While Nick, Shane, and I were eating dinner, a bunch of the local cruising-scene regulars started turning up all over Woodward Avenue. Luckily for us, this rumbling, street-terror 1967 Chevy Camaro coupe rolled into our parking lot, and it looked great with its slick black paint, power-dome hood, Draglite wheels, and Mickey Thompson ET Street rubber. Someone treats this old machine quite well, and that made me a happy camper after scarfing down a delicious French Dip earlier. Enjoy the photos of this classic pony car. Continue reading 1967 Chevrolet Camaro spotted in Royal Oak, MI→
This is the Lamborghini Aventador “Superveloce”, or SV for short. Superveloce roughly means “high velocity” or “super speed”, so as you might expect, it’s faster and more powerful than a normal Aventador.
With 740hp on tap from its 6.5L all-motor V12, this bull is a fire-breather in the biblical sense. What’s more, the SV is better suited for track driving than the normal Lamborghini Aventador, which I wasn’t too fond of. I’d love to try the SV on track, in hopes it would change my mind.
It’s not all about the performance, though. This is an ultimate Lamborghini, and therefore needs to be a total showpiece. The Aventador SV surely delivers in that regard. It’s wonderfully vulgar and ostentatious beyond belief!
It was great to finally see an Aventador SV in person at Radnor Hunt this year. I can’t wait to see one blow past me on the road!
And here, I present the only DeLorean I’ve ever seen that might have a decent shot at making it to 88 miles per hour before slamming into the front of the Twin Pines Mall. This is no ordinary DeLorean that I laid eyes on at the auction tent in Greenwich this past summer. I’d read up on this before turning up and I gleefully discovered that this one’s got a twin turbocharger on it. It’s not a factory part, of course (all DeLorean DMC-12s came from the factory with a genuinely anemic PRV V6, good for a pathetic 109 MPH thanks to emissions regulations and low power output), but the swap was there. Continue reading Twin-Turbo DeLorean up for auction at Bonhams Greenwich, 2015→
First Class Fitment is a stance/modified car show held at the Airport in Princeton, NJ every fall. People come from all over the region, bringing nicely done rides of all sorts. The event is mostly stanced cars, as you might expect, but there are a few other gems sprinkled in for good measure.
This year was quite good. Lots of really well built cars with interesting details. That’s one thing I love about modified car shows, each car has so much personality. They’d all stand out parked on the street alone, but the ones that catch my eye at the show are always extra cool.
I took quite a lot of photos at the event, so there is much more to come. Enjoy the first gallery!
When it comes to old police cars, Chrysler had the market pretty much cornered for some time. In fact, up until 1989 or so, Dodge and Plymouth ruled the squad market to the point that they would usually dictate its direction. This 1966 Coronet, while I’m not sure is real, certainly looks like an old cop car that’s been dragged out of mothballs and driven out to Lead East. I’ll be honest, the shoe polish in the rear window scrawled out as “Lead East Or BUST” is quite a nice touch–as is the notebook and radio strung over the rear view mirror inside. A big whip antenna, period correct lightbar, and loudspeaker-style siren on top finish off the period correct look. Enjoy the photos, and stay safe out there on the roads (or you’ll end up in the back of this old Dodge). Continue reading 1966 Dodge Coronet Police Cruiser at Lead East→
First Class Fitment is always an ocean of stance, where you’ll drown in a flood of excessive camber and hella-flush-ness. This Camo Ford SVT Raptor was the exact opposite. A lifted hunk of ‘Murican metal, it stood proudly among the endless flocks of lowered cars like the American flag stands on the moon.
I’m not really a “truck guy”, but if I were going to buy a modern truck, a Ford Raptor just like this one would be my aspiration. I love the camo paint job too. It just sets off the truck’s flavor that much more.
We came across this well-modded BMW 335xi while out cruising Woodward Ave this summer. Fitted with M3 front bodywork, and a carbon fiber splitter, this 335xi is quite a nice-looking car.
I had a nice chat with the owner, and he informed me that the car was making around 430awhp, fitted with the full array of bolt-on modifications. The twin turbo N52 Engine in these things makes quite a bit of power easily, and this car was a great example.
335i’s are quite affordable these days too. For under $30 grand it’s feasible to make one of these into a solid 400hp+ GT carm like what you see here.
I’ve held a fascination with land-speed records for as long as I can remember. When I saw two belly-tank racers sitting on the show field in the Concours of America this summer, I made a beeline for the section and started looking at what was on hand. Back in the early 1930s, salt flat racing in Bonneville became massively popular, having started in 1914–and people are still out there every year attempting to set new records in an ever-evolving form of motorsport. These cars all hail from the prewar era and looked fantastic in period-correct trimmings. From belly-tanker racers to a few old-school hot rods modified for salt, the history was all in plain sight. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Bonneville Salt Flats Record Cars at the 2015 Concours of America→
In 1995 the McLaren F1 GTR dominated the 24 hours of Le Mans, beating out purpose-built prototype cars for a 1st overall victory. This feat has never been accomplished since by any road-car-based GT class car. And when I say McLaren “dominated” Le Mans that year, I mean they finished 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 13th positions overall. Not bad for a modified version of a road-going supercar, which was never initially intended to go racing.
With that huge victory, the folks at McLaren were inspired to give the F1’s racing their all. That meant the car needed to be lightened even further and optimized for racing duties. Aerodynamics were key, and they wound up elongating the F1’s shape into what became known as the “Longtail.” McLaren also managed to take another 135kg out of a car which was already absurdly lightweight. The F1 GTR Longtail was quite an accomplishment, no doubt, and went on to be quite successful in the 1997 season.
In order to compete in racing, McLaren had to build a road-going version of the Longtail, dubbed the “McLaren F1 GT.” Just three F1 GT’s were built, the green prototype (seen here), a red one, and a black one. The green prototype, “XP GT”, has been retained by McLaren themselves, while the other two F1 GTs currently sit in private collections.
McLaren was kind enough to let the world see XP GT at this year’s New York International Auto Show. For me it was a dream come true because I’ve been lusting over this very car since I was a kid. It simply is gorgeous in person.
For a deeper dive into the F1 GT, and every other McLaren model, check out the McLaren Website, they have some great information.
Alfa Romeo had two gorgeous 4Cs on display at Radnor Hunt this year, each with a white over red color combo. White looks fantastic on these cars, and I think I’d even have it over red, especially with that red leather interior.
The Alfa 4C is such a great little car, just a shame they don’t offer it with a stick.
I was totally blown away by this magnificent 1938 Peugeot Darl/Mat at the Concours of America this year. A two-tone yellow paint scheme is always sure to turn some heads, but combined with such nice lines, it took me a while to pick my jaw up off the grass.
The Peugeot Darl’Mat was a sports and racing car of the era. It even saw a class victory at Le Mans in 1938. Underneath its gorgeous bodywork from Marcel Pourtout, this particular car is a Peugeot 402 Darl’Mat Legere… the lightest model with the biggest engine.
The 402 Darl’Mat was powered by Peugeot’s 2 Liter overhead valve 4 cylinder engine, which was mated to a 4-speed preselector gearbox. This was all cutting edge tech for racing back in the era, with similar designs found in other notable French racers, such as Delahayes.
As with many 1930’s French cars, this Peugoet’s visual beauty drew me in. In addition to its striking color combo, it has some stunning detail work all around.
With just over 100 Peugeot Darl’Mats built, this car is quite a rare sight, especially when you account for the coachwork.
This surely won my own personal Best In Show award at the Concours Of America this year. Enjoy the gallery!
As Nick and I were about to leave the Radnor Hunt Concours last month, I happened upon this old Citroen van and shot a few pictures of it. Not knowing what it was, I thought it was an old Mehari or 2-CV. Turns out, I’m wrong. This is a Citroen Acadiane panel van, and it’s about the size of a mail truck. They made over 200,000 of these, but I doubt many survive–it’s old and French, and like old Citroens, it probably does well at rotting in a field. Luckily, this one looked quite nice. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Citroen Acadiane spotted in Malvern, PA→
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Mind Over Motor 