These are 20 of the best restomods of 2024

What’s better than a Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth? One made almost entirely of carbon - weighing one tonne flat - and upped to 500bhp, of course. The work of a consortium of British OEMs coming together, collectively named ‘Vision148’, key details for the ‘Carbon Piranha’ include deep-dish rear alloys, a revised body kit and a bombastic whale-tail wing. And one lucky person’s going to win it too.

Or here’s something on the complete opposite end of the spectrum: a chop-top, baby blue, all-electric Range Rover Safari by Lunaz which attempts to mimic the one seen in James Bond’s Octopussy. There’s a 375bhp dual-motor powertrain and all-wheel drive, with commissions setting customers back around half a million quid. For a prehistoric Rangie. Wow.

A restomod with a slightly more personal story. Former Lamborghini CTO Maurizio Reggiani, who oversaw most of the Diablo portfolio, was tempted by the opportunity to work on one of the iterations he missed: the very first. As such, he’s the perfect man to give the legendary supercar a very 21st-century makeover. And a top speed of 208mph.

Porsche 911 restomods now rock up more frequently than Harry Kane scores goals. Which is a lot, in case you didn’t know. So how do you set them apart? Considering most are electric, Thornley Kelham’s approach with the ‘European RS’ automatically singles it out. It’s a petrol-fuelled resto, revs like a banshee to 10,000rpm and sings through a custom Inconel and titanium exhaust. You’re imagining that lovely flat-six noise already, aren’t you?

One number matters above all else with the Alma Sprint: 880kg. You can have all the power and grunt and noise in the world, but nothing feels or drives like a car that’s been through the strictest of Weight Watchers diets and has actual usable performance. You get just 158bhp from its four-pot, but the weight, combined with adjustable dampers, a reworked chassis and a limited-slip diff means the Sprint will likely be a riot through corners.

Earlier this year, Swedish touring car enthusiasts Cyan Racing revealed a less powerful, less focused, softer version of a very old Volvo the world appears to have largely forgotten. Expensive, too.

So, sweep all of that aside immediately and acquaint yourselves with the mind-numbingly desirable Volvo P1800 Cyan Racing GT; a comfort-orientated iteration of the rather stunning P1800 Cyan first revealed back in 2020. Yes, you want all of it. Immediately.

Welcome to yet another episode of Old Cars With Massive New V8s Stuffed Inside! Cali-based Vigilante are your hosts today, because they’ve done precisely that with a Jeep Grand Wagoneer and a Hellcat V8. That’s 807 enthusiastic horses coursing through an ancient four-speed auto ‘box, though it gets upgraded suspension to keep it pointing in vaguely the right direction.

Your 2,500bhp, quarter-mile-in-2.3-seconds Mk4 Supra may be cool, but is it TOM’s ‘TRD 3000GT’ cool? Doubtful. Originally built to compete in the Japanese GT500 series in the Nineties, the legendary Toyota tuner ran it right back with a restomod of the 3000GT earlier this year, and we want one more than we want anything else in the world.

Another Porsche, but not a 911. The 914 by Fifteen Eleven Design is a diminutive two-seat convertible coming in at a featherweight 975kg. Power is provided by the 3.8-litre flat-six from a 987-gen Cayman, which sends all of its 375bhp to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual. To get your head around how ludicrous the numbers are, the 992 GT3 RS produces 357bhp/tonne. This? 384. Yeah, we know.

The Ferrari 348 was, by most accounts, not a Good Ferrari. Some went as far as suggesting it was the worst product Ferrari had developed for some time. “This was clearly the worst product Ferrari had developed for some time,” remarked former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemelo.

Upon taking the Maranello reigns, then, Luca immediately set about reworking that car to turn it into one of the finest mid-engined Ferraris ever built in the shape of 1994’s F355. In 2024, it was given another going over. This is the 355 by Evoluto. Special. And quite blue.

Long-time Jaguar partner Tom Wilkinshaw Racing has given the old V12 XJS a new lease of life, resulting in what’s known as the ‘Supercat’. What's a 'Supercat'? It's a 600bhp, £270k bruiser wearing a body kit that’s as outrageous as going to McDonald's and ordering a salad. Just 88 units will make production, so you’d better sign up as soon as if you’re interested.

"Acceleration is always brisk and the throttle responds with a crispness modern EVs rarely offer, if ever. This car is a hoot." Safe to say we're fans of this restomodded 2002te.

Commercial failure, but a cult hero. The Porsche 928 never achieved its stated aim of replacing the 911 and its awkward rear-engine layout (it’ll never catch on, right), selling just over 60,000 examples across 18 years. But it remains a seriously cool car.

And now it looks – and sounds – cooler than ever thanks to a French company by the name of Nardone Automotive. That’s right, this isn’t yet another 911 that’s been treated to a thorough going-over, but an oft-forgotten Porsche GT given a healthy update. Plus, Nardone’s 928 now "sounds like a NASCAR".

It’s the work of Japanese restomodder Built By Legends, and is the second such R34 it’s created specifically for the US, to take advantage of the expiration of the ‘Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act’. Yes, it's supremely expensive. Yes, you still want it.

Still a socking great V8 (from a more modern Mustang), and still an instantly recognisable shape. But where the Velocity Modern Classics Mustang differs is that it has completely refreshed internals and a stainless steel exhaust, so you can hear each of its 466 ponies stampeding along more dramatically. That’ll be £263,500 for the soft-top version, thank you very much.

Touring Superleggera has cranked out a few stone-cold classics in its time, but this one threatens to be the stoniest and coldest of all. It’s a restomod of Ferrari’s big hearted V12 icon, the 550 Maranello, here rebooted, re-suited and freshly re-powered to the tune of 500bhp. Oh yes.

Some of the widest things on Earth include the Salar de Uyuni salt flat in Bolivia, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Totem GTAmodificata. Based on the race-spec Alfa Romeo GTAm from the early Seventies, but with a ridiculously intimidating profile, one-tonne kerbweight and a scarcely believable 810bhp from its six-pot motor. A ride through Jurassic Park would be less petrifying than this.

Note: no Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evo IIs were harmed in the making of this super-exclusive recreation. Can’t say the same for a bunch of regular W201s, though. So a warm welcome (back) to HWA AG’s rather extraordinary – and rather expensive – take on Merc’s bewinged 190E Evo II hero.

Fan of Fast and Furious, but not keen on the way Dom specs his second-generation Dodge Chargers? Perhaps you’ll take a liking to American tuner SpeedKore’s vision instead. Dubbed the ‘Ghost’ and dropped to within a few inches of the ground, this thing, like the aforementioned Grand Wagoneer, has a Hellcat crate engine popped under its bonnet. Is this the natural evolution of the ten-second car? Quite possibly.

Wrapping things up is what appears to be a completely stale FZJ80 Toyota Land Cruiser: no bulbous arches or trick lift kits to see here. But underneath that aged body sits a 430bhp GM-sourced engine and a heap of off-road goodies, making it even more adept off the beaten track and about as unassuming to look at as… an FZJ280 Land Cruiser. Good work, TLC.