Tag Archives: Plant

UK Limited Edition – Subaru Impreza P1

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Last week I looked at the Prodrive P2 which was based on a Subaru R1 with Impreza WRC running gear.

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The Subaru Impreza P1 (Prodrive One) is a limited edition of just 1000 models based on the Impreza WRX.

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The power of the AWD flat four turbo P1 was boosted from 218 hp to 280 hp.

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The front and rear spoiler designs are credited to Peter Stevens who was responsible for the latter Prodrive P2.

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The P1 was the result of a collaboration between Subaru Technica International (STi) the racing department of Subaru and Prodrive who ran the Subaru WRC rally campaign.

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When the car was launched in 1999 just 500 units were envisaged for the UK market only however demand was so high that production ceased with the 1000th P1.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this UK Spec only P1 along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed UK Limited Edition of ‘ Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, and that you’ll join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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English Corvette – TR7 V8

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The prototype V8 powered Triumph TR7 variant was produced as early as 1972. The performance of the model led to these vehicles being dubbed English Corvettes in some circles.

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The Triumph TR8 Coupe was in production from 1978 to 1980 the TR8 Drophead was designed by Michelotti and introduced in 1980 continuing in production until 1982.

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As a result of poor labour relations and the inherent industrial action it is thought that only 400 TR8 Coupes were built along with an estimated 2400 Dropheads, the majority of which were sold in the United States and Canada.

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In other countries outside North America some TR7 owners upgraded their cars with variations of the all alloy Buick / Rover 3528cc / 215 cui V8. From the best records available to me this appears to be one such upgraded car.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this TR7 V8 along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Slightly off topic, why is it the only time ‘my’ driver ‘Happy’ Harvick wins a cup race I am too busy too catch it ?

Congratulations to Kevin, who is misquoted to give this blog it’s name, and the #29 Richard Childress Team 🙂

Hope you have enjoyed today’s English Corvette edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now!

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Mini Rust Beater – Domino HT

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Today’s blog comes from the BMW Plant near Cowley where the current range of retro Mini’s are made and where I saw this splendid little Domino HT at the recent PistonHeads Sunday Service.

The Domino’s in 4 styles were Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) kit cars designed around Mini running gear and manufactured by Fibretech GRP Ltd which was taken over by Domino Composite itself renamed Composite Designs from at least 1978 to 2007 when liquidation forced the cessation of production. It would appear an wholly autonomous group DominoCars – Organisation is attempting to keep the Domino brand alive.

The HT (hard top) model seen here was the follow on from the original T top Pimlico model and is loosely based around a standard Mini though it is bereft of the standard Mini seams and gutters. It is also significantly different below the waist line with built in flared wheel arches and a flared body around the top of the road wheel line. The doors are 2/ 1/2 inches shorter than Mini doors to accommodate the higher sills needed to aid the structural integrity of the GRP body.

If your original style Mini is falling to bits with dreaded tin worm you could do worse than find a smart Domino GRP body, take of all bits of your Mini and transfer them straight on to the GRP shell including subframes, interior, windows, up to 13″ wheels and off you go in your new car with parts recycled from your old one.

Hope you have enjoyed to days Glass Reinforced Plastic edition of ‘Gettin a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Fit for a Sheikh – Bristol 405 Drophead

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The Bristol 405 introduced in 1953 was the first Bristol to dispense with the BMW inspired grill and is unusual for having a single fog light placed in the middle.

There were two versions of the 405 this Drophead of which 43 were built and an imposing 4 door saloon of which 308 were built until production ended in 1958.

A 1971 cc / 120 cui straight six motor was exclusively tuned to produce 125 hp for the Drophead, the Saloon was given a 105 hp version of this engine. One blogger described the sound of this motor as being like ‘a squadron of Lancasters‘.

The first two 405 D’s were strictly two seaters with fully retracting roofs, however all bar one of the remaining Dropheads had roofs that rested on the rear body work making space for rear seats. A one off 405 D was produced for Sheikh Yusuf Mohammed Al Tawil and shipped to Jeddah in 1955 painted gold with silver wheels, white wall tyres and an electro-hydraulic operated roof.

The slick action four speed gearbox of all 405’s were fitted with a Laycock overdrive for high speed cruising operated by the large toggle switch to the right of the steering wheel.

The first 18 to 20 Bristol 405 Drophead chassis were sent to Abbots of Farnham where the bodywork was crafted. Abbots landed a large contract to build estate / station wagon version of the Ford Zephyr and Zodiac models and the remaining 405 D’s were sent to Tickford, in Newport Pagnell, for body work to be built according to the Abbots of Farnham drawings. I am not sufficiently drenched in Bristol Cars lore to tell you where this particular body was crafted… yet.

I suspect I could get used to fresh air motoring in a vehicle fit for a Sheik that sounds like a ‘squadron of Lancasters‘ how about you ?

Thanks to the owner of this fabulous vehicle for bringing it to the Sunday Service at the BMW Plant a couple of weeks ago.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s fit for a Sheikh edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres and that you will join me again tomorrow for a Swedish tease. Don’t forget to come back now !

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California Dreaming – Ferrari California 2+2 Convertible

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A couple of years ago I was at an airport and I noticed in the duty free area there was a Ferrari on a turntable that was a raffle prize.

I’d never seen one like it before turns out that it was a California, at £25 / $40 a pop for a ticket I passed on what may well have been my only opportunity to own a Ferrari without regret.

Allegedly the California was originally conceived as Maserati, however the economics of the project dictated that only a Ferrari badge offered any hope of a financial return on the vehicle.

Researching this blog I was surprised to find the California introduced in 2008, shares it’s engine design with both ALFA Romeo and Maserati models.

Over 1,000 hours are said to have been spent in a wind tunnel perfecting the aerodynamics of the California so that it’s drag coefficient is 0.32 the lowest ever achieved for any Ferrari.

I have to confess it was not until I had run a registration check on these vehicles that I had any idea of exactly which models they were and indeed they were both the same type, I thought the red one was a 612 Scaglietti !

Allegedly there is room on the back seats for two adults in a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti something at 6′ 2″ I’d love to put to the test.

Even if I had known it comes with a front mounted 450 hp 4.3 litre 260 cui V8 engine I doubt I would have been tempted to buy a raffle ticket….

because for all the attention to detail …

beautiful craftsmanship ….

seven speed dual clutch transmission …

and promise of the joys of open air motoring …

alone price of the road tax on the Ferrari California is enough to keep me on the road for a whole year in my 20 year old jalopy … but that does not stop me from dreaming 🙂

With thanks to the PistonHeads responsible for bringing these dream machines to the Sunday Service at the BMW Plant in Cowley a couple of weeks ago.

Hope you have enjoyed to days California dreaming edition of ‘Gettin a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow for a look at another vehicle bearing the California name. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Should I have failed to quench your thirst for Ferrari’s take a look at the new Ferrari FF with Michele Rahal over on The Drive Channel.

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What’s cookin’ ? – DAX Tojeiro

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Continuing the theme of self builds started with the unique scratch built Rhodes Ridley on Monday today we are looking at a DAX Tojeiro.

DJ Sportscars International Ltd under the DAX brand have been building kits replicating the AC Cobra requiring no special tools, welding or Glassfibre Reinforced Plastic work for over 25 years.

Their Tojeiro kits currently marketed under the ‘427’ name can be supplied to take a huge variety of motors small block to big block US V8’s Rover V8’s Jaguar sixes & V12’s, currently DAX have a demonstrator with a 500 hp 8.2 litre 502 cui V8 capable of accelerating from rest to 60 mph in 4 seconds and on to over 180 mph.

After trying one at Brands Hatch ex Formula One driver Jonathon Palmer described the big block Chevy DAX demonstrator as ‘just staggering’ not bad for a vehicle that when complete should comply with Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) standards necessary for registering a vehicle on the road.

Any one interested in finding out more might like to visit Simon Johns DAX factory in Harlow Essex for an open day on Good Friday April 22nd, see link for contact details, if I am in the area I’ll make a point of being there myself.

Thanks to the unknown PistonHead who brought this sinuous vehicle to Januarys Sunday Service at the BMW Plant, Cowley.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s Detroit muscle powered edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again when we up the ante with a whirl wind 427 cui powered kit car. Don’t forget to came back now !

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Sunday Service – MINI Plant Car Park

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I took the 191,000 mile Passat out for a 180 mile spin yesterday to the MINI plant in Cowley just outside Oxford where the PistonHeads had organised a Sunday Service, a free gathering of 800 folks who like to worship their cars.

When I read through the list of vehicles that were booked to attend including a Ferrari California at the top of the list, my sceptical, if it’s too good to be true on the internet it is, side imagined some of those hoping to attend might be having a laugh.

However as evidenced by this very expensive tax disc, many people did in fact turn up in the vehicles promised, of the 50 plus vehicles from 28 manufacturers I photographed there were two current different model Rolling Royces, five Ferraris, helping to secure Ferrari Fridays for a while yet (!), 5 Bristols in 4 flavours a couple of Chevrolets and a 1938 Ford Deluxe Hotrod.

On an absolutely freezing morning the MINI visitor provided a welcome shelter with a completely eclectic collection of Mini’s both originals and Retro models photo’s of which I look forward to sharing in the fullness of time.

The meeting started at 9 am prompt and we were asked to clear the area by 1 pm. Ironically the afternoon drive home was in brilliant sunshine which would have been very welcome while I was taking these pix, but I guess we can’t have everything, certainly not in January.

With over 400 photographs to sort out I thought I’d share a handful of details to give you a flavour of what is to come here at Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres !’

I’d like to thank everyone at Pistonheads and the MINI visitor centre who made my first Sunday Service so much fun and finally I’d like to thank all the PistonHeads who brought such a fascinating collection of vehicles.

Hope you enjoyed some of the details in today’s edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow for a trip inside the MINI Visitor centre. Don’t forget to come back now !

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