Month: October 2013

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The “Zero F**Ks Were Given” RX-7

Having watched this clip 5 or 6 times over the past few days, I came to realise this is the perfect video to show non-car people – maybe they’d understand a little more as to why us car guys and gals see a car as more than a means of transport.

Over a two year period, this 19-year-old put every last buck delivering pizzas into his powerful rat-look Mazda RX-7. He doesn’t realise it yet, but in another 19 years he’ll look back with fond memories of his build. Even if he makes it in the world and is driving around in the latest Ferrari, it’s this RX-7 that would’ve given him the greatest thrill and buzz.

He may hear a song on the radio that was popular during the time he spent labouring away in his garage and be transported back to the days of delivering pizza, or he might catch a scent of combusted petrol and burnt rubber and suddenly find himself enveloped in a memory of sunny summers and adrenalin fuelled near misses.

How do I know this?

My first car wasn’t as insane as this beast, but I did opt for an MGB GT. It had a re-bored engine, wire-wheels and sat slightly higher at the rear – a look that was once the in thing. It looked pretty mean and my father (a non-car guy) surprisingly let me have it. Whilst I was taking lessons in a pathetic 1.0-L Rover Metro, the MG sat in the garage. During the hot summer the garage was a cool retreat where I would just sit behind the wheel and marvel at the dials and the low down seating position. Because it was as old as me at the time, it smelt of petrol, and this combined with the scent of vinyl is a concoction unmatched by any other car I’ve owned.

I crashed the poor thing on my first legal day on the road, spinning it one way, over compensating and spinning it into a station wall.

You’d have thought I’d learnt my lesson, but like The Toad from The Wind In The Willows, sitting in the road and repeating “poop poop”, I was hooked.

My next car?

A 1983 2.3-L turbo Ford Mustang – unusual for the UK but I loved it!

Anyway, check out this kid’s skills in creating this rather special RX-7:

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A Fish Out Of Water At The Nurburgring

I only needed to see the video preview picture to gasp and frantically click the link and wait an unbearable 30 seconds of advert before it would begin.

This video features David Coulthard teaming up with Chris Harris to race a classic Mercedes 220 Fintail around the Nurburgring.

The car is pretty standard apart from upgraded suspension, and with 140-bhp to shift its 1400KG mass, I was a little surprised to see Chris Harris’ disappointment when Coulthard said it was useless going up the hill – what the hell were they expecting?

I think it looks amazing, and with those black wheels it conveys a look of menace, something very street car. I’d love to cruise around town in one – I adore old school Mercs, having owned an E220, a 260E and a 190E.

Perhaps they should fix a light to the Fintail’s roof and use it as recovery car. If I crashed out, I’d like nothing better than to cruise back in such an old luxurious classic.

This glorious car also ticks all the boxs in the modern era for modification. Because of its classic looks and fintails, it works very well as a lowrider.

I can also see a beaten up example partly restored and turned into a rat. The old girl would also make a great sleeper. There is room for a big engine up front, and with a few modern tweaks, it could handle pretty well. After all, 1400KG is pretty light in comparison to the Mercedes sedans we see today. In fact, the latest E220 weighs 378KG more – that’s a lot. With coil over suspension and an engine/drivetrain capable of 230+ BHP, it would wipe the smile off many a face. To keep it all Merc, perhaps shoehorn the 190E Cosworth unit into it? Now that would be fun lining up against a boy racer at the lights 🙂

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Chris Harris “Shags” Some Tyres

Ever since my father bought me a Matchbox Berger/Mansell Ferrari 640 when I was 11, I’ve been part of the passionate scarlet tifosi. I don’t think I’ve missed an F1 race since then either – the amount of times I’ve frantically searched through TV channels whilst on holiday and having to settle for foreign commentary.

“Coming to the pool darling?”

“Yep, be there in a minute…”

Anyway, I’m going off course here, so I’ll get back on track by dropping a name: Chris Harris.

If you are a true petrolhead and car guy, you should’ve heard of this chap. He’s an automotive writer and presents and reviews cars on the youtube channel DRIVE. His Twitter account is highly recommended too.

Now back to Ferrari – Chris Harris recently managed to obtain a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and five sets of tyres. He is allowed to go a little crazy with it, and it is clear he means business when he says he wants to “shag” some tyres… and he does.

What I like about Chris is his passion. He wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to cars, and it shows on the videos. The videos are well shot and Chris does a great job on driving and presenting all of the facts succinctly and comprehensively. As much as I enjoy Top Gear, there’s no exploding caravans, machine guns or ridiculous hyperbole here.

How Harris hasn’t landed a job on TV, I don’t know. He knows everything about cars, can clearly drive, and has a knack for being behind a camera.

Make up your own mind and watch Chris “shag” some rubber.

   

Remembering The Combustion Engine

If I were to write what I thought about the electric car 15, 20 years ago, I would have used a lot of words unsuitable for publication. Back in the day with my brand new license and my gas gobbling MGB GT, the electric car in my mind was nothing more than a fancy milk float. I knew the technology was evolving but understood it would be some time before our roads became combustion free.

Although the thought of petrol-free motoring didn’t exactly worry me, it did make me think how lucky I was to have been born in a era that would allow me to spend the majority of my life riding out that last puff of exhaust fume before a law would finally snuff it out for good.

Of course, 15 years ago we didn’t have the hybrids either, and although they too will eventually come to an end, the petrol-powered car will be nothing more than pictures in books and examples in museums, most likely all snapped up by Jay Leno.

Perhaps it will be a while before we get that far, but I think if I ever had kids and eventually grandchildren, I’d find myself in the position where one will ask, “Granddad, did you ever drive a petrol car?” Just like I once might’ve asked my Granddad what it was like to travel on a steam train everyday.

Now, if you were to ask me what I think about the electric car 15 years on from my beloved MGB GT, I’d give you an entirely different answer. I say that the technology has got to a point where some seriously impressive stats are achievable. I’m not a fan of the hybrids, so I’m not totally won over with the direction they are going right now (I don’t like the idea of switching motors just to improve mileage and emissions) but once the technology allows for a fast car that can maintain performance over longer distances, then I think the electric car could be a brilliant bit of kit.

The Fisker Karma (pictured below) is proof that we will one day be driving in fully electric cars. These look great and can perform quite well – not quite up to the combustion engine mark yet. However, once the technology is there, the electric car will capable of some serious acceleration as the electric motor produces some big torque figures.

One day (if I live long enough) I’ll look back at the combustion engine with fondness and nostalgia, but being a car guy I won’t be saying things like, “Back in my day, cars were cars…” or “Those were the days, when cars were proper cars” as I’ll embrace the technology and hopefully be writing about 0-60 times of 2 seconds and quarter mile times of 9 seconds… all from electricity.

   

Car Personalities Caught On Film: Patrick Joust

If you follow my blog or have stumbled across my posts you’ll know I truly believe in cars possessing a presence/character/personality/aura/soul. Car guys understand what I mean, whilst the “It gets you from A-B clan” just don’t, i.e. my wife.

For those of you that do understand, you’re going to witness some eye candy and stunning photography. And for those of you who don’t get it, I’m hoping these photographs will make you look deeper into how a car can connect with people, can give of certain vibes, even whilst static.

Let me introduce you the genius that is Patrick Joust. He is an American self-taught photographer from Baltimore. The collection of photographs that grabbed my attention were from his book, The Old Cars. Whilst I’ll give you a taster of his work and how they capture a car’s presence, I really suggest buying a copy – they look even better on paper.

   

Wagons Are Cool

I’ve recently decided wagons are cool, and despite owning a WRX wagon, I’ve never really thought about them before. I have fond memories of lifting the rear door so my dogs could easily just hop in and have loads of room to fight whilst I tried to drive. The fact it was a WRX meant it didn’t even feel big; it effectively matches the saloon WRX in performance.

This all came about after I caught up with season 4 of Fast N’ Loud and watched an episode featuring a wagon made especially for NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. Although fairly rare now, Richard Rawlings found a decent 56 Chevy Nomad for Earnhardt Jr and let his bearded genius, Aaron Kaufman go to town it.

The colours were specifically chosen as a kind of homage to his sponsor Mountain Dew (energy drink). I think it looks fantastic, almost as good as their Sleeper wagon below.

Now this is undoubtedly cool. Gas Monkey Garage did an amazing job of keeping the car’s battle-scarred and weather-worn looks by treating the metal and simply clear-coating it. Stick on some wheels, slam it and insert a big engine and voilà!

Over in Europe, we have our own cool wagons (estates). Take this BMW 325i Touring above, for example. It’s a pretty sought after vehicle now, and back in the day was considered a different breed. Now you could fit a large family and the kitchen sink in the back of your car and still have plenty of performance at your disposal.

This concept obviously worked and other manufacturers caught on. Its success was down to practicality and the ability to maintain a “cool” status like the W124 above.

One of my favourite modern estates would have to be the Audi RS4. Around the turn of the century, this model gave the estate/performance concept a further kick in the pants with a 0-60 time of 4.8 seconds!

Not only that, but it’s a real looker too. If I should happen to have kids (God forbid) and the wife demands a spacious means of transport, it’s this beast above I’ll come home with – I’ll look like the practical husband out shopping for the family, and at the same time I’ll be happy in the knowledge I could out drag a Porsche.

   

The BRZ Finally Given The 280-BHP It Deserves

Having owned Subarus and still own a WRX, I’m a massive fan. For one, I love the unique thrum and rumble of the boxer engine, and two, I like the power and handling. I’ve owned my current Prodrive WRX for eight months now and it hasn’t missed a beat.

Anyway, onto the car above. The Subaru community have been teased with the concept of a BRZ STI, but as yet we haven’t seen one or heard anything else about it in the UK. However, the Litchfield Subaru BRZ Spec S – the S stands for supercharged – is something to get excited about.

Before you assume this version comes with a hefty price tag for the extra 80+bhp over the standard model, the supercharger including fitting will only cost you £3,495.

Okay, to some this may sound like a lot to have the extra power, but believe me, that extra grunt transforms a pacy coupe into a serious contender, pushing the big boys like Porsche and BMW.

To put it’s power into context I’ll compare the BRZ Spec S power-to-weight ratio of 226bhp/ton to some other cars.

Nissan 370Z – 206bhp/ton

Audi TTS – 188bhp/ton

Porsche Cayman – 199bhp/ton

Astra VXR – 187bhp/ton

So the BRZ has a whole 20-bhp per ton more than its nearest competitor, the Nissan 370Z, which in its own right is a excellent car.

0-60-mph comes in an M3 threatening 4.9 seconds, where as the standard BRZ takes 6.7 seconds.

Apart from the supercharger, the Litchfield has upgraded brakes, oil cooler, intercooler and Ecutek ECU. It sits slightly different due to the set up and new dampers.

I’ve always been used to the big turbochargers delivering the power, so when I drive one of these supercharged BRZs I’ll be interested in how it feels to stomp the gas pedal down and hear the whine of the supercharger as apposed to the spool and hiss from a turbo.

So for under £30,000 you get a supercharged sports car with Porsche performance and a combined mpg of 28… count me in!