Still want one. Another fine film from hittingredline.com.
Automobiliac on Petrolicious
•July 31, 2013 • 1 CommentOur good friend Automobiliac (also of Autodromo fame) is on Petrolicious.
The Dino 208 GT4 sounds great in the film; it’s intoxicating in real life.
Target acquired
•July 30, 2013 • 35 Comments
After first openly speculating about one two years ago, then going in a slightly different direction the year after, we’ve finally acquired one of our (attainable) dream cars, a 25-years-young BMW E28 M5. This one’s not an original specimen – for example, note the European bumpers (unlike our grey import, this one’s not a genuine Euro) – but it’s pretty close to being how we like it. Sometimes aesthetics trump originality.
It may not be the first limited production super saloon car (we give that one to the Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3, probably) or even the first four-door BMW M car (the E12 M535i holds that distinction), but it will always be the ur-M5 – hand-built, a little over 2,000 ever made, and possessing a detuned version of the M1’s race-bred motor – and that is a very special thing indeed. Certainly, hearing this engine at full song has been an experience to savor, and all the positive things we’ve heard about them over the years seem to bear out. Yes, it’s an E28, but the engine really makes the car— it’s so different from the 535. Both have their merits.
We have a feeling this one is going to be a keeper, and after going through a revolving door of cars the past couple of years we look forward to laying down roots for a change. Here’s looking forward to many years of enjoyment, memories, and expensive maintenance bills 🙂
She’s not ready for her proverbial close-up yet, so here are just a few nighttime photos for now.
Not our car:
Also not ours:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5yKoXKxoB0
But you get the idea.
Guest contributor: Julien Thiebaud on the Peugeot 205 Rallye Club de France’s 2013 annual meet
•July 26, 2013 • 1 Comment
About a month ago I traveled back to Europe to visit my family. Like me, my sister happens to be a gearhead and owns a pristine Peugeot 205 Rallye (two of which I’ve owned myself back in the day), which my brother-in-law rebuilt from the ground up a few years back. She usually agrees to let me use the car as my daily driver during my stays in France— a treat since the car, waiting to have its original matching number engine rebuilt, has a genuine Group N rally spec motor in it (think about 130 hp, an under-1500 lbs curb weight, and a short-ratio gearbox). During my latest stay he invited me to join him for the Peugeot 205 Rallye Club de France annual meet in the commune of Sochaux, the birthplace of Peugeot.
Blenheim Carburetor Rehab Run
•July 24, 2013 • 6 CommentsOur friends over at the Blenheim Gang held one of those Top Gear-style cheap car challenges, and the results look superb! Here’s a look:
The rules:
Les règles étaient simples : acheter une voiture à carburateur à moins de 1000 € et embarquer pour une course d’orientation en 3 étapes, dont chaque départ sera donné à Minuit. La route ? De Clermont-Ferrant à Royan, en passant par le Désert des Bardenas en Espagne.
11 voitures étaient au départ, et toutes ont rejoint l’arrivée.
The rules were simple: buy a car carburetor less than € 1,000 and embark on an orienteering course in three stages, each race will start at midnight. The road? Clermont-Ferrant in Royan, through the Desert of Bardenas Spain.
11 cars were in the beginning, and all have reached the finish line.
Well done, guys.
Italy meets JDM
•July 23, 2013 • 19 CommentsNow this is a first: Watanabes on an Alfa Romeo— specifically, this GTV6. What do we all think of this?
Hat tip to Alex Beatty
Guest contributor: Justin Fox on the pleasures of a weekday Nasho Run
•July 19, 2013 • 3 Comments
Sergio: What you doin today?
Me: No plans man.
Sergio: Wanna go Nasho?
Sydney’s heritage-listed Royal National Park is affectionately known to locals as the ‘Nasho’. Perfect for bushwalking, cycling, surfing, picnicking or whale watching, but today, we were there for the twisties.
Motoring Con Brio 