Category Archives: Tuning

Tuning

Totem GT Super SP: A Carbon-Fiber Farewell to the Alfa That Could Have Been

Totem Automobili has spent the past few years carving out a niche in the rarefied world of restomods, reimagining classic Alfa Romeo coupes with obsessive attention to detail and a distinctly Italian flair. Now, the boutique builder is closing this chapter of its story—but not without a grand finale. Meet the GT Super SP (Sport Prototipo), a run of just ten cars that serves as both a tribute and a mic drop.

The very first prototype, wearing the badge “n.00,” broke cover at Monterey Car Week. If the standard Totem GT Super was a stunner, the SP is a full-blown showstopper—an Alfa Romeo that’s been sharpened, widened, and polished into something bordering on myth.

Wider, Meaner, and All Carbon

Compared with the GT Super, the SP grows by 130 mm in width, its stretched wheel arches sculpted in carbon fiber. The bodywork? Every last panel is woven from the same lightweight material, cloaked in a deep burgundy finish and highlighted with bronze accents around the headlights, grille, mirrors, wheels, even the wipers. It’s a subtle nod to vintage jewelry, giving the coupe a sense of timeless elegance beneath all that aggression.

The rear end, once home to dual exhaust tips, is now clean thanks to a collaboration with German exhaust specialist Capristo. The pipes have been relocated to the sides, race-car style, freeing up space for a wild new carbon diffuser. The overall effect: less resto, more prototype racer.

Under the Skin: Serious Engineering

Totem didn’t stop at styling tweaks. The SP sits on redesigned subframes and benefits from reworked suspension geometry. A fully electronically adjustable suspension from Italian firm ORAM adds modern ride sophistication to the classic Alfa silhouette.

And then there’s the heart of the beast. Nestled up front is a 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6, built by Italtecnica. With individual throttle bodies and a mix of direct and indirect fuel injection, the engine pumps out a staggering 740 horsepower and 850 Nm of torque. Better still, power routes through a six-speed manual gearbox—a unicorn pairing in today’s supercar landscape. Totem wants drivers to work for the speed, and that’s a very good thing.

Inside: Bronze and Blue Drama

The cabin balances retro charm with motorsport edge. There’s a carbon-fiber transmission tunnel, new switches tucked beneath the shifter, and bronze trim lacing across the dash and gauge bezels. A custom steering wheel with a boost control function, lightweight carbon seats, and a splash of blue Alcantara tie the whole thing together. It feels bespoke without being overdesigned—pure Totem.

With only ten examples destined for production, the GT Super SP isn’t just another pretty face at Monterey—it’s Totem Automobili’s curtain call for its Alfa-based restomods. By turning a beloved Italian coupe into something equal parts sculpture and track weapon, Totem has cemented its reputation in the restomod pantheon.

As goodbyes go, the SP might be the loudest, most beautiful sendoff we’ve seen in years.

Source: Totem Automobili

Tuning

Brabus Rocket GTC: A Convertible That Wants to Warp Time

Monterey Car Week isn’t short on spectacle. You can’t swing a silk scarf without hitting a seven-figure hypercar that looks like it’s just landed from Mars. But this year, Brabus decided that wasn’t quite enough noise and rolled up with something called the Rocket GTC—a name that sounds less like a car and more like a Cold War missile silo.

The donor car is no slouch: Mercedes’ SL63 S E Performance, a plug-in hybrid grand tourer already packing 816 horsepower. But Brabus, never content with “quite powerful enough,” got the spanners out, bored out the V8 from 4.0 to 4.5 litres, wound the turbos up to “are you absolutely sure?” and came back with a 1,000 horsepower convertible. That’s right. Four figures. In a drop-top. Because sanity is for accountants.

Torque? An interstellar 1,820 Nm, although the engineers politely limited it to 1,620 Nm. Apparently, that was the point where the gearbox and driveshafts started filing complaints with HR. Still, even with the leash on, it’ll hurl itself from 0–100 km/h in 2.6 seconds. A Ferrari 296 would barely have finished checking its mirrors.

Of course, Brabus didn’t just crank the power and call it a day. The SL’s bodywork has been on a steady diet of carbon fibre and steroids: swollen arches, fresh bumpers, a ducktail spoiler, and so many air intakes you could confuse it for a jet engine. The wheels? Bespoke 21-inch up front, 22-inch at the rear, with aerodynamic blades and proper center-lock studs—because what’s a hyper-GT without race car cosplay?

And when you’re done terrorising time and space, you can sink into an interior that’s been drowned in red leather. Seats, dashboard, door panels, even the floor mats. It’s less “grand tourer” and more “Dracula’s lounge.” Brabus also fitted a new stainless steel exhaust, which, judging by the company’s track record, is less about emissions and more about ensuring the neighbours know you’ve just started the car from three postal codes away.

So, what is the Rocket GTC? It’s not a supercar, not really a grand tourer, and certainly not a convertible in the usual sense. It’s a 1,000 horsepower, leather-lined, carbon-clad act of lunacy—the sort of car you build because nobody told you to stop.

And we love them for it.

Source: Brabus

Tuning

BMW M2 by ALPHA-N Corse: When a Compact Coupé Decides It’s a GT4 Refugee

The BMW M2 has always been the naughty child of the M Division—short, wide, and perpetually looking for a fight. But now, a German tuner named ALPHA-N has shoved it into full military service. The result? A pocket-sized track weapon that looks like it’s just been rejected by the Nürburgring 24 Hours grid for being too aggressive.

ALPHA-N, based in Rheinbach, has launched a new “Corse” division, which is tuner-speak for “we’re done messing about.” The highlight? A carbon-heavy aero kit that makes the stock M2 look like it’s playing dress-up in its dad’s suit.

At the sharp end, there’s a track-grade carbon spoiler that bolts straight to the chassis. Not to the bumper. To. The. Chassis. You know, just in case you were worried it might fall off at 280 km/h. Flanking it are canards, aero blades, and enough vents to make a McLaren blush. The hood? Carbon, of course, with dual heat extractors that scream “I do track days on Tuesdays.”

Walk around the back and things get properly serious. There’s a sculpted carbon diffuser and, on the demo car, a wing so tall you half expect it to interfere with passing aircraft. This is a GT3-style rear wing, fully adjustable, fully outrageous, and fully guaranteed to make your neighbors think you’ve lost your mind. Prefer subtlety? ALPHA-N also offers a toned-down “Class 3” spoiler with gurney flaps. Still racy, but less likely to take someone’s eye out at the supermarket.

Even the underbelly hasn’t been ignored—carbon cladding smooths out the airflow and reduces lift at autobahn speeds, while TÜV approval means some of this lunacy is actually legal for the road. Germany, ladies and gentlemen.

But ALPHA-N didn’t stop with cosplay. They threw on forged F-ONE wheels—20 inches up front, 21 at the back—which trim unsprung weight and make the M2 dance more gracefully. The suspension is swapped for an Öhlins TTX coilover setup, the kind of kit normally reserved for people with race licenses and titanium kneecaps. Handling, as you can imagine, is sharper than a set of IKEA hex keys.

Power? Still courtesy of BMW’s 3.0-liter S58 twin-turbo straight-six, but with engine software borrowed from the incoming M2 CS. Translation: more grunt, faster response, and a soundtrack that’ll make your hair follicles vibrate.

Inside, things get stripped and serious. The standard dials are binned in favor of a CANchecked digital display, delivering everything from boost pressure to engine temps. If the phrase “oil temp readout” excites you, congratulations—you are the target market.

The result of all this? The M2 Corse isn’t just a hot-rod coupe. It’s a junior GT4 car that you can, technically, still drive to Lidl. It’s loud, it’s unapologetic, and it’s very German. Think of it as an M2 that’s gone on an exchange program with the DTM paddock and come home fluent in Race Car.

And in yellow, with that skyscraper wing, it doesn’t so much whisper performance as shout it through a megaphone. If you ever wanted your compact BMW to terrify Porsche Cayman owners and cause small children to point, this is it.

Source: BMW; Photos: ALPHA-N