff tends to be worth getting excited about, not least the R8-based XGT it revealed last year. Also launched in 2023 was the Abt RS6 Legacy Edition, which, as a tribute to Audi’s outgoing V8, extracted 760hp from it thanks to beefier turbochargers. The model was limited to just 200 examples globally – which accounts for the £230k asking price of this as-new example. 

A heaving trophy cabinet is not the only way to make it big. Despite making a splash in European motorsport in the ‘70s, Alpina eventually veered in the opposite direction, eschewing an emphasis on track testing to help distinguish it from BMW M. And boy, did it pay off: the firm – which was famously a manufacturer in its own right before BMW acquired the brand in 2022 – has produced some of the great road cars of the last quarter century. Even better, thanks to their capacity for absorbing big mileages, they tend to be pleasingly accessible. Take the E92 B3 Bi-Turbo currently making for the gavel to come down in PH Auctions. Not nearly as intense as the V8-powered M3 – but that’s all part of it. What’s left is just a 3 Series with a stonking straight six and sympathetic suspension. One of life’s great pleasures, in other words. 

Novitec is a comparative newcomer to the aftermarket scene and arguably flies under the radar in the UK. But the Bavaria-based tuner is well-known in Europe for its often extravagant reinterpretations of very high-end cars, and commands serious money for its efforts. It is notable, too, for the breadth of its approach, and includes Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, McLaren and Maserati among its chosen brands – while pointedly avoiding anything German. Not every one of its creations hits the mark (especially the often wide-bodied N-Largo stuff) but you don’t have to go the whole hog; this 2019 Ferrari 812 Superfast features the Novitec wheels, suspension and sports exhaust – and looks the business in Bianco Italia. Sometimes, less is more. 

And sometimes more is more. We make no apologies for returning to Porsche and the 911; after all, it sustains such a healthy slice of the German aftermarket scene that it qualifies as a segment all of its own. Ruf, justly famous for repeatedly taking the biscuit, would’ve made for a good sign-off – but we couldn’t get past this super-rare TechArt GTStreet. Its maker has been around since the late ’80s, and like most German tuners, is fastidious about achieving OEM quality in everything it does. This extends to pretty much anything that can be tweaked, but its wholesale, custom-built conversions tend to be pretty special. The seller reckons this 997 Turbo has had £80k lavished on it, including the special sauce that sees it output improve to 660hp. You’ll almost certainly never see another – so potentially a snip at £110k.