Category Archives: Tuning

Tuning

From Track Monster to Coffee Run: Lanzante’s Road-Legal Bugatti Bolide

There are track toys. There are hypercars. And then there’s the Bugatti Bolide—an 1,850-horsepower guided missile that was never meant to leave the safety of pit lanes, much less venture onto the public highway where pensioners in Toyota Yaris hybrids roam freely.

The Bolide is the sort of car you don’t so much drive as survive. It’s a “purebred track machine,” Bugatti said at its launch—basically a W16 engine with some bodywork attached, a set of tires that wear out quicker than an iPhone battery, and downforce figures that make jumbo jets blush. It is, in essence, a car designed to chase lap records, not Lidl parking spaces.

But where most of us look at a car like this and say, “Wow, cool—shame I’ll never see one outside YouTube,” Dean Lanzante looks at it and thinks: Right, let’s make that legal for the school run.

Yes, Lanzante, the British outfit famous for making the impossible mundane, is now working on converting the Bolide for road use. These are the same mad scientists who once made a McLaren F1 GTR—a literal Le Mans winner—legal for the motorway. They’ve done it with the Porsche 935 too. And now, they’re turning their spanners on the most insane Bugatti ever built.

Which is a bit like trying to turn a shark into a house pet. Technically doable. In practice? You’d better know what you’re doing, or you’ll lose a leg.

At this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Lanzante revealed that a road-going Bolide is officially in the works. The engine will pass emissions, the gearbox will be light and “easy to use,” and according to Dean Lanzante himself, the whole thing will be designed so you don’t feel like you’re accidentally entering Le Mans every time you pop to Starbucks.

That last bit is important, because as Lanzante explains, race cars used to start as road cars, only later adapted for track life. These modern hyper-track specials are the other way round—pure racers made slightly more habitable. Which is why some are borderline unusable outside of pit lane: they need preheating, bump-starts, or have batteries so fragile you’d get three starts before it dies. Imagine explaining to an audience of honking commuters that no, your $3 million Bugatti isn’t broken—it’s just “doing racecar things.”

So Lanzante’s job isn’t just about bolting on some number plates and pretending it’s all fine. It’s about serious engineering: emissions tweaks, new gearboxes, drivability upgrades. The dark art of making the Bolide behave itself on a speed bump, not just a straight.

There’s no timeline yet, but when the Lanzante Bolide finally prowls onto the streets, it’ll be one of the most outrageous sights the civilized world has ever seen. Imagine pulling up to your local café in something originally designed to lap the Nürburgring until it caught fire. It’s ludicrous. It’s unnecessary.

It’s also brilliant.

Because while most of us will never get behind the wheel of a Bugatti Bolide—road-legal or otherwise—it’s nice to know that somewhere, somehow, the line between track lunacy and everyday traffic is being blurred. And if anyone can make a car like this survive the chaos of rush hour, it’s Lanzante.

Source: Lanzante

Tuning

Vuk Manufaktur Gives the AMG C 63 S the Engine It Deserves—Plus a 190E-Inspired Makeover

What’s the best way to make Mercedes-AMG’s controversial C 63 S more appealing to purists? For Vuk Manufaktur, the answer is simple: rip out the four-cylinder hybrid and stuff a twin-turbo V-8 under the hood. Yes, the engine enthusiasts felt the car should’ve had all along is back—just not from Affalterbach.

Earlier this year, the German tuner unveiled its V8-swapped W206 C 63 S, effectively delivering the AMG sedan that never was. But that was merely the opening act. Now comes the Vuk EVOlution X, a hotter, wider, and wilder take on the C-Class that looks like it just rolled out of DTM’s glory days.

The AMG That Wasn’t

Let’s be honest: AMG’s decision to replace the C 63’s thunderous 4.0-liter V-8 with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder hybrid was always going to sting. Sure, the factory setup is technically advanced and makes big numbers on paper, but emotionally? It’s a tough sell in a segment where sound and soul matter almost as much as speed.

Vuk’s solution? Return to basics—if “basics” means a twin-turbo V-8 and a visual overhaul inspired by one of Mercedes’ most iconic touring cars.

The Evo II Connection

The EVOlution X body kit makes its intentions clear from the first glance. Up front sits a jutting splitter with support rods, the sort of aero appendage that suggests it’s ready to trade paint on the Nürburgring. The Evo II influence becomes unmistakable from the side profile: massively flared fenders stretch the stance far beyond stock, while six-spoke black wheels and deep side skirts complete the retro-racecar vibe.

And then there’s the rear. A towering wing dominates the tailgate, a wink to both the Evo II and AMG’s modern Black Series creations. A new diffuser, custom badging, and Petronas-green accents tie it all together with just enough motorsport flair to make you wonder how Mercedes-AMG didn’t think of this first.

Limited and Likely Pricey

Production will be capped at just 63 units worldwide—a nod to the model designation and a guarantee of exclusivity. Vuk hasn’t said how many of those will get the full EVOlution X treatment, nor has it revealed pricing. But given the amount of custom fabrication and the return of eight-cylinder thunder, don’t expect it to be anywhere near entry-level AMG money.

Why It Matters

The EVOlution X isn’t just a tuning exercise; it’s a statement. It proves there’s still demand for a visceral, V-8–powered C-Class—even if it takes a small German firm to deliver what AMG won’t.

For now, the factory C 63 S may be the efficient, electrified future. But the Vuk EVOlution X is the car enthusiasts will remember.

Source: Vuk Mnufaktur

Tuning

Rezvani Goes Retro: Meet the RR1 600 & RR1 750

It’s easy to forget Rezvani has been at this game for over a decade. In that time, the California outfit has given us slippery supercars, absurdist military-grade SUVs, and enough testosterone-charged marketing to make a Humvee blush. But now? They’ve turned their sights on something with a little more heritage and a lot more curves: retro-themed Porsches.

The new weapons are called RR1 600 and RR1 750 — names that don’t exactly hide their horsepower figures. Both start life as the latest 992-generation 911s before being wrapped in swooping, carbon-fibre bodywork inspired by Porsche’s 935 race car. Imagine a Le Mans icon dragged into 2025 and handed a gym membership.

The RR1 600 hides a twin-turbo 3.0-litre flat-six with upgraded turbos and some mysterious go-faster bits Rezvani won’t discuss. What we do know: it’ll catapult you to 60 mph in a clean, savage 3.0 seconds.

The RR1 750? That’s the one for lunatics. Based on the already bonkers 911 Turbo S, it packs a 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six with a thumping 750 horsepower. All-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual-clutch ‘box mean 0–60 in two seconds flat — which, for context, is quicker than most people can say “I regret nothing” before their neck muscles give out.

Only 50 of these carbon-clad missiles will be built, each taking four months to craft. Entry price? $195,000 — and that’s before you’ve even supplied your own 992 donor car. And just like a Michelin-star menu, the extras will make your wallet weep:

  • Centre-lock wheels: $12,500
  • Carbon-fibre wheel covers: $4,500
  • Ohlins TTX-Pro coilovers for track duty: $8,500
  • Brembo brakes: same price as those wheels
  • Cooling upgrades: $3,500 apiece

You could easily spec an RR1 750 into a small mortgage. But that’s not the point. The point is that this is Rezvani in full retro-rocket mode — a mash-up of old-school Porsche race car glory and new-school California excess. And frankly, it’s wild enough to make you forget they once built a bulletproof SUV with smoke screens.

Source: Rezvani