Fiat Uno Turbo Extreme by Langenberg

Tuner cars of the 1980s were a whole other dimension of strange, especially as cottage firms competed with more established tuners and mainly racing-focused outfits who also offered go-fast parts for cars at that time.

My tastes in car interiors are hopefully different from yours, as I think the small series of multi-coloured Bennetton-MOMO steering wheels are some of the coolest period modifications one could ever hope to make.

Now? They're stupidly expensive, and…given a winning ticket…I still would track one down for my daily driver.

In 1986, the German tuner Langenberg, namesake of Karl-Heinz Langenberg, decided to turn its attention toward a smaller project car.

The Rülzheim-based shop, officially KHL Langenberg, had already created outlandish bodykits and performance upgrades that catered to a wide range of customers, from well-heeled clientele (think BMW M1, various Mercedes-Benz, Porsches) to Volkswagen Golf and Beetles, melding significantly altered bodywork with, usually, a whopping great amount of turbo boost.

Impressively, being a German tuning company it had to get TÜV (Technischer Überwachungsverein) approval for its vehicles. Think of it as an organization that does engineering certification on basically everything, to my recollection starting in the 19th Century era of stationary steam-driven engines that had a tendency to explode their boilers if not constructed or operated properly.