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Have we reached restomod perfection in the Eccentrica Diablo and Nardone 928?

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Have we reached restomod perfection in the Eccentrica Diablo and Nardone 928? | Top Gear

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Have we reached restomod perfection in the Eccentrica Diablo and Nardone 928?

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Have we reached restomod perfection in the Eccentrica Diablo and Nardone 928?

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The restomod plays off a powerful folk memory of – and nostalgia for – a simpler time. Combine this with the creeping suspicion that modern cars are overevolved and consequently less engaging than their forebears, and the result is a neverending wave of ‘iconic’ cars given a renewed lease of life via modern tech.

We can now add the Eccentrica Diablo and Nardone 928 to a bulging list. This duo are two of the most left field candidates for a retro-modern reboot, which is one of the reasons they’ve got our attention. A Porsche restomod that isn’t a 911! There are other factors – both cars have been engineered by Podium Advanced Technologies, an engineering and mechatronics company near Turin, which has been on a near-vertical trajectory since it opened for business in 2011.

Audi’s Dakar car used its battery tech, as will Formula E from next season. Then there’s Milanese design agency BorromeodeSilva, whose work spans the electric Maserati Tridente day boat and various pieces of ingenious product design, but it’s carved out a potent niche in reimagining historic cars. See also the Automobili Amos Futurista and Mustang STL-1.

Photography: Jonny Fleetwood

We start with the Nardone 928. Spoiler alert: it’s a total eyeball hoover in the flesh. How much do you know about the 928? It was a stop/start project for Porsche in the early 1970s as it sought to futureproof itself. Sales of the 911 were declining, and its air cooled, rear engined configuration was at odds with new legislation. Porsche boss Ernst Fuhrmann gave the green light to a front engined car with more of a GT than sporting vibe and a major eye on the US market.

It was designed by Wolfgang Möbius under the direction of Tony Lapine, a Latvian who had wound up at GM in the late 1950s where he worked on the wonderful C2 Corvette. Ferry Porsche later poached Lapine from Opel. The 928 was and remains a singular car, a curvy riposte to the Seventies wedge, and technically intriguing. The Weissach axle provided a degree of passive rear wheel steer, and along with steel and aluminium its body featured lots of polyurethane. Inside was an instrument binnacle that moved with the steering wheel and ‘Pasha’ trim that was inspired by Op Art.

Of course, the 911 prevailed and the 928 is now its eccentric uncle. Just shy of 58,000 were sold between 1978 and 1995.

Thierry Nardone remembers sitting in one in the late Eighties (his father used to put on a suit and then test drive nice cars). He himself is a car loving former restaurateur who decided to envision a new 928 and borrowed the necessary funds to make it happen. Thierry, it must be said, is not skimping on this thing. “It’s more of a continuation car than a restomod,” he explains. “I wanted to create a comfortable car, so it’s not about ruthless weight reduction or increasing the power.

"I wanted to improve the driving experience, and things have progressed from there. We’ve ended up creating 3,000 new parts, 300 in the engine, 198 in the gearbox alone. I compare it to sampling in hip hop, taking some elements and adding new ones so that it makes sense to the new generation.”

He engaged BorromeodeSilva to flesh out the design, Podium to build it, Ital Tecnica has done the engine, and French specialist Involute the transmission. Only the doors remain intact, the rest of the body newly imagined and purposeful in carbon fibre. There’s carbon composite in the flush mounted windscreen and A-pillar, while the rear hatch has been completely re-engineered so that only the glass now opens. That’s probably the best example of the mania that underpins this amazing car.

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The engine’s block, head and oil tank are original, but there’s a new intake plenum, a more aggressive camshaft and a modern ECU. Thierry is targeting 400bhp, but says more is possible. The front and rear axle are new, the steering has been completely re-engineered for more feel, and there’s active suspension, new hubs and custom bushes. The brakes are from Brembo. With all of this work, the Nardone 928 weighs about 100kg less than the original, so about 1,400kg.

Inside, things are very 1980s minimalist, with a simple instrument display that includes a readout for the chassis settings, and a smaller version of the classic Porsche steering wheel. A self-confessed audiophile, the Nardone 928 also houses one of the best sound systems I’ve ever heard. There’s little sign of it – of anything – on the centre console, but the separation and clarity is pro-studio quality. The leather trim, meanwhile, is by the company that does Pagani’s interiors.

The Nardone 928 is £412k plus local taxes and the cost of the donor car. It feels every millimetre worth that.

The Eccentrica Diablo is more expensive – from £1m plus taxes and donor car – but after a day spent looking at it, it too looks like money well and creatively spent. Assuming you have oodles of the stuff in the first place. Certainly the 19 people who end up owning one will have a car like no other, the sort of thing that’ll have the jaded locals in Dubai or downtown LA falling over themselves for a closer look.

This project has been realised by Italian furniture magnate and Lamborghini owner, collector and racer, Emanuel Colombini. Former Lamborghini technical director, Maurizio Reggiani, is consulting on it, aiming to rectify some of the issues that blighted the underdeveloped original (he arrived in Sant’Agata in 1995, halfway through the car’s gestation).

I drove half a dozen different Diablos when they were new and can confirm that this really is the scary supercar of myth and legend – whether you were doing 120mph or reverse parallel parking at 2mph. To Colombini it was a poster car that fell short of expectations, so his mission is to inject some 2020s chassis know-how into the old devil. The steel spaceframe has been reinforced with carbon fibre, and the active suspension’s uprights, joints and hubs are all new. There’s traction control and adjustable chassis modes. The brakes – a real weak point on the original – and bearings are also new.

Much of the 5.7-litre V12 has been preserved, although there are new camshafts and springs for improved volumetric efficiency, a modern ECU, a 50bhp power increase to around 540bhp and the promise of greater drivability. Famously, the original could pull 60mph in first gear (have a listen to the title track on Jamiroquai’s album Travelling Without Moving), so the new six-speed gearbox should make things more accessible. And it sounds monumental, thanks to a new Capristo exhaust.

There wasn’t much wrong with the Diablo’s design, but our friends at BorromeodeSilva have still had fun with it. Highlights include the ‘pop down’ headlights, including a wink function. Yes, really. The front wings are flared, there’s a revised greenhouse, new air intakes, an exposed engine, air scoops, a wider rear track, and a protective heat shield above the exhaust that’s nicknamed the teppanyaki after the grille used in Japanese cooking. Is there a better looking car than this from the rear three quarters? It’s doubtful.

Inside, BorromeodeSilva has gone full Eighties vapourwave with digital instruments and a centre console that brilliantly channels retro hi-fi (minus all the tiddly buttons and teak finish). There’s an exposed gate for the gearlever, a custom Marantz audio system, and three levers for a pre-ignition starting procedure. More drama on a car that is hardly deficient in it. Go easy on the pies, though – although the driving position is better than the original’s hopeless setup, this is still a car for the snake-hipped.

Not all restomods are smash hits. Nardone and Eccentrica have pulled together some world class suppliers and sit firmly at the Singer end of the spectrum. We approve.

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The restomod plays off a powerful folk memory of – and nostalgia for – a simpler time. Combine this with the creeping suspicion that modern cars are overevolved and consequently less engaging than their forebears, and the result is a neverending wave of ‘iconic’ cars given a renewed lease of life via modern tech.

We can now add the Eccentrica Diablo and Nardone 928 to a bulging list. This duo are two of the most left field candidates for a retro-modern reboot, which is one of the reasons they’ve got our attention. A Porsche restomod that isn’t a 911! There are other factors – both cars have been engineered by Podium Advanced Technologies, an engineering and mechatronics company near Turin, which has been on a near-vertical trajectory since it opened for business in 2011.

Audi’s Dakar car used its battery tech, as will Formula E from next season. Then there’s Milanese design agency BorromeodeSilva, whose work spans the electric Maserati Tridente day boat and various pieces of ingenious product design, but it’s carved out a potent niche in reimagining historic cars. See also the Automobili Amos Futurista and Mustang STL-1.

Photography: Jonny Fleetwood

We start with the Nardone 928. Spoiler alert: it’s a total eyeball hoover in the flesh. How much do you know about the 928? It was a stop/start project for Porsche in the early 1970s as it sought to futureproof itself. Sales of the 911 were declining, and its air cooled, rear engined configuration was at odds with new legislation. Porsche boss Ernst Fuhrmann gave the green light to a front engined car with more of a GT than sporting vibe and a major eye on the US market.

It was designed by Wolfgang Möbius under the direction of Tony Lapine, a Latvian who had wound up at GM in the late 1950s where he worked on the wonderful C2 Corvette. Ferry Porsche later poached Lapine from Opel. The 928 was and remains a singular car, a curvy riposte to the Seventies wedge, and technically intriguing. The Weissach axle provided a degree of passive rear wheel steer, and along with steel and aluminium its body featured lots of polyurethane. Inside was an instrument binnacle that moved with the steering wheel and ‘Pasha’ trim that was inspired by Op Art.

Of course, the 911 prevailed and the 928 is now its eccentric uncle. Just shy of 58,000 were sold between 1978 and 1995.

11 minutes

Thierry Nardone remembers sitting in one in the late Eighties (his father used to put on a suit and then test drive nice cars). He himself is a car loving former restaurateur who decided to envision a new 928 and borrowed the necessary funds to make it happen. Thierry, it must be said, is not skimping on this thing. “It’s more of a continuation car than a restomod,” he explains. “I wanted to create a comfortable car, so it’s not about ruthless weight reduction or increasing the power.

"I wanted to improve the driving experience, and things have progressed from there. We’ve ended up creating 3,000 new parts, 300 in the engine, 198 in the gearbox alone. I compare it to sampling in hip hop, taking some elements and adding new ones so that it makes sense to the new generation.”

He engaged BorromeodeSilva to flesh out the design, Podium to build it, Ital Tecnica has done the engine, and French specialist Involute the transmission. Only the doors remain intact, the rest of the body newly imagined and purposeful in carbon fibre. There’s carbon composite in the flush mounted windscreen and A-pillar, while the rear hatch has been completely re-engineered so that only the glass now opens. That’s probably the best example of the mania that underpins this amazing car.

The engine’s block, head and oil tank are original, but there’s a new intake plenum, a more aggressive camshaft and a modern ECU. Thierry is targeting 400bhp, but says more is possible. The front and rear axle are new, the steering has been completely re-engineered for more feel, and there’s active suspension, new hubs and custom bushes. The brakes are from Brembo. With all of this work, the Nardone 928 weighs about 100kg less than the original, so about 1,400kg.

Inside, things are very 1980s minimalist, with a simple instrument display that includes a readout for the chassis settings, and a smaller version of the classic Porsche steering wheel. A self-confessed audiophile, the Nardone 928 also houses one of the best sound systems I’ve ever heard. There’s little sign of it – of anything – on the centre console, but the separation and clarity is pro-studio quality. The leather trim, meanwhile, is by the company that does Pagani’s interiors.

The Nardone 928 is £412k plus local taxes and the cost of the donor car. It feels every millimetre worth that.

The Eccentrica Diablo is more expensive – from £1m plus taxes and donor car – but after a day spent looking at it, it too looks like money well and creatively spent. Assuming you have oodles of the stuff in the first place. Certainly the 19 people who end up owning one will have a car like no other, the sort of thing that’ll have the jaded locals in Dubai or downtown LA falling over themselves for a closer look.

This project has been realised by Italian furniture magnate and Lamborghini owner, collector and racer, Emanuel Colombini. Former Lamborghini technical director, Maurizio Reggiani, is consulting on it, aiming to rectify some of the issues that blighted the underdeveloped original (he arrived in Sant’Agata in 1995, halfway through the car’s gestation).

I drove half a dozen different Diablos when they were new and can confirm that this really is the scary supercar of myth and legend – whether you were doing 120mph or reverse parallel parking at 2mph. To Colombini it was a poster car that fell short of expectations, so his mission is to inject some 2020s chassis know-how into the old devil. The steel spaceframe has been reinforced with carbon fibre, and the active suspension’s uprights, joints and hubs are all new. There’s traction control and adjustable chassis modes. The brakes – a real weak point on the original – and bearings are also new.

8 minutes 11 seconds

Much of the 5.7-litre V12 has been preserved, although there are new camshafts and springs for improved volumetric efficiency, a modern ECU, a 50bhp power increase to around 540bhp and the promise of greater drivability. Famously, the original could pull 60mph in first gear (have a listen to the title track on Jamiroquai’s album Travelling Without Moving), so the new six-speed gearbox should make things more accessible. And it sounds monumental, thanks to a new Capristo exhaust.

There wasn’t much wrong with the Diablo’s design, but our friends at BorromeodeSilva have still had fun with it. Highlights include the ‘pop down’ headlights, including a wink function. Yes, really. The front wings are flared, there’s a revised greenhouse, new air intakes, an exposed engine, air scoops, a wider rear track, and a protective heat shield above the exhaust that’s nicknamed the teppanyaki after the grille used in Japanese cooking. Is there a better looking car than this from the rear three quarters? It’s doubtful.

Inside, BorromeodeSilva has gone full Eighties vapourwave with digital instruments and a centre console that brilliantly channels retro hi-fi (minus all the tiddly buttons and teak finish). There’s an exposed gate for the gearlever, a custom Marantz audio system, and three levers for a pre-ignition starting procedure. More drama on a car that is hardly deficient in it. Go easy on the pies, though – although the driving position is better than the original’s hopeless setup, this is still a car for the snake-hipped.

Not all restomods are smash hits. Nardone and Eccentrica have pulled together some world class suppliers and sit firmly at the Singer end of the spectrum. We approve.

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An engineering and mechatronics company near Turin has been reinventing iconic cars since 2011. We meet two new additions in their line-up