80er tuning - deeper, faster, wider

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The idea of ​​increasing the performance and appearance of your own vehicle through tuning has been around since the 1950s. At that time it was still called “vehicle refinement” in Germany - the term tuning was only used from the 60s and 70s. Car tuners were springing up everywhere, with only one goal in mind: to outdo the others. And that's exactly what the vehicles looked like: they should become deeper, faster, wider. Like this Porsche 928 S from Strosek:

The prevailing extensive cartuning reached its peak in the 80s. The legendary 1982 “Breitbau” golf from Abt with its widely exhibited wheel arches, 13-inch tires and its exhaust gas turbocharger, which catapulted the power of the four-cylinder engine from 81 kW / 110 PS to 120 kW / 163 PS, heralded a new era in tuning a: It was only then that the tuning business for many workshops began to pay off.

No less famous were the tunings by Tony Rieger, who has built up an extremely popular company since 1987. The GTO kit for the 1983 Golf 1 clearly illustrates the slogan of the time: "Wide, wider, Rieger!" The 345 tires, the Ferrari-like air intakes and the XXL spoiler are particularly striking. This monstrous body hid up to 196 hp.

Notorious at the time, but almost forgotten today, is the SGS Gullwing. Its manufacturer, the Styling Garage (also: SGS), which was founded in the Hamburg area, was one of the most successful tuners for models from Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the 80s. Often disparagingly referred to as "pimp sledges", the SGS cars were not popular with all population groups. And this despite the fact that the SGS creations were so expensive that even well-deserving “red light barons” could hardly afford one. The SGS Gullwing was high on the already high price scale. While no changes were made to the engine and transmission, everything seemed to be possible for SGS when modifying the chassis, chassis, body and interior - the company was strongly geared to customer requirements and even installed sound systems, telephones and printers in their vehicles.

In the end, of course, a car should not be missing: the Opel Manta. Probably one of the most refined vehicles of the 80s, countless companies tried to give the successful model with the stingray emblem an individual look. Some of these companies quickly disappeared from the scene - others, such as Irmscher, are still very popular with Opel fans. One of the most beautiful kits from Irmscher is for the Manta i240 Dakar, a version of the i240 known in Switzerland that is traded in Switzerland. While the performance of the four-cylinder engine with 2,4 hp, enlarged to a working volume of 134 liters, is nothing special for Irmscher tuning, the visual aspects are particularly striking. The curves of the body are emphasized by shapely fender flares and the shark mouth spoiler often gets envious looks from passersby. In general, the Irmscher i240 Dakar is a real rarity on German roads.

While not all tuning models had a good reputation in the 80s, they are all the more popular today. Well-preserved conversions from renowned companies are traded today for an extremely large amount of money. This is mainly due to the fact that the vehicles were only produced in small numbers and that only a few tuned models are still in good shape today; for such rare cars, some people are willing to invest a lot of money. Because if classic cars - why not tuned right away?

Retromotion is a company from Stuttgart that makes spare parts available for classic and classic cars. In addition to our large online portfolio, we also offer our free parts scout service, through which we query an extensive dealer network for rare spare parts - saving our customers a lot of time and frustration. If the part is no longer on the market, we produce it again - we use both classic manufacturing processes and modern technologies such as 3D metal printing. Every week in our blog there are new exciting stories about classic and classic cars. Take a look at www.retromotion.com!