2010 - Last Orders

As we approach the end of 2010 I'd just like to thank people for taking the time to view this blog as well as offer their comments.

I'll end the year with a photo that needs no introduction.

Happy new year!

Spa Qualifying: 2009 Six Hour Endurance Race

I stumbled across this piece of amazing car control a few days ago. The chap driving is qualifying for the Spa six hour endurance race in 2009. The rear of the car looks to be very light, but that doesn't put the driver off cutting his way through the heavy traffic.

RR Rally Hero

Shakotan Boogie: Akira Z

My brother and his girlfriend came round for boxing day to exchange Christmas gifts. I was presented with this Aoshima scale model Shakotan Boogie 240ZG. I love everything about it, the style of drawing on the box, the flared body shell and the detail that has gone into each part.

Here is a close up of the drawings on the box,

The body shell is already painted so that's one less job to do. I love the shade of blue that this Z comes in.

I started to investigate the parts that I will be building the car with. The detail is quite clear and I like the small touches like this wooden steering wheel.

To my surprise there is more than one of the same part so I can chose what type of seats or wheels I want to have on the car.

Although the kit comes with these Watanabe eight spoke wheels, I will be staying true to the series and fitting the SSR Mk1 rims.

The instructions are quite clear so there shouldn't be a problem putting all this together even though quite a lot of it is in Japanese,

It almost feels like I shouldn't build the kit but I've never been one for leaving models in the pack and leaving them unbuilt. I guess the only solution is to buy every other Aoshima Shakotan Boogie model that is in production!

I need to get a decent modelling knife and some glue now.

Stay tuned!

Alfa Romeo GTAm

Browsing across a few forums I came across this Alfa Romeo GTAm. As only 40 GTAm models were built there is every chance this is a replica but none the less, it is a special looking car. This particular car has been fitted with Racing Service Watanabe eight spoke rims that fill the wide arches to give the car an aggressive stance as well as making it look like a purpose built competition vehicle. After a bit of reading the GTAm was used for competition purposes around the mid 1960s and early 70s. The power plant was a 2.0 I4 that produced around 240 bhp, but considering the car only weighed roughly 900 kg it is easy to see it was so successful.

Of Mice and Cayman

A friend of mine came to show me this Porsche Cayman S earlier this week. Having only ever been a passenger in various Porsche 911 models I was interested to see how the Cayman compared.

Magazines such as Evo rave about the Cayman and I can see why. This model had a pair of carbon fibre kevlar bucket seats, much like the Recaro seats I have for my Roadster. The seats are hands down the best bucket seats I've ever sat in, but that luxury comes with a hefty price. We stopped off after a few miles and got a few photos but gave up after 5 minutes as it was so cold. We later had a blast around some country lanes and thought it would be an idea to take some festive photos in a small village called Market Bosworth.

The addictive howl of the flat 6 didn't tire once and the gearing of the car makes it feel like it is more suited to somewhere like Silverstone than the public roads. When you hit the redline and change gear the revs drop right into the peak power band which is exactly where you want it to be. When I went out in the TTRS it was very fast and the torque was immense, but this feels like a pedigree sports car through and through.

International Roadsters

Here is a selection of some of the best Roadsters out there that aren't in Japan. I tend to feature a lot of JDM Roadsters so it's time to appreciate other Roadsters from around the globe....albeit with JDM parts on...

4 Throttle Running

">

Form and Function

Ibis White

My buddy picked me up in an Audi RS5 this morning. It's got a few optional extras such as ceramic brakes, electric bucket seats and 20 inch 9j alloy wheels. The engine is the 4.2 V8 that is found in the Audi R8, although this V8 has more power due to extra weight of the RS5 at 1,800 kilos.

The torque is immense and it sings to 8,200 rpm. The redline seems very high for a V8, especially as this engine has a long stroke. When the car is in 'dynamic' mode the suspension is as firm as the HSD's on my Roadster and the exhaust note changes so that it howls. Here are a few pics from this morning.