Autoworld Museum, Brussels, Belgium
Until December 14, 2025
With the German Tuners exhibition, Autoworld Brussels tackles an original and rarely explored theme, unveiling original, exuberant, even outrageous cars. While tuning is an expression of automotive culture, its practice varies greatly from country to country. In Germany, almost all manufacturers offer powerful cars, and some, such as BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche, are among the world’s most renowned sports car manufacturers. German tuning specialists take power to the next level.
While some, such as Alpina, AMG or RUF, work on the engine and chassis while maintaining a certain stylistic discretion, others combine their mechanical modifications with stylistic changes that highlight the power of their models. Powerful turbos, huge rims, ultra-wide streamlined polyester kits, every color of the rainbow, gullwing or butterfly doors—anything was possible, and even too much wasn’t enough! Koenig Specials, Mattig, Irmscher, Strosek, Gemballa, Brabus, Treser, and others were among these “no limits” tuners.
Some have disappeared, while others, such as Brabus and Irmscher, have evolved and joined forces with manufacturers to offer mechanical and bodywork modifications, and even racing versions of production models. For this exhibition, Autoworld has brought together around fifteen iconic cars from this period. Treser developed a hardtop convertible based on the Audi Quattro, long before Mercedes revived the trend in the late 1990s. Around forty cars were built, equipped with the famous 200 hp 5-cylinder turbo engine, identical to that of the coupe.
Highly appreciated by sports sedan enthusiasts, the BMW 3 Series and Volkswagen Golf were also favorite targets of certain “tuners” such as Rieger. Several tuners worked on Porsche models, such as Buchmann, who decided to fill a gap in the Porsche range with a 930 Turbo Targa. Following a partnership with Polaroid, the 930 Turbo Targa was given a rainbow paint job that highlighted its lines, particularly its widened rear. The Porsche 928, redesigned by Strosek, was given a large rear spoiler and wide rims in widened wheel arches, but above all, the door mechanism was modified so that they opened in the style of Lamborghini. Spectacular!
Another door style was developed by SGS, which produced a small series of Mercedes 500 SLC coupes equipped with butterfly doors, reminiscent of the legendary 300 SL. Another example is the Manta Manta, built by Mattig on the basis of the 1980s Opel Manta, with a largely redesigned, super-wide body and bright colors, the heroine of the 1992 film Manta Manta.
German tuners had plenty to work with in terms of local production, but they didn’t shy away from tackling foreign brands, and even automotive icons, such as Lotec with the Ferrari Testarossa. After passing through the hands of the tuner, the bodywork was significantly widened at the rear, in the style of an F40, and above all, the Flat-12 engine, powered by two turbos, developed a staggering 1,000 horsepower, propelling the car to 370 km/h according to Lotec. Three cars are said to have been built, but it is not known how many remain today. At least one will be on display in Brussels! For a few weeks, we will delight in immersing ourselves in this period when CO2 measurements and hybridization were not on the agenda.
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