Send it to a friend

If your European prestige car is too run-of-the-mill for you then here's some good news. Some of the most iconic German aftermarket tuners are back in Australia under the banner of a new company RamSpeed, which will sell everything from bespoke interior, re-trims to body kits and engine upgrades.

RamSpeed is the exclusive Australia and New Zealand agent for brands like AC Schnitzer (BMW/Mini), Carlsson (Mercedes Benz), ABT Sportsline (Audi/VW), Mansory (Aston Martin/Bentley) and Techart (Porsche) and, according to managing director Thomas Ullmann, is in the business of "taking excellent cars and making them perfect". That's a big boast but what RamSpeed is really offering is high-end customization and individuality.

"A number of companies have tried to do this and all failed for various reasons," Ullmann said. "Australians were educated year after year that there is hardly life after AMG, S Line and BMW Performance, that they were the pinnacle of performance. We have only the world leaders in customizing.

"We have exclusive arrangements to develop brand awareness and introduce the Australian public-from consumers to mechanical and body shops and dealerships- to these products." RamSpeed is working on setting up a national network of performance centers with the "right partners. rather than us setting up a small shop and trying to sell performance products from the one point of sale, which we know has pretty much failed (for others) in the past," he said. RamSpeed is also working to gain Australian type approval for exclusive German sports car manufacturer Wiesmann which hand builds exotic, retro-inspired roadsters and GTs powered by BMW V8 and V10 engines.

Wiesmann has built over 1000 hand-crafted cars and because cars can be individually customized right down to the stitching on the upholstery, no two cars are alike. RamSpeed is hoping to get approval to sell the stylish 300km/h MF4 and MF5 (pictured) models, which are powered by BMW M3 V8s and M5 V10s, from 2010.