Tag Archives: HSV

Coffee Croissant & Cars 02/15 – Avenue Drivers Club

Sunday saw the second Avenue Drivers Club gathering of the year down at Queen Square in Bristol, and today’s blog shows there was no shortage of vehicles from near and far.

Avenue Drivers Club, Ford Anglia, Queen Square, Bristol,

Above looking to drag us out of the winter blues a mid 50’s chopped top Ford Anglia, message to self remember to get the registration next time and find out what is under the bonnet / hood.

Colt Celeste GT, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

Japanese Industry had a reputation for imitation in the 1970’s and this 1976 Colt Celeste GT is a case in point echoing features seen on Ford Mustang fastbacks of various vintages although it is actually a 3 door hatchback.

Hyundai Grandeur XG,Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

Thinking of imitation, the tail lights on this second generation 2000 Hyundai Grandeur XG30 appear to mimic those of a contemporary Rolls Royce or Bentley. At first I thought this car might be a low rider with dropped suspension, but having looked at photographs of others on the intelnet I am now not so sure.

Volkswagen Golf Mk III, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

Happiest dog in the house was out for a ride in this stanced rat look Mk III Volkswagen Golf Estate.

HSV VT ClubSport, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

Imported from Australia was this 1999 Holden Commodore based HSV VT Club sport powered by a 265 hp 5 litre / 302 cui Australian iron block V8.

Dodge Challenger R/T, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

By now regular readers know I am a huge Dodge Challenger fan so I’ll make no excuses for sneaking in this photo of a 2011 Deep Water Pearl Blue R/T, which the owner admitted was a bit of a mid life crises purchase. The owner, who hails from South Carolina and is now living on the other side of the UK from Bristol in Cambridge, was inspired to buy the car by the Dukes of Hazard television series, she, no spelling mistake, also confessed that this car is not her daily driver.

Thanks for joining me on this “Coffee, Croissant and Cars” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at Fred Lorenzen’s team mate’s 1965 Ford Galaxie 500. Don’t forget to come back now !

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PVO Sports Utility – Dodge RAM SRT 10

For the 1996 Chicago Auto Show Dodge produced a Dodge RAM VTS concept sport utility truck powered by a 8 litre / 488 cui V10 motor form their revised Phase II Viper sports car.

Dodge RAM SRT 10, Kernow Mill,

The VTS never went into production but 8 years later DaimlerChrysler’s Performance Vehicle Operations PVO produced the RAM SRT 10 now powered by an 8.3 litre / 505 cui V10 producing 500 hp like the one seen in these photographs taken at Kernow Mill during the summer.

Dodge RAM SRT 10, Kernow Mill,

The 5,130 lb (2,330 kg) regular cab RAM SRT 10 will reach 60 mph in just 4.9 seconds, cover a 1/4 mile in 13.6 seconds to reach 106 mph and has a top speed of 154 mph. Until the arrival of the Australian HSV Maloo R8 the RAM SRT 10 was the quickest production pick up in the world after NASCAR driver Brendam Gaughan set a record of 154 mph in February 2004.

Dodge RAM SRT 10, Kernow Mill,

Production of the RAM SRT 10 ran from November 2004 to the end of the 2006 model year during which time 9,527 examples were built.

Thanks for joining me on this “PVO Sports Utility” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you’ll join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Blingin’, Slamin’, Surfin’ ‘n’ Driftin’ – Spring Performance Car Action Day Castle Combe

A week ago on Saturday immediately after the Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival I proceeded to Castle Combe thanks to David Roots who gave me a couple of tickets to go to the Performance Car Action Day.

Mitsubishi EVO, Castle Combe, SPCAD

On arrival aft Castle Combe I couldn’t help but notice a lot of bling on an otherwise cold and rainy day dry and shiny metal work stands out like a sore thumb as can be seen from the Mitsubishi Evo above.

VW Golf Driver, Castle Combe, SPCAD

Slammers, car with lowered suspension like the 1989 Volkswagen Golf Driver above were picking their way carefully through the mud,

Peugeot, 206 GTI, HDI, Castle Combe, SPCAD

while the surfers had to be the only ones dreaming of a wetter environment than that experienced at Castle Combe last weekend. Note the F, denoting France on the European Union Style number plate, on the 2005 Peugeot 206 GTi above, an odd choice for a car registered in, and that may well have been at Ryton, in the United Kingdom.

Nissan Skyline, Castle Combe, SPCAD

I have kept an open mind on drifting, never having seen it in person before last Saturday, until then I had the feeling drifting was akin to sheer hooliganism but with some entertainment value. Saturdays demonstrations of varying degrees of skill included a hand full of cars like the Nissan Skylines above running the wrong way round part of the Castle Combe track. With temperatures barely above freezing the entertainment value of the drifting demonstration was significantly diminished by the absence of smoking tyres which are usually associated with the ‘sport’.

HSV Maloo,Castle Combe, SPCAD

Further delights to be found in the car included vehicles of antipodean GM descent inclding this 2004 HSV Maloo.

Vauxhall Carlton Club, Castle Combe, SPCAD

Back in the day when I worked in the motor trade I used to delight in taking on near worthless cars and seeing how far I could drive them. My best effort was to drive 10,000 miles in a £50 Volvo, the legend on the door of this 1993 Vauxhall Carlton Club Estate asks “How far can a £250 car take you ?” and points readers in the direction www.streetsafari.com worth a visit if you have ever had an inkling to take part in a banger rally. Something I have filled away in my to do before I die list.

Mazda MX5 Le Mans Special, Castle Combe, SPCAD

The 1991 Mazda MX5 Le Mans Special above celebrates what was probably the nosiest victory, certainly the noisiest I have ever witnessed, at Le Mans in 1991 by the Wankel rotary powered Mazda 787B driven by Volker Weidler, Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot.

Ford Transit 100D SWB, Castle Combe, SPCAD

Sadly there were not many in need of engines needing their engines cooled down last Sunday but this Cars themed 1993 Ford Transit D 100 SWB ice cream van was a nice touch.

Ford Cougar, Castle Combe, SPCAD

Among the 111 cars clubs present at Castle Combe was the Ford Cougar Owners Club, several with cars displaying Mercury brand badges as these New Edge styled cars were marketed in the USA. Was it really 14 years ago that Denis Hopper appeared in the Cougar television advertisement seems like only yesterday ?

Skoda, Castle Combe, SPCAD

Another club with a large number of members present was Briskoda.net the Bristol based Skoda Forum and Community, could be handy folks to know when I get round to participating in a banger rally if there are any £100 Skoda’s left.

Subaru Impreza Sport AWD, Castle Combe, SPCAD

Ampng the predictable masses of Subaru’s one might expect to see at a Performance Car Action Day, this Impreza Sport AWD combo really caught my attention, I wonder how difficult it would be to add drive to the trailer wheels ?

Rage Against The Scene, Castle Combe, SPCAD

I left the Spring Performance Car Action Day with a head full of ideas as to how I might personalise my recently acquired Golf Estate.

My thanks to David Roots for passing on the tickets so that I could attend the Spring Performance Action Day at Castle Combe.

Thanks for joining me on this “Blingin’, Slamin’ ‘n’ Drifting” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at an early monocoque racing car. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Racing Maloo – HSV Maloo

Two weeks after starting the ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ blog I remember getting a huge thrill from discovering an HSV Maloo on the streets of Bristol and learning that it was the fastest pickup truck in the world.

HSV Maloo R8, Castle Combe

Last weekend while at the Britcar British Endurance Championship Racing Weekend at Castle Combe I stumbled across another Maloo this time in full race trim including

HSV Maloo R8, Castle Combe

slick tyres to compliment it’s 400 hp Corvette LS2 engine which according to one passer by in a Britcar T shirt is tuned to 600 hp good for reaching 60 mph in under 4 seconds.

HSV Maloo R8, Castle Combe

When I got home I was surprised to learn that there is an Australian racing series for Ford and Holden pick ups, where pickups are known as Utes, which is part of a staircase to find talent for the top tier Australian V8 Supercar series.

HSV Maloo R8, Castle Combe

Even more surprisingly I have found out that late last year an announcement was made by Britcar to the effect that they would organise a debut season for a UK V8Ute Series using only the rebranded Vauxhall VXR Maloo pickup model.

HSV Maloo R8, Castle Combe

The cars were to be rented from Britcar with the rental cost including entry fees for a full season of races.

HSV Maloo R8, Castle Combe

The plan was that at each meeting the Maloo’s would take part in three 40 minute races with mandatory pit stops for driver changes.

HSV Maloo R8, Castle Combe

The projected series is on temporary hold, I look forward to an announcement from Britcar that the series will get a chance to go public and from Vauxhall that the VXR Maloo gets the opportunity to enter the UK market place.

Thanks for joining me on this Antipodean Racing edition of ‘Gettin a lil’ psycho on tyres’ I hope that you will join me again tomorrow ! Don’t forget to come back now !

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Who can it be now ? – Vauxhall VXR8

The Vauxhall VXR8 is a badge engineered HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) Clubsport built in Clayton, Victoria Australia.

HSV Clubsports, based on the then current Holden VE Commodore body, were sold as the CSV (Chevrolet Special Vehicles) CR8 in the Middle East and Pontiac G8 in the United States.

This model is fitted with a 425 hp 6162 cc / 376 cui LS3 engine.

A Bathurst option was available with a 530 hp supercharged version of the LS3.

Regular GALPOT readers might remember the HSV strap line from my blog on the HSV Maloo R8 runs ‘ I just want one !’ which is equally applicable to this antipodean model I think you might agree.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s Clayton, Victoria edition of ‘Getting a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow for a look at some of the details from this weekends Race Retro exhibition at Stoneleigh. Don’t forget to come back now !

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I JUST WANT ONE ! – Maloo R8 !

The odd Latvian Lada Zhiguli notwithstanding it’s not everyday I amble along the streets of Bristol and get stopped dead in my tracks on seeing a vehicle and think WTF is that I want one and want it now !

Such was the case with this vehicle, which oozes refinement and speed by the bucket load yet looks like a pick up. Turns out the Maroo R8 is manufactured by Holden Special Vehicles in Australia and has it’s origins in the humble Holden Ute – pick up.

This Maloo R8 would appear to be the latest E series introduced in 2007, which features a 412 hp 6 litre / 366 CUI LS2 V8 from the Corvette parts bin.

This pick up does not just look fast either, it holds the record for being the worlds fastest pick up timed at 168 mph / 271 kph a staggering 13.5 mph / 22 kph faster than its closest competitor the Dodge Ram SRT-10.

I don’t think its a stretch to say the Maloo R8 is a considerably better looker than the Dodge either.

For a long time the 1970 Chevrolet El Camino has been my dream pick up, my dream just took a turn for the Australian outback 🙂

Hope this Antipodean Stunner leaves you in good spirits for the week ahead, Don’t forget to come back now ! Hear ?

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