This is the Mulgari Icon03: a tuned BMW 240i

Mulgari. Sounds like a knock-off aftershave from Brixton market, doesn’t it? Turns out it’s actually a Berkshire-based BMW tuner. One that’s been burning the midnight oil to "create a car full of purist driving dynamics" in order to be a true "homage to the great Bavarian driving machines, past and present". It’s all well and good saying that, but let’s talk real for a minute: what we have is a modified 240i that’s been fettled to go faster.

It’s called the ICON03. And, as you can see, it’s quite a bit wider than standard. Front tyre width has been bloated out to accommodate 255 cross-section tyres with 275s out back. That extra rubber helps get the 435 lb ft of torque from the modified turbocharged straight-six to the road. However, we’ve not been given any power figures. Mulgari says "performance of the engine hasn't been a focus" but "under 500 bhp is where a true drivers' car lies". So, after consulting our giant Top Gear calculator, we’ve deduced it will have somewhere between 1 and 499bhp. We’d like to think it’s nearer that upper limit.

Where the engine wasn’t an area of focus, we’re told that the chassis and suspension were "a major focus" when developing the ICON03. However, Mulgari has failed to say exactly what it's done. Or who has done it. So if we use their previous system of vagaries, it could either be fitted with suspension off an old mountain bike they bought from GumTree, or trick multi-link suspension with horizontal coil over shock absorbers. Or something in between.

M car legends were called upon as muses for the visuals. The dimpled carbon roof is a homage to the E46 M3 CSL but offset by a contemporary M aero channel. Then the new, wider wings are a throwback to the E30 M3. The front wing cut outs feature winglets, like the original 3.0 CSL. But there is also a new front splitter to tag team a wider bumper to benefit its downforce capabilities as well as a completely flat floor. Because race car. Oh, and because it’s a modified BMW, there’s an Akrapovic exhaust, natch.

Mulgari tells us that ICON is "a lifestyle, cars for drivers, cars that serve a purpose, cars that deliver to the senses". Well, it’s also an incredibly cool resto-mod outfit from California. One that’s probably on the phone to its trademark lawyers as we speak.

But in all honesty, we can wait to cut the waffle and drive the thing. So hopefully that’s something we can do in the future, as, you never know, it could be a BMW 240i with 1bhp and mountain bike suspension. And if it is, we want to try it.