I Drove A Range Rover Classic With A Chevy V8—It's Delightfully Wrong

We love a bit of nostalgia in the UK. The ‘they don’t make ‘em like they used to’ crowd can be found, well, everywhere, decrying how it was better in the old days, and how the youth of today don’t have enough polio or respect for the gray, frowny people telling them they’re wrong all the time.

The car community often agrees that old cars were better in many ways—fewer bongs, no screens, and more engaging drive. But they also know, deep down, that a lot of old cars were a bit cack. British ones, especially. Which is why restomodding businesses are springing up all over the place, promising to make your childhood dream car actually good.

Photo by: Twisted

Twisted is one such restomod company. Based in Thirsk, Twisted’s been around since the turn of the century, initially set up by founder Charles Fawcett as a side hustle slinging parts for various Land Rovers that grew rather quickly, before turning its hand to building idealized Defenders.

Twisted would laser scan cars to line the panels up properly, make the steering not awful, fit sound deadening, a decent stereo, suspension that didn’t suck, sort paint and trim, and even a V8 if you asked nicely. Its Defenders set a rather fine standard, and continue to find fans all over the world.

While Land Rover’s old motor is the firm’s bread and butter, Twisted’s turned its hand to other things over the years—notably a beach-y VW bug and even a Suzuki Jimny. But now’s the time for the Range Rover Classic to have a Twisted glow up. While Twisted isn’t the first company to turn its attention to the original luxury SUV, its take, notes Fawcett, is suitably, erm, Twisted.

British Roots, American Soul

Photo by: Twisted

Currently, there’s only one Twisted Rover: a Bahama Gold prototype with a whacking great V8 and a few bits to figure out. Walking around the car, Fawcett points out things that annoy him about the original’s build—panels designed to be easily placed on a production line were fine when the cars were produced en masse, but for a bespoke creation, the gaps and shapes they leave need to be smoothed out.

Fawcett’s web of automotive businesses is many and varied, so getting those figured out and reformed into something more pleasing shouldn’t be an issue. The colour is a nod to Fawcett’s father’s original Range Rover. A mainstay of his childhood, the Range was constantly being tweaked and fiddled with, and holds a special place in Fawcett’s heart.

Everything you’d expect from a Twisted vehicle happens to the Classic. The panels are lined up properly, it’s quiet where it needs to be, loud where you want it to be, and… better. The prototype was built for driving, notes Fawcett.

Photos by: Twisted

Photos by: Twisted

There’s no aftermarket screen for CarPlay, or anything to distract you from enjoying its engine: a breathed-on-by-Twisted Chevy LT1 6.2-liter V8 kicking out 500(ish) horsepower. That’ll do nicely. It’s hooked up to a GM 8L90 eight-speed automatic gearbox (also breathed on by Twisted to suit the car), so your left leg can slowly atrophy into delicious nothingness in comfort.

Setting off is an event in Twisted’s new baby. Not because moving off in a classic Range itself is a new or rare thing, but because when you turn the key, it barks at you. That V8 noise and a car that rolled out of the Midlands are a deliciously incongruous mix. It’s a bit naughty. It barks, then burbles, and makes you feel all warm and gooey. It’ll raise purists’ eyebrows, but so do most things—so, in British parlance, ‘sod 'em.'

Setting off is an event in Twisted’s new baby. Not because moving off in a classic Range itself is a new or rare thing, but because when you turn the key, it barks at you.

It moves off smoothly, the gearbox gently shifts from ratio to ratio, happily enough. You feel the shifts because you’re supposed to. Twisted isn’t luxury-izing the thing, instead making it a driver's car that you get in to cover the commute (or whatever someone who can afford to drop £350,000 / $477,000 on a car will do in it) and have fun.

There aren’t drive modes to smother sensation and insulate you; it’s set up to be a Twisted car. Your sport mode is your right ankle, as is your AEB, come to think of it. In a digital world, Twisted is pleasingly analog.

Designed To Drive

Photo by: Twisted

Classic Range Rover suspension is legendarily soft. Watch an unmodified RRC take a corner at anything above a crawl, and you’ll wonder if its door handles are magnetically attracted to the road. Here… that’s not the case. There’s some squidge, sure, but you can corner without worrying about falling over.

The front springs are a touch on the tough side for now, but that’s on the list to be dialled out for a smoother ride. When you give it a bootful, it gently squats on its haunches enough to let you know there’s some weight transfer happening, but not so much that you wonder if you’re going to need a new rear hatch. Twisted’s steering setup is smooth and progressive, too. Not only can you corner far more briskly, but you can feel more than enough of what’s going on under the front wheels.

With that V8 on board, you don’t really need to be told that it’s quick, but… it’s really quick. The speedo needle moves quickly enough to make you keep an eye out for speed cameras, and it’s accompanied by a raw metallic howl. There’s a new set of pipes, and they’re angry in the best possible way. Thankfully, the brakes are built to match the pace, should you need them.

Properly Bonkers

Photo by: Twisted

Giving it a kicking is fun, and deeply incongruous with what you’d expect of a classic Range Rover, but you can still use it as "A Car." Twisted hasn’t dialled out any sense of usability. It’ll burble around town in comfort and sit on the highway without any drama. It’s still a Range Rover, so you can take friends along for the ride and they won’t be up each other’s noses.

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The Range Rover is a new thing for Twisted. Going in, seems so far removed from the Defenders that built its name that you approach with caution. You shouldn’t. There’s decades worth of Twisted know-how and expertise built into make it a damn fine time that neatly toes the line between performance, comfort, and retro luxury.

If the prototype’s this much fun, the finished article will be something else.

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