Tag Archives: Honda

50 mpg DIY Sportscar – Liege

In the late 1980’s Peter Leigh Davis set out to design a sporting all rounder which could be driven to work and used for competition at the weekends in much the same way as early Allard, Buckler, Dellow and Lotus cars to name but a few.

The aluminium motor and gearbox for the Liege were taken from a Reliant Robin and a variety of back axles were tried before settling on a Bedford/Suzuki unit from an ultra light commercial van.

Liege Reliant, Trials Car, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

To prove his creation’s reliability Peter took the prototype on a 6500 mile reconnaissance trip for the Liege-Agadir-Liege Endurance Trial to the edge of the Sahara desert. The car carried two people tools and camping gear and ran faultlessly while averaging 50 mpg.

In all 60 Liege kits were built after plans to build a turn key car with Reliant fell through, 45 of these vehicles are thought to be on the road some running twin carbs or superchargers to boost the power while yet more have been fitted with Honda Fireblade, Fiat Fire and various Suzuki motors.

The prototype Liege won a bronze medal on the 1995 Lands End Trial and won the 2 lire class of Le Jog the same year.

The car seen here at last years Castle Combe Autumn Classic is listed as manufactured in 1989 and completed in 2005 with the Reliant power train and Suzuki back axle.

Thanks for joining me on this “50 mpg DIY Sportscar” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the 1974 World Championship Winning McLaren M23. Don’t forget to come back now !

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There Will Be Changes – McLaren Mercedes MP4-28

Going into their 48th consecutive season of the Formula One World Championship McLaren had a record of winning 8 Constructors Championships and 30 top 3 finishes in the World Constructors Championship, so coming off a 2012 season which included 7 race victories and a 3rd place finish in final championship standings behind the old foe Ferrari and young upstarts Red Bull it would have been a brave man who would bet that McLaren would not at least finish in the top 3 for the 31st time and at least score a race win or two.

McLaren Mercedes MP4-28, Button, British GP P2, Silverstone

Jenson Button, above, who had won the opening and closing races of the 2012 season was joined by young Mexican charger Sergio Perez, below, after Lewis Hamilton left the team, which had nutured him from a talented teenager to the 2008 World Drivers championship, for bigger bucks and the fresh waters at Mercedes Benz.

McLaren Mercedes MP4-28, Perez, British GP P2, Silverstone

The all new Mercedes powered MP4-28 was the work of a team led by Paddy Lowe incorporating new suspension with rear wishbones designed to manage rear tyre wear by adding camber to the rear wheels as the vehicles speed increased. The car flattered in pre season testing due to an incorrectly fitted suspension part that saw the cars ride height lowered to a level that proved unsustainable by the time the championship season started.

McLaren Mercedes MP4-28, Paffett, British GP P2, Silverstone

As a consequence for the first half of the season McLaren were struggling to maintain 5th place in the championship ahead of the similarly powered Force Indias, a team to which McLaren were supplying gearboxes. The low point of the season came when both cars failed to score any points at either the Canadian or British Grand Prix, breaking a run of 64 races in which McLaren had at least one car in the points going back to the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Test driver Gary Paffett is seen in the MP4-28 above during the Young Driver Test at Silverstone.

McLaren Mercedes MP4-28, Perez, British GP P2, Silverstone

By the season’s end the team’s best result was a single 4th place scored by Jenson Button in the final race of the season in Brazil, Sergio Perez manged a season high 5th place in India and for the first time since 1980 no McLaren driver had finished a season with at least one podium finish.

McLaren Mercedes MP4-28, Button, British GP P2, Silverstone

Unsurprisingly before the season had ended changes in the team were being announced, towards the end of the season it was announced the McLaren will use Honda motors form 2015 reforming an alliance that brought McLaren four World Constructors Championships and one drivers championship for Alain Prost and three for Ayrton Senna.

Technical director Paddy Lowe had already moved to Mercedes Benz where he has replaced Ross Brawn and was himself replaced at McLaren by Tim Goss, Sergio Perez was more or less fired and announced he would be joining Force India with McLaren’s test driver Kevin Magnussen replacing Sergio at McLaren.

Further changes are anticipated in the wake of the announcement that Ron Dennis has returned to the role of CEO at McLaren, having left that post in 2012 to focus on the role of Chairman. On his reappointment Ron was quoted as saying “There will be changes” and these are expected to include a newly defined role for incumbent CEO and Team Principle Martin Whitmarsh. Since Ron’s reappointment former Lotus F1 Team Principle Eric Boullier has been recruited to the role of Race Director.

To stay abreast of developments at McLaren visit their website linked here, official facebook page linked here and twitter feed linked here.

Thanks for joining me on this “There will be changes” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me for a look at an Edwardian vehicle designed as a law enforcement vehicle that turned out to be a race winner. Don’t forget to come back now !

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20th Anniversary – Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Last weekend saw the 20th Anniversary celebrations of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. According to tea total journalist Doug Nye the event only got off the ground because he was present at a rather drunken evening at which Lord March and some friends were fantasising about an event which might attract a few thousand motor enthusiasts. Next morning when Doug reminded the Lord of what had been said they decided to act and so was born the Goodwood Festival Of Speed which has become one of the highlights of the British Motoring Season.

Goodwood, Festival Of Speed

The event has become so big that it sells out on both the Saturday and Sunday and an extra day has been added on the Thursday, called the “Moving Motor Show” on which the hill climb track is turned over to corporate sponsors who entertain their guests with rides up the hill. It was on the Thursday that I went with my parents after my Dad found a free ticket offer in the “Daily Telegraph“. Many anniversaries besides Goodwood’s 20th were being celebrated, the three Porsche’s above formed the tip of a sculpture by Gerry Judah celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Porsche 911 featuring a 1963 911 on the left, a ’73 Carrera RS in the middle and a 2013 Carrera 4 on the right.

Mercedes W196, Goodwood, Festival Of Speed

On the Friday a 1954 Mercedes Benz W196 similar to the one pictured here was sold at the Bonham’s Festival of Speed Auction for US$ 29.6 million to become the most expensive car ever sold at auction. John Lennon’s Blue ’64 Ferrari 330GT fetched US$ 543,750 setting a new record for the 330 GT 2+2 model.

Honda RA300, Goodwood, Festival Of Speed

In the autumn of 1967 my folks purchased their first television, a black and white model, one of my earliest memories of it was a news cast featuring the 1967 Italian Grand Prix which was won by John Surtees driving this very V12 Honda RA300, a car that was very easy to distinguish from the rest of the field because it was white and all the others were various shades of grey.

McLaren M23, Goodwood, Festival Of Speed

Emerson Fittipaldi moved from Lotus to join the McLaren team which had relieved BRM of Marlboro sponsorship and Lotus of Texaco sponsorship for the 1974 season. Emerson driving a Marlboro Team Texaco McLaren M23 ended up winning a very open World Drivers Championship by just 3 points from Clay Regazzoni driving a Ferrari 312 B3.

Renault RS01, Goodwood, Festival Of Speed

Having won Le Mans in 1978 Renault put all of it’s effort into winning the Formula One Drivers and Constructors championships with the first turbocharged Formula One car. Above is the 1978 RS01 which proved fast on occasion, particularly at altitude, but fragile.

Audi R18 E-tron Quattro, Goodwood, Festival Of Speed

Fresh from victory lane, and looking several thousand miles the worse for wear, in the 90th Anniversary edition of the Le Mans 24 hours was the Audi R18 E-tron Quattro driven by Tom Kristensen, Alan McNish and Loic Duval.

Campbell-Railton Blue Bird, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Sir Malcom Campbell became the first man on four wheels to exceed 300 mph when he set a new Land Speed Record at Bonneville of 301mph on September 3rd 1935 when driving the 2300 hp supercharged Rolls Royce V12 powered Campbell-Railton Blue Bird. The piece of land on which Blue Bird was displayed normally serves as Lord Marches cricket pitch.

Lotus Ford 29, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Regular readers will remember that the #92 Lotus Ford 29 driven by Jim Clark at Indianapolis in 1963 was destroyed in a fatal accident with Bobby Marshman at the wheel during a gruesome testing accident at Phoenix at the end of 1964. The car seen above is chassis #29/1 actually driven with a white and blue paint job by Dan Gurney to a seventh place finish at Indy in 1963. The car has been seen at the Indy Museum for many years (decades ?) bearing Jim Clark’s livery. The spare ’63 Lotus 29 chassis #29/2 currently carries the #91 white and blue livery used by Gurney.

Ford Galaxie 500, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

“According to the programme” the Ford Galaxie 500 above was driven to victory in the 1965 Daytona 500 by Fred Lorenzen and then given a ’66 body for testing at Daytona the following year, however a search on the internet show’s that this might not be the only car sharing the story.

Peugeot 208 T16, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Another car to arrive at Goodwood from victory lane was the 875 hp twin turbo V6 Peugeot 208 T16 with which Alsatian 9 (nine) time World Rally Champion Sebastian Loeb won this years Pikes Peak race to the clouds hill climb in a mind bending 8m 13.8 seconds an astonishing 95 seconds faster than Rhys Millens 2012 full 12.42 mile course record of 9m 46.1s. Tighten your reality belts to see how Mr Loeb set the record in the film linked here.

Mercedes 60hp, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Any one who was reading GALPOT back in January might remember I spent a night and a day on the Exeter Trial being chased by a 4×4 Panda and following this 1903 Mercedes 60 hp Simplex crewed by Ben and Roger Collings, my appreciation of what these vehicles can do rose sharply as a result of the experience.

Porsche 911SC, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Car of the show for me was this 1978 Porsche 911 SC driven by Kenyan Vic Preston Jnr with co driver John Lyall to second place in the 1978 Safari Rally. I always thought if I was going to have a 911 for the road I may as well have one that could survive the rigours of Africa where I learned to drive and this one has a particularly cool paint job.

Over the coming months some of these vehicles will be featured in more depth.

Thanks for joining me on this “20th Anniversary Festival Of Speed” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Check out the latest from the Formula One silly season at Motorsports Unplugged on this link.

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The Power Of Dreams – Guglielmi Motorsport Lotus Exige

The Lotus Exige Series 1 coupé was launched in 2000, curiously just as production of the Lotus Elise Series 1 soft top on which it was based was about to be phased out in favour of the sharper styled Elise Series 2.

Guglielmi Motorsport, Lotus Exige, Britcar, Castle Combe

Like the Elise the Exige was powered by a Rover K series motor which all though not particularly powerful was enough to turn the lightweight Elise into a performance car with particular appeal to those who enjoy track days.

Guglielmi Motorsport, Lotus Exige, Britcar, Castle Combe

Today’s featured Exige was prepared by Guglielmi Motorsport who’s proprietor Steve Guglielmi was the 2001/2 double TVR Tuscan Challenge Champion. The Guglielmi Motorsport website suggests Steve retired from racing, although not from all competition, as of 2002 when he set up his Guglielmi Motorsport business to prepare road & track vehicles.

Ginetta G50, Lotus Exige, Britcar, Castle Combe

In 2011 Steve prepared this Exige which he shares with Jeff Mileman for the Britcar series. Above the #58 Guglielmi Exige is seen passing the #60 Ginetta G50 G4 coming out of Old Paddock Bend during the 2 hour Britcar race held at Castle Combe in 2011.

Mileham, Guglielmi, Lotus Exige, Britcar, Castle Combe

The #58 built is around an Elise 135R chassis with 220 hp Honda K 20 Civic Type R motor, which has since been upgraded to produce 250 hp and a Series 1 Exige body.

Mosler MT900 R, Lotus Exige, Britcar, Castle Combe

Steve plans to compete in this years Lotus Cup UK series this season, still sharing the Guglielmi Motorsport Lotus Exige with John Mileham, with whom he came 4th Overall and 1st Open Class in the opening round at Snetterton in April.

My thanks to Steve Guglielmi for sharing the details about his car.

Thanks for joining me on this “Power Of Dreams” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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F687/S – Lotus Honda 99T

1987 brought about several changes for the Lotus team firstly their hitherto sponsor John Player Special withdrew from the sport and secondly their hitherto engine supplier Renault followed suit.

Fortunately for Lotus Williams, who had an exclusive contract with Honda for the supply of motors in 1986, let the 1986 World Drivers Championship slip away by allowing their drivers Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell to take points off one another by refusing to issue team orders or nominate one over the other as preferred winner. This did not go down well with Honda or their preferred driver Nelson Piquet.

Lotus Honda 99T, Goodwood Festival of Speed

As a consequence Honda came to an arrangement with Lotus to supply year old 1986 motors to Lotus for 1987 and at the same time did a deal with McLaren to supply top spec motors for the 1988 season with Ayrton Senna as their preferred driver. Meanwhile Senna was partnered by Saturo Nakajima in the Lotus team at the behest of Honda whom Honda had tried unsuccessfully to place at Williams in place of Mansell in 1986.

Furthermore Lotus managed to secure sponsorship from the new big spenders on the Formula One block Camel.

Lotus Honda 99T, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Despite being already down on power on the Williams team thanks to the year old motors being used, Gerard Ducarouge took the brave decision to use active suspension on the 99T which although offering advantages to consistent ride height, pitch and roll added 25kgs/55lbs in weight an required 5% of the motors power to keep it working.

Lotus Honda 99T, Goodwood Festival of Speed

By the end of 1987 Senna had won two races, just as he had in ’85 and ’86, both on street circuits at Monaco and Detroit. The Detroit race would prove to be the last victory for a car built by the Lotus team founded by Colin Chapman. With 57 points, two more than in ’86 Senna finished 3rd in the World Championship in 1987 while Nakajima’s additional 7 points helped Lotus secure third in the Constructors championship.

The 1987 season marked a high point for Team Lotus since the death of Colin Champman in 1982 and from there until 1994 when the team founded by Chapman made it’s final appearance in the sport.

Players in Japan and the United States of the Gran Turismo 3 game will be familiar with the Lotus Honda 99T which was given the alias “F687/S”.

Thanks for joining me on this “F687/S” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to came back now !

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Hot Rover #2 – MG ZS

The MG ZS was the second prong of Rover MG’s three pronged attack on the market for hot vehicles launched in 2001 alongside the MG ZR I looked at last week.

MG ZS, Goodwood Revival

The ancestry of the MG ZS can be traced back to fifth generation Honda Civic, the floor pan of which Rover used to build the Rover 400 model which when face lifted became the Rover 45.

MG ZS, Goodwood Revival

The ZS was made available with a range of tuned motors from the Rover 45 and a tuned 175hp version of the 2.5 litre / 152 cui V6 from the larger Rover 75.

MG ZS, Goodwood Revival

The 2001 vehicle seen here at the Goodwood Revival last year is the model topping ZS 180 with the 175 hp V6 that gives the ZS a rest to 60 mph time 7.3 seconds and top speed of 139 mph. The ZS 180 has larger brakes discs and brake calipers than all of the other ZS models.

MG ZS, Goodwood Revival

The Honda based chassis pan with double wishbone front suspension and multi link rear suspension proved eminently adaptable to switch from optimised for comfort settings required for Rover 45 customers to optimised for handling settings required for MG ZS customers which along with the ZS steering came in for praise from press when launched.

MG ZS, Goodwood Revival

The large rear spoiler was standard on ZS 180 models up until 2004 when the model was face lifted with a much smarter body kit.

Thanks for joining me on this “Hot Rover #2” edition of “Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t for get to come back now !

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Wings & Wheels – Dunsfold Aerodrome

Last Monday I went to Dunsfold Aerodrome for a bit of a school reunion organised by my friend David. The last time I attended an event similar to Wings & Wheels was at Biggin Hill in 1972 when as a thirteen year old I was impressed by both the motor vehicles on display and the aircraft.

Folland Gnat, BAE Hawk, Wings and Wheels, Dunsfold Aerodrome

While I was looking for David after arriving I stumbled across the old and new faces of the Red Arrow’s the little Folland Gnat which was used by the display team from 1965 until they were replaced by the larger BAe Hawk in 1979.

AEC Regent III, Wings and Wheels, Dunsfold Aerodrome

The AEC Regent double deck bus, predecessor of the much loved Routemaster, was developed in 1939. RT2775 seen here is one of three that were selected to represent the British Travel and Holidays Association and London Transport on a tour of the USA and Canada to promote travel to Britain and the purchase of British products in 1952. Because of it’s special status as an ambassador abroad it unusually kept it’s identity through out it’s working life when it returned to the streets of in 1953 where it remained in service until 1977 after which it became part of the Cobham Bus Museum which is now housed at Brooklands.

Surtees Ford TS7, Wings and Wheels, Dunsfold Aerodrome

One of several pleasant surprises at Duxford was seeing this 1970 Surtees Ford TS7 designed in part by Peter Connew who regular GALPOT readers will remember went on to design and build his own eponymous Grand Prix car after his work on the TS7 was completed.

Sahab Ahmed, Oliver Turvey, John Surtees, Wings and Wheels, Dunsfold Aerodrome

Sahab Ahmed with whom Peter worked on the design of the TS7 can be seen on the left of McLaren test driver Oliver Turvey and John Surtees, the only man to win World Championships on two and four wheels in the photo above.

Boeing Stearman, Wings and Wheels, Dunsfold Aerodrome

As someone prone two vertigo by the time I get to the third rung on a ladder I found the Breitling Wing Walkers a genuinely mind boggling sight. A team of six pilots share the flying duties of the pair of 1940’s era Boeing Stearmans, while a team of six very brave women share the wing walking duties while traveling at 150 mph and experiencing up to 4G !

Panavia Tornado GR4, Wings and Wheels, Dunsfold Aerodrome

A couple of huge explosions on the ground which scared the brown stuff out of me as I had my back to the airfield at the time preempted the arrival of a pair of swing wing Panavia Tornado GR4’s and a simulated ground attack demonstration. These aircraft which have been operation for the last 20 years were deployed last year in the liberation of Libya and are currently deployed as part of the allied forces in Afghanistan. With two Rolls Royce conceived RB199 jet engines fitted with afterburners this multirole platform can reach speeds of Mach 2.

Curtis Kittyhawk, Wings and Wheels, Dunsfold Aerodrome

Manufactured in Buffalo New York the 1943 Curtis P40M Kittyhawk / Warhawk fighter seen above served in the Royal Canadian Airforce amassing just 732 flying hours before it was retired in 1950 when it became an instructional aircraft at Oregon State University. In the early 80’s after a long period of storage she was restored to full airworthiness in California. More recently she was flown to Prague where she stared in the film Red Tails released earlier this year.

Napier Railton, Wings and Wheels, Dunsfold Aerodrome

The Napier Railton seen above not only holds the Brooklands lap record in perpetuity but after the ’39-’45 war it was fitted with heftey aircraft style Dunlop rear disc brakes and used to test experimental aircraft braking parachutes on this very same runway by the GQ Parachute Company which was based at Dunsfold Aerodrome.
Some of the backdrops in today’s photographs may also be familiar to avid fans of the Top Gear television show which operates from a studio on the site.

Daimler SP 250, Wings and Wheels, Dunsfold Aerodrome

Among the many vehicles demonstrated on the runway was this 1961 Daimler SP250 which I post a picture of especially for one of GALPOT’s most loyal readers Ryan also known as Racer 187.

Honda Sidecar, Wings and Wheels, Dunsfold Aerodrome

I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the programme which tells me that the side car combination above is a 1972 Honda, but I am reasonably certain the person at the helm is the remarkable Neil Trundle who has spent over 40 years in motorsport working with the likes of Jack Brabham, setting up shop with Ron Dennis building the famous six wheel Tyrrell P3/4’s then joining Dennis again at Project 4 Motorsport which took over McLaren. If you know what type of combination Neil is riding please do not hesitate to chime in below.

North American P51-D Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire Mk IXB, Wings and Wheels, Dunsfold Aerodrome

As the day came to an the 1945 North American P51-D Mustang, above on the left and 1943 Supermarine Spitfire IXB gave us a more than welcome double dose of, respectively, Packard and Rolls Royce built Merlin music as they waltzed the sky.

Avro Vulcan B.2, Wings and Wheels, Dunsfold Aerodrome

Just before I said good bye to my school friends and left the last flying Avro Vulcan caressed the sky and if nothing else showed that if it had ever been used as originally intended, to deliver a nuclear payload, it would have wasted the world in mutually assured destruction with elegance and grace. As it was after the Vulcan’s nuclear defense capabilities were deemed surplus to requirements several of them were converted for low level conventional bombing roles. A single Vulcan delivered twenty one 1,000lbs on Port Stanley airport in 1981, though it is debatable how effective the worlds longest range bombing sortie was as Argentinian forces, which had invaded the Falklands Islands, were able to repair the damage to the runway. The invaders were subsequently dispatched by the yomping British ground forces. The Vulcans were eventually replaced by the Panavia Tornado’s seen at Dunsfold earlier in the day.

This Vulcan has been restored to airworthy condition by The Vulcan To The Sky trust thanks to over £7 million raised from public subscription, if you are interested in helping to keep it in the air please visit the Vulcan to the sky site linked here.

Thanks for joining me on this “Wings & Wheels” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I will be breaking from the usual Tuesday MG edition to celebrate an unusual 45th Anniversary. Don’t forget to come back now !

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