Totem Automobili, the Italian outfit best known for reworking classic Alfa Romeos into one-off restomods, has unveiled the underpinnings of its first ground-up creation: a modular chassis platform called Tiziano, launching with a naturally aspirated V12 paired to a six-speed manual gearbox. No turbos. No hybrid assist. In an industry racing toward electrification, Totem is building the exact opposite.

• Totem unveiled the Tiziano platform at The Quail during Monterey Car Week in August 2026.
• The launch model, called the T12, pairs a naturally aspirated V12 built by Italtecnica with a six-speed manual transmission.
• Tiziano is described as a “proprietary modular technical architecture” designed to also accept a twin-turbo V6 or a fully electric powertrain in future models.
• A running rolling chassis, shown without bodywork, is planned for 2027.

An Analog Answer to an Electrified Industry

Totem built its reputation restoring and modifying Alfa Romeo Giulias and GTVs into vintage-shaped, modern-engineered “GT Super” and “GT Electric” cars sold to collectors. Tiziano marks the company’s pivot from rebuilding other people’s cars to engineering its own from scratch, and in its own announcement, Totem frames the naturally aspirated V12 and manual gearbox as a deliberate stance, not a limitation of resources.

The chassis backing that stance is more ambitious than the drivetrain choice alone suggests: a carbon-fiber central monocoque bonded to aluminum subframes, a construction method borrowed from cars costing several times what a small Italian atelier typically charges.

Hardware That Backs Up the Pitch

• Double-wishbone suspension front and rear, with pushrod-and-rocker actuated, electronically adjustable dampers.
• Suspension components machined from 7075-T6 aluminum, the same alloy family used in aerospace structures.
• Brembo brakes, hydraulically assisted rack-and-pinion steering, and a 45/55 front-rear weight distribution target.
• A limited-slip differential and hydraulic twin-plate clutch behind that six-speed manual.

Totem has not released horsepower, displacement, weight, price, or production numbers for the V12 — the engine itself is still under development, and the company says a fully operational rolling chassis won’t be shown publicly until 2027. That’s a long runway for a small, independent manufacturer to hit, and plenty can change along the way.

Still, the statement being made here is clear enough without a spec sheet. While the rest of the supercar world adds turbochargers, hybrid batteries, and increasingly motors in place of engines entirely, Totem is betting there’s still a market for buyers who want twelve cylinders, no forced induction, and a clutch pedal under their left foot. It’s a small company, a big engine, and a bet against where the industry insists it’s headed.