Gatebil isn’t exclusive. It isn’t about the latest and greatest supercar, or any my-turbo’s-bigger-than-your-turbo posturing. Gatebil actually operates under some very simple objectives: fun; the enjoyment of driving; the celebration of every kind of car. It’s about helping each other out. It’s about passion. All these things make Gatebil so refreshing and enjoyable, and it’s simply a delight to see the variety of machinery on show: where else could you see a pure-bred GT hang it out next to a Group B rallycar, a carbon-bodied Japanese street racer, a home-built speed machine, a big American muscle car and a bewinged Lotus 7-alike? It’s the racing grid you would normally only be able to dream of. Here are just half a dozen vehicles which I think highlight the eclecticism you find at an average Gatebil event.
A single RS200 is more than enough to get the pulse racing, and at Gatebil September there were two out to play: an immaculate factory-liveried example – and then this smoking rallycross behemoth.
The car was bought in 1987 by Jan Artur Iversen, the owner of the Glomma Papp cardboard factory, to race in the European Rallycross Championship. Like many Group B rally cars, this RS200 evolved into a new and even more powerful beast in the ERC. Luckily it survived this shunt from early in its life!
Iversen competed in that series with the car until 1992, when it was retired to his personal museum. There it stayed until 2005, when Morten Lerdahl bought the car and added some minor upgrades.
The engine was put on the dyno: it was still producing a huge 728 bhp and 840nm at 2.4 bar turbo pressure! Extreme rallycross heaven. The engine is a 2.1-litre Evolution stroked to 2,364cc.
The bodywork is made of Kevlar and the historic Glomma Papp livery has been retained to show the origin of the car. The majority of the chassis maintains its Group B rally spec. It’s not pretty in the context of the original RS200, but in extreme rallycross form it is a hell of a machine, and wears its battlescars proudly. There are plans to make it road legal, with a street body kit – which would mean it could then drive to track events and hill-climbs! You’re not going to try and beat this thing off the traffic lights…
This 1977 Toyota Cressida was built up by Underground Garage and is owned by Fredrik Sørlie.
The Cressida is powered by a normally-aspirated MkIV 2JZ-GE engine running through the W58 gearbox from a MkIII – the rest of the drivetrain is stock Cressida but with a welded diff. The exhaust has been custom-made, with twin two-inch pipes running all the way through.
The front crossmember and steering have been built from scratch so it can achieve the best angles, and it can now reach an impressive 63 degrees of steering lock: perfect for that on-track hooning!
The Cressida runs on SSR Longchamps mounting Toyo R888 tires; stopping power is provided by brakes from a Caldina GT-T. The suspension uses Tokico HTS dampers and Öhlins springs.
Most impressively, Fredrik drove it all weekend with no rear brakes or a handbrake – and still managed all this!
Something brutal was also rumbling around Rudskogen: this home-made IMSA-style Chevrolet Corvette.
Over-wide, over-long, over-big, over here… a gloriously weighty sledgehammer of a car!
Somewhere underneath there’s the original Corvette chassis. All of the oversize panels have been hand-made for this project.
Currently it mounts a small block V8 – the owners don’t really know the exact capacity, just that it’s great fun! They do have a big-block engine standing by with even more power – perhaps 600-650hp – which they’re thinking of installing.
The cockpit is… practical. The wheel, a rev counter, ignition and fire extinguisher. A gear lever that looks like it would trigger a howitzer. And the loud pedal. A very loud pedal.
There were some serious mechanicals under the Wolfwagen Golf’s exterior: you only got small hints of what’s going on courtesy of the cut-outs and outrageous aero…
Under the hood a VW VR6 and Garrett turbo (using dual 44mm wastegates) are crammed in. It runs with larger valves and an aluminium short-runner intake, with performance tuned via a wide-band lambda and MoTeC M600.
The power comes out at around 690hp/755Nm, which makes for insanely fast acceleration in a car that looks like it weighs as much as a packet of crisps. Watching this car from the side of the track never failed to bring a smile to my face as the turbo wound up and the car rocketed off down the next straight. A close-ratio five-speed gearbox required fast changes to keep up!
The flared arches contain the 285/30/18 rears 235/40/18 fronts – the braking pressure is adjustable and the Golf has a hydraulic handbrake. Closer-fitting arches were tried, but caused too much smoke build-up!
Unfortunately Krille Kandevik experienced engine problems all weekend, so the speed was a little erratic (a blown spark plug affected the cylinder pressure), but it was still hugely entertaining – and hopefully still great fun to drive!
There were two Porsche 993s at Gatebil and both were driven to the maximum. The twins unfortunately suffered various levels of damage, with this car ending up stranded with a folded-over rear rim and its powder-blue sister stopping out on track – in the side of a BMW…
It’s an FIA GT2 Supercup body, weighing 1,100kg and with full racing accoutrements: airjacks and centre-lock BBS rims (12×18, 14×18). Michelin tyres are being used: 27/65-18 and 31/71-18. They are enormous. Power comes from the 3.6-litre twin-turbo unit hanging out back: that means over 600bhp on tap and a whole world of torque to play with (over 900nm), with adjustable boost adding to the potential fun.
The Porsche is using a standard GT2 Evo drivetrain to the rear, though a modified G50/54 six-speed transmission and a 60/80 diff. Suspension is the Bilstein/Porsche Motorsport damper and springs package, with stopping power from Porsche endurance-spec racing callipers: 400mm vented disks up front and 320mm vented disks in the rear.
The car has quite a history: it was built by Porsche/Alzen Motorsport – Jurgen Alzen drove it in the Porsche Supercup Series – and competed in 62 events between 1998-2006. It’s been to all the great tracks: Hockenheim, Nürburgring, Spa-Francorchamps, Le Mans… and now Gatebil.
It’s won the Gatebil Time Attack and Extreme series in both 2011 and 2012; the GT2 can lap Rudskogen in 1:26s and Vålerbanen in 56s. Seeing the car in action you can see why: it was absolutely driven to the limit!
From the back this BMW 316 looked reasonably innocuous. Except for the size of the exhaust and the rear window strip…
From the front it was a different matter, with the front-mounted intercooler dominating the front of the car.
In the engine bay, a Toyota 3000 Two-way Twin Turbo 2JZ GTE.
This car was representative of the vast majority of weekend warriors, alternating track time with changing rubber that had cried enough and carrying out little tweaks and repairs to keep the car going. It’s the spirit of Gatebil.
There were so many other cars deserving of more detail, but, well, it just means we’ll have to go back again. The terrible shame! Many thanks to Egil Håskjold for his help over the weekend and with tracking down owners after the event. Cheers Egil!
Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
Photo by Jonathan Moore
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Wicked!
Definitely one of the most epic post! Thanks a lot!
That RS200 must be super fun to drive..!
That RS200 must be super fun to drive..!
That RS200 must be super fun to drive..!
That RS200 must be super fun to drive..!
Are those genuine Sakuras on the back of the cressi? That guy is balling out of control.
the BMW 316 (318?) is one of the sickest swaps i have ever seen. Unbelievable
As soon as I saw the Toyota Racing banner, I knew it had to be 2JZ swapped
thats the second 2jz-ge swapped cressida posted this week.... toyota love
Sweet mother of God, those cars are completely BONKERS! And that ERC RS200 - my brain could not even imagine or compute the acceleration and pure speed it can produce... Adrenaline overload.
@Vilko Nah, those are Rotas. The Longchamps are genuine though.
Sorry guys that RS200 looks like tottal crap...
After taking a better look at the body on the RS I wonder what single tooth hack but that together... Seriously
oh my dear god!!! that "homemade" sledgehammer!!!
ooooooopppphhhh! any videos of it?!
@roninlotus211 You're compleyely missing the point of this car. It went straight from the European rallycross tracks in 1992 and was parked in a garage. It's still exactly as it was when it was retired. Restoring it would be a crime. Every battle scar tells a story. It's awesome!
@roninlotus211 You're compleyely missing the point of this car. It went straight from the European rallycross tracks in 1992 and was parked in a garage. It's still exactly as it was when it was retired. Restoring it would be a crime. Every battle scar tells a story. It's awesome!
@roninlotus211 You're compleyely missing the point of this car. It went straight from the European rallycross tracks in 1992 and was parked in a garage. It's still exactly as it was when it was retired. Restoring it would be a crime. Every battle scar tells a story. It's awesome!
@roninlotus211 You're compleyely missing the point of this car. It went straight from the European rallycross tracks in 1992 and was parked in a garage. It's still exactly as it was when it was retired. Restoring it would be a crime. Every battle scar tells a story. It's awesome!
@Fredrik Sorlie @roninlotus211 I owned evo #106 with 900 hp and put over 20,000 mi. on it...
The point is this car looks like crap with shit reproduction body panels and melted plexi....
It's a pice of shit and anyone that would own one in that condition should be smacked...
I doubt it is even a real evo.
@Fredrik Sorlie @roninlotus211 I owned evo #106 with 900 hp and put over 20,000 mi. on it...
The point is this car looks like crap with shit reproduction body panels and melted plexi....
It's a pice of shit and anyone that would own one in that condition should be smacked...
I doubt it is even a real evo.
@Fredrik Sorlie @roninlotus211 I owned evo #106 with 900 hp and put over 20,000 mi. on it...
The point is this car looks like crap with shit reproduction body panels and melted plexi....
It's a pice of shit and anyone that would own one in that condition should be smacked...
I doubt it is even a real evo.
@Fredrik Sorlie @roninlotus211 I owned evo #106 with 900 hp and put over 20,000 mi. on it...
The point is this car looks like crap with shit reproduction body panels and melted plexi....
It's a pice of shit and anyone that would own one in that condition should be smacked...
I doubt it is even a real evo.
@roninlotus211 You still don't get it. You judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree. It's not supposed to be a mint condition, "real" Evo. It's a car from an era when these cars were raced and crashed every orher weekend until they died. This one survived, and has been left untouched since. The purity of this car is not in it's authenticity as an original evo, but it's authenticity as a competitive rallycross machine from back in the days of mayhem.
@roninlotus211 You still don't get it. You judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree. It's not supposed to be a mint condition, "real" Evo. It's a car from an era when these cars were raced and crashed every orher weekend until they died. This one survived, and has been left untouched since. The purity of this car is not in it's authenticity as an original evo, but it's authenticity as a competitive rallycross machine from back in the days of mayhem.
@roninlotus211 You still don't get it. You judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree. It's not supposed to be a mint condition, "real" Evo. It's a car from an era when these cars were raced and crashed every orher weekend until they died. This one survived, and has been left untouched since. The purity of this car is not in it's authenticity as an original evo, but it's authenticity as a competitive rallycross machine from back in the days of mayhem.
@roninlotus211 You still don't get it. You judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree. It's not supposed to be a mint condition, "real" Evo. It's a car from an era when these cars were raced and crashed every orher weekend until they died. This one survived, and has been left untouched since. The purity of this car is not in it's authenticity as an original evo, but it's authenticity as a competitive rallycross machine from back in the days of mayhem.
@Fredrik Sorlie @roninlotus211 It's still a shitbox in my opinion and in it's pure shit condition it will forever be a shitbox... Ya don't call a parts car an "evo"...just sayin from a guy that's owned two RS and one being the most powerfull RS200E at 900 hp lb in 1991.
@roninlotus211 Whatever man. I get it. You had an awesome RS200 and think this one is shit. Either way, it's still an important part of Norwegian motorsport history, and rather than rot in a museum it's still being hopned around a track. How can that ever be wrong?
@Fredrik Sorlie @roninlotus211 The thing is the car should be made right and used on the back roads, not traped on some track like a caged beast.... These cars are meant never to see the same turn twice.
@roninlotus211 What are you talking about? It's a famous rallycross car and you're sayIng the right thing to do would be to rip it's heart out and rebuilding it as something it's not and has never been? You sir, dors not get it at all. I grew up watching this car compete in the ERC. Seeing it in person at Gatebil in all it's glory, battle scars and all was awesome, something you could never appreciate. But I'm not here to argue. I'm just here to enjoy cars, no matter if they are exactly to my personal taste or not.
@Fredrik Sorlie @roninlotus211 I grew up driving these cars not watching them. Dude I built my car up to 900 whp back in 91, it's dreamers that don't get it.... But if you like crashbox derbys then there is no way you would understand.... Trashing a great pice of engineering is for rednecks no matter what country they live in..... Ya still have great taste in cars no matter how sour it may be..
Cheers
@roninlotus211 @Fredrik Sorlie I understand very well, and I'm not trying to change your mind. I'm just trying to explain that no matter what you think of rallycross (not that you didn't make that clear), it's still one of very few survivors from the glory days. I don't see how restoring it to factory spec would be better than preserving it as it is. Do you really want all RS200's to look the same? All restored in white with blue livery? The fact that you used to own one is highly irrelevant (how many whp did you say you have?). Unless you actually used it for rallying. That would be awesome. If you didn't, that kind of makes you an elitist hypocrit. I'll try to stop now, as I feel I'm spamming this thread, drawing attention away from the awesome, blue Cressida!
Will there be any articles (or have there been any articles) on the bespoke, "bewinged" Louts-7???
@Fredrik Sorlie Here is my old evo http://rs200.com/106.htm I used it every weekend for 200-300 mi. runs in the mountains from 1989-1996 pushing it as hard as I could on tarmac.. My car was white/red and then yellow...Repaints were all due to track time sand blasting..
Check out.. http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/03/car_feature_gt_gt_canyon_carving_king/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foJRw7kci8s
I'm an old fuck that's been there done that.
@ConnorKellerman http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/03/car_feature_gt_gt_canyon_carving_king/
There will be a new write up when it's back on the road ....
cressida is lovely
wow that IMSA corvette looks so bada$$, any shots of that green supra in the background of the last picture?
wow that IMSA corvette looks so bada$$, any shots of that green supra in the background of the last picture?
@roninlotus211 @Fredrik Sorlie Ahh, I was going to post a comment asking the polite Mr. Sörlie not to waste his time at a *insert harsh reality check description of a douche* but... you put it proudly up yourself on what type of character you are. I found the "old fuck" and keywords "BEEN" and "DONE" most accurate on what I myself was thinking reading your bitter posts.
Thank you, I think every Gatebil enthusiast honestly gets a kick out of foreigners who couldn't dream of the fun (you might need to google that word) we have in our grassroots Motorsport scene; getting bitter about it in a trolling fashion in an online blog...
@roninlotus211 @Fredrik Sorlie Ahh, I was going to post a comment asking the polite Mr. Sörlie not to waste his time at a *insert harsh reality check description of a douche* but... you put it proudly up yourself on what type of character you are. I found the "old fuck" and keywords "BEEN" and "DONE" most accurate on what I myself was thinking reading your bitter posts.
Thank you, I think every Gatebil enthusiast honestly gets a kick out of foreigners who couldn't dream of the fun (you might need to google that word) we have in our grassroots Motorsport scene; getting bitter about it in a trolling fashion in an online blog...
@roninlotus211 @Fredrik Sorlie
Howabout you get a car ready and come over to Gatebil? Even if you disagree with everyone in here, you must surely agree with driving a car to the limit? =)
@roninlotus211 @Fredrik Sorlie
Howabout you get a car ready and come over to Gatebil? Even if you disagree with everyone in here, you must surely agree with driving a car to the limit? =)
@MickeSuperiorimports I'm talking about a single trashed car... You have no idea of the "fun" I have with cars for the last 45 years... Who's bitter not me ? I just had a great 200 mi. run yesterday through the mountains and never saw the same turn twice...
This is no insult to grassroots motorspors, keep up the good work but at least tell the RS owner to fix up that shitbox and have some pride of ownership....
A shitbox with history is still a shitbox..
@MickeSuperiorimports I'm talking about a single trashed car... You have no idea of the "fun" I have with cars for the last 45 years... Who's bitter not me ? I just had a great 200 mi. run yesterday through the mountains and never saw the same turn twice...
This is no insult to grassroots motorspors, keep up the good work but at least tell the RS owner to fix up that shitbox and have some pride of ownership....
A shitbox with history is still a shitbox..
@roninlotus211 You seem to omit not everyone has the time to cater to every elitist prick out there. Maybe the owner feels its better to keep it mechanically sound and indeed use it like he should; before being worried about someone who apparently used to do cool stuff call it "a shitbox not worthy driving anymore" because of some paint peeling off at places = patina & character.
Sorry mate, this is internet arguing and your probably someone I would get along with and listen to stories with but... chill with the condescending attitude.
Like I said, it will only please those of us who go to these meets regularly and shrug of the sick shit (the good one) that happens there just saying "Because: Gatebil".
Keep doing your formal "historic hill-climbs" with average age of 65 and we'll continue to have one of the worlds most extreme motor events for a new generation; where people wear battle scars proudly in order to trash one more set of tires as soon as they can instead of polishing their car for the 90th time that year...
@MickeSuperiorimports Dude used to do cool stuff ? Check out my Lotus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foJRw7kci8s
This is as far from some BS 30 sec. historic hillclimb as you can get.
How many of your next generation guys are running compound charged 1.8 ltrs. currently making 700+whp with stagged dual fuel setups.... Zero that's how many. By the way I have never polished a car but I do keep them clean and take pride in the shit I've worked hard for...
I guess that RS owner looks at it like it's an asshole, why wipe it since it's gonna be covered in shit all over again.
@roninlotus211 You still don't get it, do you? Restoring this car would be like straightening up the leaning tower of Pisa!I hate it when I'm dragged into an internet argument by a troll, but the fact that someone who seems to love cars as much as you do, still manage to hate on a car just because it's not exactly to your taste, is scaring me. It's like those religious fundamentalists that kill eachother even though they believe in the same god...
@Fredrik Sorlie You do know that they have been trying to stop theTower of Pisa ever since it started to lean... It's trolls that deflect rather than answer.
Sorry kid but this RS parts car ain't no evo and it will always look like shit if looking like shit is the owners goal.....
I wonder if he has one of one of the intercoolers I supplied to Ford Motorsports back in 1991, Martin Schanche ran one I was told ?
PS: there is no god.
Cheers
@roninlotus211 Glad to see we finally agree on something, allthough it's religion, not cars
I do know the history of the leaning tower, but stopping it from falling is not the same as tearing it down and build it back up straight. Stopping it is the same as keeping this car running and alive. No one argues that it looks mint or great. The point is that it's rare to see a rallycross car from this era that has been left untouched. The fact that you fail to see it, and certainly deflect, is frustrating. Do you think we should restore Mona Lisa while we're at it? After all, she's not a beauty queen either...
@Fredrik Sorlie Lisa was a dog and I wouldn't her face on my wall but as they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, much like this parts car... I'm sure we can agree on that at least. And yes it is nice to see another RS smokin em I just flash back to mine and think of the work I put into it to make it haul ass and still look cool when no one in the states knew what the fuck it was..