The Tons of Gas Collection: European Tuner Cars of the ’80s and ’90s
Welcome to the Tons of Gas Collection from the TonsOfGasAutoCollection shop in North Carolina. This collection features a host of tuned and modified European cars from the ’80s and ’90s totaling 17 cars in all. Stylistically, Giugiaro looms large over the collection, with additional contributions from the likes of Bruno Sacco, Claus Luthe, Strosek, Rieger, and others. Many feature exotic and desirable equipment from companies like Zender, BBS, and AC Schnitzer, and the heart of the collection is a group of obscure German and Italian Callaway turbo conversions. Your inner boy racer will be salivating over the menagerie of scoops, spoilers, and strakes, as striking now as they were back in the day.
Auctions from the Tons of Gas collection will begin on Thursday, October 1, with additional lots being added in the following days. A preview of the collection continues below. Let’s get into it, shall we?
1984 Audi Sport Quattro Replica 6-Speed
Right up top we have this Audi Sport Quattro tribute that first appeared on BaT back in 2018. The car is based on an Audi 80 and was converted by S1 Performance in Lithuania in 2015. The body kit is rendered in Kevlar and carbon-fiber, and performance has been upgraded with a built 2.2-liter turbo five, KW racing suspension, and tasty Recaro C81 seats in leather and Alcantara. We’ve been privileged enough to list exactly one of the 214 genuine Sport Quattro homologation specials, and tributes done to the level of the car above don’t surface much more often. The car has benefitted from a good deal of additional work since we last saw it, and we’re happy it’s back for another round.
Turbocharged 1984 Volkswagen Scirocco Callaway
Turbocharged 1985 Volkswagen Golf GTI Callaway
G60-Swapped Euro 1987 Volkswagen Scirocco Reiger Widebody
Before he turned to Corvettes, the late Reeves Callaway had a boutique business turbocharging German and Italian cars (more on the Italians later). This Mars Red hatch was delivered in Wolfsburg trim, and was the second Scirocco ever to get the Callaway treatment. Under prior ownership, it took on a cool Kamei X1 bodykit, gold BBS basketweaves, and Neuspeed strut tower braces and sway bars, as well as Koni shocks.
A partner to the Scirocco is this VW Golf GTI, which received a similar treatment from Callaway and likewise features a body kit, coilover suspension, and basketweaves manufactured by Baumgartner Brand of Schiltach, to use the company’s full given name. The car was repainted within the last year.
Giugiaro’s “folded paper” Scirocco body looked great as designed, but if you’ve ever watched YouTube, you’ll know that there’s always someone ready to crank the dial even further. The elaborate origami widebody kit was designed by Rieger in Germany (pron. “REE-ger”), and the interior is perhaps even wilder. Open the door, and you’ll find a polished roll cage, Sparco racing seats, extra leather cladding, and custom interior panels accommodating a battery of speakers and a chromed NOS bottle—boom and zoom.
22k-Kilometer 1989 Volkswagen Jetta Trophy 16V and 1989 Volkswagen Golf Rallye G60
We’re used to seeing special-edition cars that are reserved for an automaker’s domestic market, but the Jetta Trophy was a Canadian-market offering, of which just 500 were made. The spec was somewhere between the Euro GTX and US GLI trims, and included four Trophy-only exterior colors, body-matching wheel centers, and two-tone Recaros with leather bolsters. This one comes to us in Midnight Blue Pearl and shows a scant 22k kilometers (~14k miles).
Volkswagen was plain about their intentions with the Golf Rallye homologation special. Five thousand were made in 1989 to qualify the type for Group A rally competition, and the street cars wore WRC-inspired box flares, extra lower cladding, and wider Jetta headlights. Underneath was a Syncro AWD system taking instructions from a supercharged G60 four and a five-speed manual transaxle. This example was refurbished in Germany and was repainted in Green Pearl Effect over black leather Recaros with cloth inserts.
1986 Alfa Romeo GTV6 Callaway Twin Turbo
We promised Italian Callaways, and here’s the first of two—a GTV6 with a boosted Busso that we first spotted back in 2016. The car is one of a reported 35 that were tuned at Callaway’s Connecticut facility, where it was outfitted with twin IHI turbos, a supplementary Callaway Microfueler controller that worked in conjunction with the stock Bosch K-Jetronic fuel-injection system, a new fiberglass hood, and a Callaway graphics package. It has traveled but a handful of miles since we last saw it 10 years ago, so here’s a chance for the car to end up with a new owner who can get it out on the road!
1987 Alfa Romeo Milano Callaway Twin Turbo and 3.5L-Powered 1988 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde
The twin-turbocharged Callaway Milano is even rarer than the GTV6; just two were reportedly built. The seller has owned this one for 10 years and we can thank them for its current condition, as it was subjected to a multi-year build that included a repaint with the addition of an Evo-style bodykit, re-trimming the interior in black leather and microsuede Corbeau sport seats, and the addition of Koni shocks, Brembo brakes, and other mechanical upgrades. It was already a unique car to begin with, and now there are simply no others like it.
By now you may be wondering if the seller has a thing for little Alfa sport sedans, and the appearance of yet another Milano confirms it beyond a shadow of a doubt. This car was formerly owned by another Alfa fanatic, Todd Spruell of Spruell Motorsport, who fitted it with a big Busso V6 punched out to 3.5 liters, and painted the body in a silver sourced from the Lotus color palette. Other modifications include a carbon-fiber Zender-style front air dam, Carrera shocks, Brembo front discs, Team Dynamics wheels, and Recaro seats.
Prototype Callaway-Turbocharged 1984 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 5-Speed and 1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16
The collection features yet another low-production Callaway-tuned sport sedan, this time a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 that was turbocharged as part of a prototype program for the Connecticut-based operation. The end result looks very much like the Cosworth-tuned homologation specials turned out by the factory, but gets there in its own way with a BBS-designed bodykit and three-piece basketweave wheels. The car was treated to a documented $100k of work under the seller’s ownership, and looks as fresh as it did in 1985, when it was the subject of an article in Road & Track.
The second W201 is one of the aforementioned factory homologation specials, wears Blue-Black Metallic paint, and features choice modifications like Zender wheels, adjustable coilovers, a MOMO steering wheel, and Recaro front seats.
Twin-Turbocharged 1988 Mercedes-Benz 300CE
With an aerokit and twin turbochargers, this C124 coupe fits right in with the previous cars. It received its forced-induction baptism at the hands of Dutch tuner Mosselman Turbo Systems. The car was repainted in Arctic White two years ago, and now wears an AMG-style body kit with a cool three-piece deck lid spoiler and a heckblende panel unifying the rear end.
1983 Lotus Turbo Esprit
This S3 Turbo Esprit didn’t need help from any of the tuners referenced above, as it received its turbocharging from the factory. It’s a BaT alumnus from 2017, finished in the proper John Player scheme of black with gold accents (including on the centers of its BBS Mahle basketweave wheels). The car was treated to an engine rebuild in 2008 with Slade Racing Engines, and also features QA1 shocks and aftermarket springs.
6k-Mile 1994 Porsche 911 Speedster Strosek and RWB-Modified 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Coupe 5-Speed
Of course the Tons of Gas collection features Porsches. Had you any doubt? The first is a 964 911 Speedster that came from the factory in Maritime Blue. Enthusiasts of a certain generation are bound to associate this color with the Nintendo character Mega Man, and the radical bulbous bodywork by Strosek only strengthens the impression. Indeed, the Strosek package fitted to this car was called the Mega Speedster, and it is one of 15 that received the treatment—just three of which were bound for the US. Its companion is just as radical: a 964 911 C4 that was worked over by tuner Akira Nakai of RAUH-Welt Begriff in 2022. The massive RS-style rear wing and bolt-on fender flares give it the presence of a reincarnated 934 RSR, though its naturally-aspirated M64 engine, all-wheel-drive, and air conditioning make it much better suited for a life on public roads.
We’d really be reaching if we tried to make some sort of thematic connection between this Mini ute and the other cars in the collection. It belongs because it’s part of the collection—simple as that. It’s a left-hand-drive example that has been with the seller for 15 years, it looks great, and it’s probably as fun as it is useful. We dig it!
The final car in the collection is a V8-powered, Canadian-market E31 BMW sporting an AC Schnitzer body kit and wheels. With a power-operated sunroof, heated and power-adjustable front seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, and cruise control, we can’t think of anything else it would need to be a comfortable high-speed cruiser.
A video preview of the Tons of Gas collection is above, and a full list of the vehicles on offer is below. We’ll update this list with live links as they become available.
- 1995 BMW 840Ci
- 22k-Kilometer 1989 Volkswagen Jetta Trophy 16V
- 3.5L-Powered 1988 Alfa Romeo Milano Verde
- 1989 Volkswagen Golf Rallye G60
- 1986 Alfa Romeo GTV6 Callaway Twin Turbo
- 1984 Audi Sport Quattro Replica 6-Speed
- Prototype Callaway-Turbocharged 1984 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3 5-Speed
- 1986 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16
- Turbocharged 1984 Volkswagen Scirocco Callaway
- 1983 Lotus Turbo Esprit
- RWB-Modified 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Coupe 5-Speed
- 1987 Alfa Romeo Milano Callaway Twin Turbo
- 1975 Mini Pickup
- 6k-Mile 1994 Porsche 911 Speedster Strosek
- G60-Swapped Euro 1987 Volkswagen Scirocco Reiger Widebody
- Turbocharged 1985 Volkswagen Golf GTI Callaway
- Twin-Turbocharged 1988 Mercedes-Benz 300CE
