Rich L
- 41 comments
- 23 likes given
- 33 likes received
Bio not provided
Outstanding photographic work Larry. My inner engineer is particularly fascinated by your Wang and Saito high speed studies in tyre smoke fluid dynamics (pics 19 and 42).
I'm pretty sure that two-tone green vehicle (767 EYH) is a heavily-customised Vauxhall Victor. FB series 1961-64, according to Wikipedia.
Both are in GT5. But nothing prepares you for driving the Nordschleife for real. Especially when it's cold and damp. Intimidating to say the least, even in a relatively underpowered trackday-spec Suzuki Swift. Spa is an epic circuit, but all the nut-swinging over the 'ring is perfectly justified. Long may the Holy-shit-that's-dangerous Nurburgring public open days continue, so that all speedhunters have the chance to experience it before sensible, logical Germans and health & safety nazis ban it for good (or the track owners run out of funding, again).
Hahaha, dude! Take your brain out of the fridge and put it back in your skull. Then have a coffee and think about how the windows work in any four-seater convertible (or coupe with frameless doors).
@Mike Garrett Goddamn Mike, that KP61 is baller with a capital F. Makes me miss my 1300cc KP61 Sprint - at age 16 it was my first car. I only had it for 3 months then rolled it in an autocross, thanks to buggered shock absorbers and over-exuberance. Write off. Great cars, and a fantastic introduction to RWD for somebody learning car control at a young age.
Beautiful. It seems absurd calling a 383 a 'small block'. Hope Randy has never mistakenly gone to change gears with the handbrake during a 7-second pass...
Cool video, I'm glad that in Politically Correct New Zealand this kinda shit is still allowed to go down (if only with backing from of a global energy drink brand). @MadMike I'd love to see some raw onboard footage, without all the glitz and glamour....?
Sweet article. Would love to attend this event some day. Austria has some spectacular scenery and fantastic, smoothly-surfaced driving roads. But I'm not seeing any lovingly modified Skodas or SEATs in these photos?
Gentlemen, I would like to submit the Silver State Classic, FIA Tour de Corse, WRC Finland and Targa New Zealand for Speedhunters' consideration.
+1 for the Bathurst 1000.
Any Bergrennen coverage is truly appreciated as well.
Keep up the exceptional work. Oh and, er, "the rest of you... keep banging those rocks together."
Incredible. But the spotless 'I, Robot' perfection of the MPC facility somehow makes the tiny examples of untidyness, informality and individuality stand out like dogs bollocks even more. For example, the carelessly scrawled numbers on the underside of a yellow 12C's rear, visible in this pic: http://cdn.speedhunters.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/McLaren_12C-MPC-076.jpg. I bet Ron Dennis wouldn't like that photograph (even though the scrawled numbers would never be seen by the owner of the completed car). Then there's the 'authopised' sign from the previous McLaren F1 LM post (I can't quite believe McLaren let that one happen!)
Do custom cars / hot rods count? Factory built race cars are all well and good, but why buy something off-the-shelf when with an unlimited budget you could have so much more fun creating your own unique vehicle? I'd take the Euro custom route. I'd buy an old Mercedes-Benz W108 sedan (a tired example, not a minter that I'd feel bad about destroying) and send the car to one of America's finest traditional custom car builders for a mild roof chop, FIA-spec rollcage, custom paint, a modern air suspension set-up, some nice rims and a custom leather interior with Recaro buckets and harnesses. Then I'd deliver the finished body to those crazy Germans at Brabus for fitment and tuning of a modern AMG V12.
I'd take a 512TR in NART blue please. The older 512TR still looks crisp and clean, it has aged much more gracefully than the F512 M, which looks a bit awkward and dated now. Not one of Ferrari's greatest styling successes. Actually its big flat whale shark face kind of resembles the character Krumm from the cartoon Aaah! Real Monsters. http://www.cartoon-list.com/tag/aaahh-real-monsters-krumm
There's just something about Mr. Chen's hat, shades and photographic posture in these shots that reminds me of the late Hunter S. Thompson. "We were somewhere around Famoso on the edge of the desert......" [Speed]Hunter S. Thompson?
@JustinBeaverFever @Riccardo25
Haha, the Japanese to English translation in this video is impressively poor. "I cut the handle is amazing!"
Looking good Brad! If this were mine I would go for a stock exterior/body, stock red/black paint, period-correct buckets and harnesses inside, ride height just a little lower but not slammed, some nice dished 15s with a polished lip but nothing much to indicate you have a few extra horses under the hood. 200hp or so would do it. How about a 4A-GE with a turbo?
Those brand new tail-light lenses will really make the car look mint when it's finished. It's pretty cool how NZ auto manufacturers still stock brand new parts for old models - did you know that Ford New Zealand still retails brand new tail lights for a 1978 Mk2 Escort?
I'm still kicking myself for passing up the opportunity to buy a genuine 4A-GE AE86 Sprinter Trueno identical to yours about ten years ago. I could have got it for just a little over NZ$1000, but at the time I didn't have spare cash or extra space to store it. Prices keep going up and up and up as rally cars get wrecked and wannabe drifters snap up spare AE85/86 shells. Yours looks nice n' straight. Good luck with the build and keep us informed on progress!
What's the little white open-wheel formula car parked between the Kenmeri and the orange Z? 1960s Honda F1? It's tiny.
The car looks bad-ass. I guess this is what a modern tarmac-spec WRC car might look like if Group B regulations still existed. They're not giving away many details of the engine though, probably still in development. I wonder if they will make use of their recent Le Mans programme experience and use a high-torque, big-turbo diesel powerplant, tuned to work at altitude....
Haha, subtle. Aren't you thinking of Air New Zealand, not Cathay Pacific? 'Air New Zealand pilot fell asleep during flight': http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21628746
Exactly. Porsche should continue to offer the GT3 with a manual option for those who want it, and PDK for those who want auto. Personally I'd take the manual option, because if I bought a 991 GT3 I wouldn't be using it as a daily driver, I'd be using it as a tool for entertainment - track events, road trips, needlessly downshifting and accelerating in tunnels, painting black lines on B-roads, and causing late night noise complaints. Manual transmissions are better for anti-social activities.
Autos have their place though, that's why I'm quite happy my AMG C-Class only came out with an automatic. Because I didn't buy that car as a 991 GT3 substitute. It really comes back to suitability for purpose - for example if I was buying a '67 Impala convertible for cruising in, sticking to the speed limit and taking to the beach on a summer afternoon, I'd want an automatic. Nobody can say "all cars are better with a manual" because that's rubbish. As Fg2_FrAn said it depends what the potential buyer is looking for.
Hey Zombiedog, in what way are these cars 'untrackable'? I might be picking a fight with the haters here, but in my opinion a thoughtfully constructed and nicely finished cage makes an awesome street car more awesome. I'm pretty sure anybody who bought a Porsche RS or Renaultsport product featuring a cage from the factory would agree. Sure there's a little extra weight and less space for passengers, but there are structural as well as aesthetic benefits.
Paddy, I usually prefer rear wheel drive, but that Polo made me get dribble on my laptop.