You may know the Italian firm Totem Automobili for its GT Super and Future models – high-end restomods based on the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA and available with a gas engine or as an EV. But there is an inherent problem for restomod companies – there is only a finite source of the original car models they specialize in to restore and modify.
Totem Automobili realizes this and has a solution: eliminate its dependence on donor cars and build its own platform for new cars.
A New Platform For New Cars
Totem Automobili T12 platformTotem Automobili
Of course, what Totem is doing isn’t that simple. It’s moving from being a restomod company to a boutique manufacturer, which is a whole new ballgame. In order not to rely on someone else’s platform, Totem has developed its own, called the T12 Series. In the series, there are three variations based on a single architecture – the T12 Corsa, T12 Lunga, and T12 Turismo.
Totem’s description of each version is both wordy and vague, but the variants appear to be a track car, a sports car, and a touring car chassis. At its heart, the platform is a structural carbon fiber central monocoque chassis designed to house anything from a naturally aspirated V12 to a twin-turbocharged V6 to a fully electric powertrain. Totem says the first car on the new chassis will be radical, and will feature a naturally aspirated Italtecnica V12 engine.
A Rolling Chassis
Totem Automobili T12 platformTotem Automobili
So that it doesn’t have to rely on outside sources, the T12 Series is a rolling chassis, with the subframes, suspension systems, and complete mechanical architecture designed in-house. This gives Totem complete freedom, as it is no longer tied to an archaic chassis design or forced to drastically modify everything to achieve the dynamic results it’s searching for. As we can see from the photos, the chassis rolls out complete with double-wishbone pushrod suspension.
According to Totem, the damper calibration can be electronically adjusted from the cockpit in both compression and rebound, and “adjustable anti-roll bars complete the suspension setup.” Prospective customers will be pleased to note that the platform uses what’s now become an old-school hydraulically assisted rack-and-pinion steering system, and that the chassis balance is 45% front and 55% rear.
As for what the cars will look like, we’ll have to wait and see. No doubt, though, the bodywork will be carbon fiber, as with its restomod cars. But, without typical restomod limitations, Totem has the chance to move forward in interesting ways.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters
Totem Automobili T12 platformTotem Automobili
This is a reminder that the restomod industry relies on a finite resource – old desirable cars. For example, the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA was made between 1965 and 1975 in all its variations, and is still highly desirable as a classic. To pick one up now, you would need at least $150,000. There are Porsche 911 and Ford Bronco restomod companies galore, and they have more fertile ground, but there is still a finite supply of classics available.
We’ve already seen an uptick in boutique companies building homage cars rather than restomods, and this could be a sign we’re about to see more. But the most interesting will be firms like Totem, which build their own designs without leaning heavily on nostalgia.
