Sometimes a great car just isn't great enough. Sometimes an otherwise crappy car needs a giant mid-mounted engine. When a driver screams for more, the tuner's there to answer the call. And you answered our call by selecting these ten insanely badass tuner cars.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our Jalopnik summer feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Photo Credit: Ultimate car Page
10.) 1964 Holman-Moody Ford Galaxie
Suggested By: CobraJoe
Why It's Badass: Modified for British Touring Car racing in the mid-60's, these 427 Galaxies were unlike anything else out on the track. They diced with Minis, Lotus Cortinas, and Ford Anglias and performed pretty well. In the above video just after a Mini rolls spectacularly, one of these monsters can be seen leading a gaggle of Cortinas into a corner. Clearly, they're having a tough time just getting around the aircraft carrier-sized behemoth in front of them.
Photo credit: Youtube
9.) Ford SHOgun
Suggested By: My X-Type Is Too A Real Jaguar
Why It's Badass: Chuck Beck and Rick Titus had a mission. They wanted to create America's answer to the Renault R5 Turbo. They took a couple of unassuming mid-80's Ford Festivas and did wonderful things to them. After pulling the engine out of the front end, they brought in the Taurus SHO's V6 powerplant and inserted it under a shelf in the rear of the car. Then, because they could, a big bottle of nitrous was thrown into the mix. Also, Jay Leno. This combination of drivetrains and chemicals got the car from 0-60 mph in under five seconds, and made it run a quarter mile in under 12 seconds.
Photo credit: Houston Imports
8.) AMG W124 Hammer
Suggested By: SennaMP4
Why It's Badass: Though it's an integral part of Mercedes Benz now, tuners AMG were not always inside the company. Back in 1988, the madmen there would pull out your 300E's 3.0-liter six-cylinder and replace it with a 5.5-liter V8. If you sprang for the Sledgehammer option, they'd bore it out to a cool 6.0 liters and send you on your way with 375 horses under the hood. Today, for a German super-saloon this might not seem like that big a deal, but 23 years ago it was Earth-shaking.
Photo credit: LS1Tech.com
7.) Lotus Esthi
Suggested By: Pessimippopotamus
Why It's Badass: Just in case your Elise wasn't enough fun out of the box, German Lotus dealers Brandes & Dschüdow have an alternative. They disassembled the entire rear end of one of their cars and dropped in the V6 from an Audi RS4. They rebuilt the entire rear end of the car, got it officially licensed by Lotus, and melted faces with it.Three were built before development costs put an end to the program.
Photo credit: Lotus Talk
6.) Artz 928 Golf
Suggested By: tonyola
Why It's Badass: Crazy tuners Artz took a Porsche 928, removed everything down to the engine & chassis, and then stretched custom-made Mk1 Golf-like body panels over it to create one of the most ridiculous sleepers ever. The resulting creation is about one-and-a-half times wider than a regular Golf. What's even better is that the car isn't even badged as a GTi, remaining even further under the radar in GL guise.
Photo credit: The History of Cars
5.) John Shepherd's Eagle Talon DSM
Suggested By: chris209
Why It's Badass: The only thing left of this Talon is the body shell. Mr. Shepherd has completely rebuilt everything, and I do mean everything in or around this car. It puts down an estimated 850 horsepower at the wheels, which is good for under 8 second quarters at obscene speeds. This car is totally nuts, and still street legal- John drives it to and from work a couple of times a week.
Photo credit: Youtube
4.) HPA Twin Turbo New Beetle GT6
Suggested By: Gamecat325
Why It's Badass: HPA can take nearly any German car and mix and match parts to create something outstanding. Their Beetle package includes all-wheel drive and a V6 motor. The 0-to-60 times on the test car were as low as 4.25 seconds, if you can believe it. The trick here is to remove all of the wings and stickers that HPA add so you can sneak up on unsuspecting prey at traffic lights. Install an automated Polaroid camera on the rear decklid and snap a photo of their drivers' faces when they realize they're getting embarrassed by a Beetle, and start a collection.
Photo credit: Grassroots Motorsports
3.) Polestar Volvo C30 PCP
Suggested By: BrtStlnd
Why It's Badass: Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No! It's Super-Volvo! This C30 was built by Polestar and puts out 400 horsepower to all four wheels. When tested at Volvo's own track, it beat out an Evo X. It sports 0-to-60 times around 4.6 seconds when driven conservatively — Volvo thinks it can get closer to 4 if pushed hard. And just take a look at that color and body kit combination. This is one sweet Swede.
Photo credit: Polestar
2.) Ruf CTR Yellowbird
Suggested By: rawtoast
Why It's Badass: The Yellowbirds were built starting in 1987. They may not have been the fastest cars to 60 mph at the time (Ferrari's F40 and Porsche's stock 959 were quicker off the line) but for a period of time they were the fastest cars in the world, topping out at 211 mph. In 1987. Only 29 were built from the ground up, purchased new from the Porsche factory; the rest were converted from previously-owned 911 3.2s.
Photo credit: Porschebahn
1.) 9ff GT9R
Suggested By: E39Ed
Why It's Badass: The GT9R is another car that can be had with a menu of different options. In its most potent form, the GT9R produces 1,105 horsepower with a variety of different aero kits and options. It starts life as the front end from a 911 GT3, the engine block from a 996-model 911 turbo, and a custom-made spaceframe chassis. Only 20 exist and no two are exactly alike. It is estimated that the car tops out at somewhere in the neighborhood of 260 miles per hour, or the exact speed at which regular roads cease to exist and your eyes melt into the back of your head. Whichever comes first.
Photo credit: Extavaganzi