Tag Archives: RS

Global Pony – Chevrolet Camaro RS

Four years after the last fourth Generation Camaro was built Chevrolet unveiled a new Camaro Concept designed by South Korean-born Sangyup Lee at the North American International Auto Show in January 2006.

Chevrolet Camaro RS, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

The car was built on a GM Zeta platform developed by Holden in Australia and when in August 2006 it was decided to put the fifth generation Camaro into production Holden were responsible for the final design, engineering, and development of the new model.

Chevrolet Camaro RS, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

Production of the fifth generation Camaro returned to Canada but now at the Oshawa Car Assembly plant in Ontario alongside the Chevrolet Impala and Impala Limited, Buick Regal, Cadillac XTS, and Chevrolet Equinox GM models.

Chevrolet Camaro RS, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

Fifth generation Camaro’s went back into production in 2009 with independent suspension and disc brakes all round, variable – rate power steering, StabiliTrak electronic stability/traction control system and six airbags on all models.

Chevrolet Camaro RS, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

The first fifth generation Camaro was sold, at Barratt and Jacksons Auction raising $350,000 for the American Heart Association, to Rick Hendrick CEO of Hendrick Motorsports.

Chevrolet Camaro RS, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

In 2012 updates included a power increase to 323hp up from 311hp in 2011 on the 3,564 cc / 217 cui V6 powered models such as the 2013 RS model featured today, other RS features include HID headlamps with integrated halo rings, spoiler, and RS-specific taillamps in 2012 the colour coded sharkfin aerial was included followed by 20 inch wheels in 2013.

Chevrolet Camaro RS, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol,

Today’s featured 2013 Camaro RS seen at an Avenue Drivers Club meeting in Bristol last year was registered in the UK on the 27th of March 2015.

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

For Those Who Go – Porsche 953

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In 1977 Terry Sabine got lost on his motor bike in the Lybian desert while taking part in the Abidjan-Nice Rally. Upon his return he promised to share his fascination with the desert with as many people as possible by creating “A challenge for those who go. A dream for those who stay behind” which took the form of the Paris Dakar (PD) a 10,000 mile mostly off road rally raid event.

Porsche 953, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Paris Dakar is run for motor cycles, 4 wheel vehicles up to 3,500 kgs / 7,716 lbs vehicles over 3500 kgs / 7,716 lbs with numerous sub divisions within the three basic classes. All service vehicles must be entered as competitors.

Porsche 953, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The first event was run in 1979 with the four wheel class won by Alain Génestier and Joseph Terbiaut driving a Range Rover, other winning vehicles up to 1984 included an Volkswagen Iltis, Renault 20 and Mercedes 280 G by multiple Grand Prix and Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur in 1983, all of them were all wheel drive vehicles.

Porsche 953, Goodwood Festival of Speed

In 1983 Porsche built 3 cars for the 1984 event based on the 911 SC RS, a type I shall look at tomorrow, with 3 litre / 183 cui motors producing up to 300 hp, but featuring mechanical all wheel drive and over 12 inches of suspension travel to cope with the sand dunes in the Sahara desert. These three cars are known as 953’s but at the time were also variously referred to as 911’s, 911 SC RS 4×4’s or any combination there of.

Porsche 953, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Rene Metge and Dominique Lemoyne driving the #176 won the event at Porsche’s first attempt, Ickx and Brasseur came home 6th in the #175 while Roland Kussmaul and Erich Lerner finished 26th meaning all three cars survived the challenge.

Porsche 953, Goodwood Festival of Speed

In 1987 the #175 and #177 cars were repainted green for the Folténe team led by former Grand Prix driver Jacques Laffite who shared the ex #175 Ickx car with Pierre Landereau which appears to have retired from the event at the earliest opportunity once a minimum of sponsor obligations was met, while the other car driven by Jacques brother in law Jean Pierre Jabouille and G.Levent retired after hitting a bolder.

Toady’s featured car, seen at the Goodwood Festival of Speed is owned by the Porsche Museum, it carries an odd combination #176 with the names of Ickx and Brasseur on the roof and I have been unable to determine exactly which of the three 953’s this is.

It is possible today’s featured car might be the car Laffite drove in 1987 and Ickx drove in 1984, but it would appear more likely to be the repaired Jabouille car from 1987 that Kussmaul and Lerner drove in ’84, if you know please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Porsche went on to develop all wheel drive on its 959 and 961 twin turbo competition models, Metge and Lemoyne won the 1986 PD with the 959. The all wheel drive system was then used in the Carrera 4 road model range.

Event founder Terry Sabine was killed with 4 others in the 1986 PD when his helicopter crashed into a sand dune during an unexpected sand storm.

The PD became the Dakar in 2009 and relocated to Argentina after political tensions led to the abandonment of the event in 2008.

Thanks for joining me on this “For Those Who Go” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at another Porsche 911 variant. Don’t forget to come back now !

Turbo Erika – Ford Escort RS Turbo

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Launched with the strap line “Simple is Efficient” the third generation Ford Escort was code named “Erika” while in development taking the name from Fords Product Planning Dept leader Erick A. Reikert.

The Escort MKIII went head to head in the market place with the popular Volkswagen Golf which had turned VW fortunes around after the demise of the ‘Beetle’.

Like the Golf the 3rd iteration of the Escort employed front wheel drive, unlike the Golf the Escort was a conservative hatchback retaining some vestige of a three box shape bodywork at the rear, although the tailgate included the rear sloping window.

The 132hp RS Turbo version of the Escort was launched in 1984 with the 5 speed transmission driving the front wheels through a viscous coupling differential that was a world first for a front wheel drive car. The RS Turbo proved a strong competitor in production saloon racing where it rendered the hitherto dominant Ford Capri 2.8i obsolete in the space of 12 months.

In the top photo national radio DJ Mike Smith and Lionel Abbot shared the #25 to win the 1986 Willhire 24 hour race at Snetterton at their second attempt becoming the first two driver team to win the race since it’s inception in 1980. The #32 was driven by Karl Jones, Patrick Watts and Chris Creswell in the 1987 Willhire 24 hours qualifying 2nd, to a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, and finishing sixth, third in class after a late driveshaft failure. By 1989 the Escort RS Turbo’s driven by Vaughan Richmond, #44 seen at Brands Hatch and Jonathon Harrison, #60 seen at Silverstone, were overwhelmed in class B by half a dozen faster BMW M3’s.

My thanks to Tim Murray on The Nostalgia Forum for the race details on the #32 at Snetterton.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Turbo Erika’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow for Americana Thursday. Don’t forget to come back now !

Genk Cosworth Part 1 – Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth

The second generation Ford Sierra Cosworths were all built in Genk, Belgium, with new 4 door bodies that were introduced with the 1987 Ford Sierra facelift, in Britain the 4 door Sierra was known as the Sierra Sapphire.

The Sierra Saphire RS Cosworth was positioned at the top of the Sierra performance tree, powered by the original 204 hp version of the Cosworth YBB motor, though with suspension set to favour comfort over over performance handling as in the original 3 door Sierra RS Cosworth.

Despite losing the wild appeal of the original Sierra RS Cosworth the latter Sapphire’s performance did not really suffer with the road going version being independently timed by Autocar rest to 60 mph 5.8 seconds, 1/4 mile in 14.4 seconds up, to 100 mph in 15.8 seconds and with a top speed of 143 mph.

Unlike the earlier Sierra RS Cosworth and RS 500 evolution the Sierra Saphire RS Cosworth was built for Right Hand Drive and Left Hand Drive markets. Confusingly the LHD variant of the 4 door Cosworth was simply known as the Sierra RS Cosworth as had the original 3 door RHD version. From 1988 to 1989 around 13140 examples for both markets were manufactured.

Mark Hales is seen driving the #12 at Brands Hatch, Mark shared this car with ABBA drummer and sometime Grand Prix Driver and Truck racer Slim Borgudd to victory in the Willhire 25 hour race at Snetterton in 1989. Steve Monk is driving the #13 at Donington to a fourth place finish in a race won by Mark Hales while David Shead drives the #15 Bristol Street Motors Sierra Sapphire Cosworth RS at Brands Hatch.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Genk Cosworth Part 1’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Turbo Toni – Ford Sierra RS Cosworth

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On the 22nd September 1982 Ford of Britain launched it’s replacement for the much loved conservative Ford Cortina to an unsuspecting public. Project Toni, designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément, was unveiled as the Ford Sierra to a fair amount of public myrth and ridicule in the absence of much acclaim except in Ireland where the Sierra won the 1983 Semperit Irish Car of the Year award.

While there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the mechanical operation of the car much of which was inherited from the final incarnation of the Ford Cortina Mk 5, the styling, which was similar to the well received US Ford Probe, had been pushed a bit too far in the quest for aerodynamic efficiency leading to nick names for the Sierra like ‘the blob’ and ‘Salesmans Spaceship’.

Fortunately it was the salesmans fleet market which saved the model from sinking faster than the Edsel. The #3 above was an early leader in the 1987 Willhire 24 Hour race at Snetterton driven by Graham Scarbrough and David ‘Jess’ Yates who is standing with his back to the camera on the right.

In the spring of 1983 Stuart Turner head of Ford Motorsport Europe devised a plan to put Ford at the top of the new Group A saloon car championships which were run nationally and internationally in Europe. Above the #6 is driven by Graham Davis at Brands Hatch.

In the spring of 1983 Stuart Turner head of Ford Motorsport Europe devised a plan to put Ford at the top of the new Group A saloon car championships which were run nationally and internationally in Europe. Above the #24 is driven by Peter Sugden at Donington and shared with Roger ‘Willhire’ Williams in the 1989 Willhire 25 hours at Snetterton.

Lessons learned from Roush Racing in the USA and Andy Rouse in Britain with XR4Ti racing programmes were incorporated into the suspension while a reworked Sierra 3 door body designed by Lother Pinske was developed which featured a distinctive ‘tea tray’ rear wing deemed necessary to keep the rear wheels on the ground at speeds in excess of 186 mph.

5045 Ford Sierra Cosworths were manufactured in 1986, enough to qualify for International Group A and national Group N racing, in only three colours, all with a grey interior and with the only options being central locking and or electric windows. The racers seen here were all prepared to the lower state of tune Group N spec for the national Uniroyal and Firestone production car championships.

Keith Maxted is thought to be the driver of the #32 Goodyear Sierra RS Cosworth seen at Brands Hatch on April 23rd 1989, if you know different please chime in below.

My thanks to Alan Cox & Gregor Marshall at The Nostalgia Forum for their help identifying the drivers of the four racers.

Thanks for joining me on this ‘Turbo Toni’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Street Legal & Race Ready – Porsche 997 GT3 RS

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The Porsche 997 GT3 RS is a road legal competition spec version of the 997 GT3 distinguishable from the 996 GT3 RS by its bug eye headlights.

Weighing 1,375 kg/ 3,031 lbs the 997 GT3 RS weighs 20 kgs / 44 lbs less than the 997 GT3 thanks to the plastic bonnet lid, plexi glass rear window and carbon fibre rear wing giving a power to weight ratio of 300 hp per tonne.

This 2009 version can accelerate from rest to 62.5 mph in 4 seconds, and on to a top speed of 193 mph.

The ’09 997 GT3 is powered by a 415 hp 3.8 litre / 231 cui normally aspirated water cooled flat 6. Around 1,500 of these vehicles were built many being raced in Europe and the United States.

Hope you have enjoyed to days road legal racing edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me tomorrow for something a little more pedestrian.