Erg I seem to be in the grips of permanent jet lag. Every day this week, I’ve woken up at 02:00 AM on the dot…Bleck….. However, this does allow me to get some blogging done on Speedhunters, which I suppose is good for you lot, our cherished readers….. hey, so I thought I’d start out my Autosport Show coverage by talking about the journey from London to Birmingham. This was an event in itself hahaha.
I travelled up to the show with Andy Barnes, one of the founders of the European Drift Championship/Time Attack UK and a well known British car builder under the name Sumo Power…. He also writes the odd article for Speedhunters in his spare time too….
Now the EDC is participating in the Autosport Live Arena show this weekend, so we towed up Andy’s Sumo Power 350Z along. This car was the first D1 spec drift machine to be built in the UK, and Andy has decided to enter it in the 2009 EDC as a team owner….
Follow the leader….
Man the UK is cold and dark at this time of year…. I’m wearing the world’s thickest parka to deal with this… Anyway, after a short time on the road we caught up with the SVA Imports 350Z, who are also in the Autosport Live Arena. We got on the phone to them and decided to stop for a tea.
Once the cars were parked up, I decided to take the opportunity to do a little photo essay on the two top drift spec Zs in the UK.
Some of you may remember this car used to be pink… Andy has now decided on a more manly colour perhaps?… Any thoughts on Mighty Mouse graphic? A win or a lose?
Ahh yes…. the rear ends….Hotness.
This is Raife from SVA Imports… He was entertaining me with tales from the five years he spent living in Japan…. and his time doing Futou Dockyard drifting in Nagoya.
This is a man that owns several GTRs… including a 1000 bhp R34 V Spec…. We’ll have to visit him one day to check out his set up…. in the mean time you can browse his website..
As we entered the Birmingham NEC complex, there were all manner of race and exotic cars being unloaded… we spotted this Koenigsegg….
…also representing the colour green was this brand new Ford Focus RS. Quite an impressive looking machine.
Or how about this all chrome Ultima? Coooolllll (said with Japanese accent…)
We drove into the Live Arena Show pit area and Andy started to unload his car.
Next spot over, an old Tyrrell F1 machine was being unpacked from its trailer… I love the look of 1980s F1 cars… they look like proper race cars: Low and Wide.
Raife (I hope I am spelling his name right) also started to unload his car. You’ll notice this 350Z has a rear radiator setup like some of the Team Orange drift cars.
We also bumped into a familiar face from the Red Bull event… Drifter Tim Marshall.
The car had literally just been picked up from the dockyards and was covered with a thin layer of dust. Notice the Red Bull logos are still present on the car.
Word cannot describe the sound from this V8 powered R33, when fired up indoors…. I was literally jumping from shock every time he started the Skyline.
The drifters are part of the opening ceremony for the Autosport Live Arena. They’ll be doing donuts around the host David Coulthard tomorrow!
Here is that RS again…
I’m liking what I’m seeing… finally a new sport compact car with some edge.
This was also the first time I’ve seen an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione in the flesh…
Man this car is ssssooooo sexy….
No one can do style better than the Italians no?
I’m posting this car for the NFS Community Manager back at the office in Vancouver, Andrew Collins who loves all things Mini related…
From what I can tell this is a Rallycross racer… it’s a mid engined tube framed silhouette… pretty wild machine…
I decided to look inside the main hall show areas… this will give you an idea of the scale of the event. It is a must see show for any serious motorsports fan.
The Rally car display area was just being set up as I walked in … I was immediately drawn to this stunning 240Z rally car… wow!!! I take it you’ll want to see more of this car yes?
RS200 anyone? Are you drooling yet? Feeling warm and fuzzy inside?
Coys had a large selection of auction cars… check the Collin McRae Subaru… I can’t imagine how valuable this car must be!!!
This is probably my fav car at the Autosport show so far… the new Renault Megane Trophy… I am astounded by the futuristic styling of this racer… Watch out for a full spotlight on it in the coming days.
Another car that impressed me was this Lotus Elise circuit racer… I’ll show you a full set of pics on this little monster soon….
Talk in a bit…
:Rod
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
This coverage is awesome! Just Awesome!
Autosport use to be a fantastic show, lots of race teams showing their new rides and drivers, but the last couple of years has been a bit of a disappointment. Hopefully the show will return to the old days
Where are the Speedhunter decals on Andy Barnes car then ?
Looks like some good stuff to be displayed. Heading down myself after work tomorrow to hit the show on Saturday morning. I shall come armed with the DSLR.
Would be good to know if the Arena show is likely to be a good hunting ground for some shots and how far away the seats are. Can't pack all the lenses and had inteded on leaving the telephoto at home but wouldn't want to miss out on some good sideways action.
Drooling at the RS200.....And that Mini is a wild thing!
I dam hell look foward to the Spotlight on the Renault Megan Cup car... I love there old one and this one looks even wilder.
RS200 man Ive alwease had a soft spot for that car... I think it was such a technological acheavement for its day... yet I feel it deserves more credit than it got.
Few things...Ford wants to save themselves from financial crisis? send the RS to the states....Next, that rallycross mini reminds me so much of Patty Hopkiriks mini from the monte carlo rally (wish i could have seen it) And I cant wait for the stuff on the Megan Trophy! looks amazing!
Wow, im loving this feature. all cars looks so nice. the rally 240Z looks very nice as well and yes, im hoping as well for a feature on it. Thr RS200 is just sexy the way it is. the megane throphy looks awesome and loking forward for that as well. oh and i hope to see more pics of the V8 skyline as well. looks really nice from the rear so im rpetty sure it should look pretty nice over all as well.
maybe it will look good on some blue or white but damn it really is very nice. ^_^
and lastly im not really a big fan of the Ford focus but that RS is looking very very very very very nice. and on green as well which is my favorite color.
cheers!
the new RS Focus, love it. My other half has her's coming in march, gota love them RS200, got a 900 BHP one coming to my show in May.
ultamas rule british sports cars at there best v8 600bhp stock carbon body 0,60 3.2secs love it
autosport is a great show and im really looking forward to it on sunday! Get some more pics of the sumo 350z's fresh paint scheme!
is that a TVR i see in the Focus RS picture?
Rod, I think its spelt Raef?
Since 2009 is the 50th anniversary of Aston Martin's overall victory at Le Mans any news on their 2009 plans? Rumor has it there is a Aston/Gulf/Lola collaboration waiting in the wings and the Autosport show seems like a good place to announce it.
thehype2049 - No, its a Ginetta
its not a ginetta its a marcos look at the mouth
wow! rs200! could you post the list of auction cars? and maybe the price ? thanks!
more s30 rally z.Would like to see some details on that car.Nice photos.
This is seriously NSFW; it's porn!
OLLIE P- seriously its a Ginetta! (G50 I think its called)
,
actually, here's a big clue, look at the big sticker on the side of the car!!!! tut tut tut
what is that car parked next to the focus?? looks pretty sweet.
Kevin, see above