The 25 Best Custom Cars of 2012

A part of the gearhead culture is always wanting to perfect and improve a car. Sometimes, a vehicle is best left stock, sitting nice and purdy on all original parts. There's always a power-hungry part of us that says that's just unacceptable, though. That's where tuners and aftermarket customizers come in. There is an entirely different culture, once you step into the garages of places like Wheelsandmore, HAMANN, and Underground Racing. With all of the carbon fiber, body kits, exhaust systems, and turbos you can handle, here are The 25 Best Custom Cars of 2012.

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Car: Alpha Romeo 8C Competizione Coupe

Wheelsandmore took an already exotic sports car and somehow made it sleeker, by giving it a more subdued look. Blame it on the black rims.

Car: Scion FR-S

Don't be weirded out by the goofy name. This car was modelled after Imai-san's Bee-Racing Subaru BRZ, and features edgier add-ons that are visibly bolted to the original body.

Car: Lamborghini Aventador

Named the Rabbioso, this Aventador was created in Aachen, Germany. A new software upgrade, "which has been adapted to the higher throughput of the valve-controlled exhaust system and a special carbon fibre airbox," boosts it to 777 horsepower.

Car: Rolls-Royce Ghost

With possibly the most unique interior customization, this "Ghost Save the Queen" Rolls-Royce by Carlex Design features ostrich and kangaroo leather and has woolen rugs of pile over one inch long. How's that for luxury?

Car: Mercedes-Benz W113

R8s? Psh. Aventadors? Nah. Ferraris? Not original. Vilner took it back to an older Benz, and compeltely decked it out with quilted diamond interior and a striped exterior paint job. They dubbed it "The Gentle Pagoda."

Car: Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Hennessey Performance did something to a Camaro that should never be able to happen to a Camaro: tuned it to more than 1,000 bhp. This car was fitted with a CTS-V 6.2-liter supercharged LSA engine, and was upgraded with a new fuel system, high-flow cylinder heads, ball bearing turbos, an air-to-air intercooler, to name a few.

Car: Porsche Panamera

After watching numerous Panamera customs come and go, we settled on Hamann's as the top job. The body kit makes it look like it could fly for Christ's sake, and make it fly they did. How does 0-62 mph in 3.7 seconds, 0-124 mph in 12.4 seconds and a top speed of 195 mph sound?

Car: Scion FR-S

We saw all sorts of disguises for the new king of customs, the FR-S, at its first appearance at SEMA this year, but the one-of-a-kind "Masterminded" work took the cake. The car is lowered on an ACCUAIR E Level air ride system and Modular Forged M18 wheels, and has an open-roof design that we'd love to take for a cruise on a nice Cali day.

Car: Audi R8 GT

There's one problem with GT3 cars: You can't drive them anywhere else but on the track. So, Prior Design desided to model a road car after the GT3 racers, resulting in this wingy Audi.

Car: Ferrari 458 Italia

This is "Black Mist." It's a 458 Italia that's been given a Novitec Rosso kit and blacked out to lurk in the shadows. The wheels are PUR 1NE Monoblock, sized 21 inches in the front and 22 in the rear.

Car: Lamborghini Gallardo

The all-new Renazzo-V special program from Vorsteiner marks the company's official foray into the world of Lamborghinis. The sharp package looks like Leonardo from TMNT took his two blades to a body kit, resulting in cutting front and rear bumpers and side skirts that incorporate plenty of carbon fiber. Additionally, the car gets a carbon wing, has a revealing rear deck lid (you can't see the engine on the standard 2013 Gallardo), and a new set of 19- or 20-inch rims.

Car: Mercedes-Benz G63

Kim Kardashian can keep her G63 that's got nothing but a matte wrap on it. We're going with BRABUS for our G-Wagen, which is pushing 620 horsepower on 23-inch wheels.

Car: Porsche 997 Cayman

This particular Porsche 997 Cayman, customized by Montreal's finest, features a sharp new fiberglass body kit (also available in carbon fiber) and rests on a set of 9x20 and 11x20 HRE wheels.

Car: Rolls-Royce Phantom

The Cali custom group, known for a slew of celebrity cars, took a Rolls-Royce Phantom that was already fitted with a Mansory Conquistador body kit and dipped it with satin gold. The look is sure to stand-out anywhere it goes, rolling a few inches off the ground on its lowering kit.

Car: Ferrari 458 Italia

E2M came correct with one of our favorite color schemes we've seen all year. They icy Ferrari 458 is derived from the Challenge Trofeo Sportivo racing upgrade. A carbon fiber airbox, custom-made 21-inch wheels, and an ECU reflash are just a few of the numerous alterations made in the kit, pushing the bhp from 562 to 602

Car: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Kicherer dropped a supercharger into a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, which we already consider a supercar. Does this make it a superDUPERcar? Sorry, don't ever repeat that. It doesn't mean that at all. It just means that Kicherer's custom SLS AMG 6.3-liter V8 pumps 700 horsepower and can get to 62 mph in 3.4 seconds. An adjustable coilover suspension, a stainless steel sports exhaust system, and 20-/21-inch wheels complete the package.

Car: Audi R8

Lowered on a G-Ride Airride system on the H&R coilover kit, this snake green R8 is one of the sneakiest-looking cars of the year. XXX also tweaked the software for the 5.2-liter engine, added a BMC carbon air-box, and put on a high-end sports exhaust system with a Bluetooth flap control system

Car: Lamborghini Aventador

The Mansory Aventador might not be the most powerful of the year, but as far as unique ideas go, it doesn't get much wilder than an all-carbon car. Dubbed the "Black Diamond," we are in love with the exposed fiber.

Car: McLaren MP4-12C

This McLaren is the most recent art car to pop up on our radar and can currently be seen in Vienna. Although it has a similar soul to Jeff Koons' BMW, one of our favorite customizers HAMANN brings a new flavor to the multi-colored design. The special package will run you a little more than $120,000.

Car: Lamborghini Aventador LP900 SV

It's about time we get into the heavy horsepower. DMC is now on the second stage of their Aventador tuning, pushing horsepower to more than 900. We're talking about an upgrade that you'd have to apply for. Taking inspiration from the Aventador J concept, it includes new carbon fiber front and rear bumpers, Formula 1 canards, side skirts with diffuser panels, a massive wing, and a tunnel beneath the custom titanium exhaust. Performance upgrades include single intake throttle plates, custom gasoline pumpes and lines, a tuned ECU, and an electronic load pressure control system. The best part of all this? Stage 3 is coming.

Car: Audi R8 GT

There are those who are happy spending $200,000 on an Audi R8 GT and are pleased with the 560hp 5.2-liter V10. Then, there are those who think that's weaksauce and install twin-turbos into the insane road car that already gets to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. Underground Racing helps those who fall into the latter category. The custom shop developed a kit, split into four stages, that can get you up to 1,500 horsepower on a heavily modified race-ready engine when using 117 octane racing fuel. With the stage 3 kit using regular gas, it still gets up to an estimated 1,000 horsepower. The stage 3 kit will cost you another $94 grand. If you're interestd, you're going to have to be patient. The kits would require refittings throughout the engine and can take up to a couple months to complete.

Car: Lamborghini Aventador LP 760-4

I will individually announce that this is my favorite paint job that I came across all year. The glossy aqua blue Lambo is the "Dragon Edition" from Oakley, of which only 10 are being built. It's also got a carbon fiber spoiler, a newly front bumper, back air vents, and dragon stitching on the interior. ECU modifications and a titanium exhaust boost the 6.5-liter V12 to 760 horsepower.

Car: Ferrari Enzo

Believe it or not, the iconic nose of this Ferrari Enzo was once diving straight into the banks of the Atlantic Ocean. This is the same car that painfully lost control and fell off track into a watery crash at the 2011 Targa Newfoundland rally. Like we told you in May, the owner wasn't simply going to let this top-notch work of machinery go to waste.

Already labelled the XX Evolution as an Edo Competition-tuned Enzo with 180 additional horses before the crash, ZR Auto owner Zahir Rana vowed to bring this back to life with another 110 horsepower added. The ZXX you see above is the result. It now has Edo Competition wheels, a new exhaust, a highly tuned V12, and a bright white and yellow paint job. Producing a reported 950 total horsepower, the ZXX is the fastest Enzo ever.

Car: Cadillac CTS

Everybody will remember Hennessey this year for the Venom GT Spyder that they built for Steven Tyler, but we've been stuck drooling over the 2013 VR1200 Twin Turbo Coupe they created, since it was announced. It's got 1,066 rear-wheel horsepower (1,226 bhp total), and 964 lb-ft of rear-wheel torque (1,109 total). Those numbers from the 7.0-liter twin-turbo V8 equate to a 0-60 time of 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 242 mph. Yeah.

Car: Nissan GT-R

Above all other things on this list, there is one number that should stand out to you: 1,500. 1-5-0-0. That is the rated horsepower (on racing fuel) for the Alpha 12 Nissan GT-R. The turbocharged package make this the fastest GT-R, and one of the fastest cars, in the world, getting up to 232 mph in just 22.779 seconds. There is a laundry list of mods for this car, but it includes an Alpha Race front mount intercooler, an Alpha spec. 94MM race exhaust system, TiAL Q blow-off valves, and of course, an Alpha 12 turbo system.