
If someone was to ask me what is it that keeps us coming back to Gatebil events year after year, the most simple answer I can come up with would be the element of surprise. No matter how cool a track meet of any caliber may be, for us at Speedhunters it’s always about one thing – the cars. And there were a lot of them at Rudskogen Motorsenter in Norway this past weekend – a hell of a lot of them!
In a perfect world we would love to feature every single one, or close to it, but with that simply not being an option, this time around we attempted to do the next best thing…

That’s why, starting on Thursday night, Peter – Speedhunters’ newest addition to the team – and I literally went feature car crazy, taking full advantage of the summer light that this region has to offer at this time of the year. Call it a photographer’s dream – a sun that doesn’t want to set until close to midnight and an almost limitless selection of cars worth featuring. But believe me, it wasn’t easy making our selections! That’s always the toughest job as we pace up and down the rows upon rows of crazy home-built drift and grip machines.

Some aren’t necessarily there to shred tyres out on track however, which was pretty much the case with the Swedish-built hot rod that was on display at the Speedhunters booth.

You can read all about it very soon, as this will be the first feature car I’ll be rolling out this week. What made it even more special was the fact that I had a rather unexpected assistant to help me get the shots I needed, but more on that soon…

At the same time Peter was down at Rudskogen’s go-kart track, shooting this super-clean BMW E30.

And as you can imagine there was no way in hell that this car would be running a stock engine. That could never possibly happen at Gatebil!

And seeing the sheer ease of getting your hands on all sorts of BMW engines in this corner of the world, it’s also why you see them fitted to a wide variety of cars. But there are engine swaps, and then there are engine swaps.

This Swedish-built Volvo Amazon belongs to the latter category – a swap that entailed so much more than just adapting a foreign engine into an old car. The gold Brembo brakes may give you a clue…

Part of our feature car roll out will include cars that stood out for quality, be it by the way of execution, or for being ambassadors of a particular sort of style.

Peter will tell you all about this Nissan 200SX on bronze TE37s very soon.

And while on the subject of Nissans, I’ve got one of the rarest BNR34s to share with you all. Trust me to find a Skyline GT-R to shoot, but I just couldn’t pass this one up.

Plus having been sourced by our friend Yasui-san at Global Auto made it even more special.

There are many adjectives one can use to attempt to describe what Gatebil events are all about, but the essence of it all is experimentation. The whole ‘let’s see what happens’ approach taken with some of the builds we came across left us speechless, and at times this was all from the most unsuspecting of cars, as Alok shows us here.

Home-built Camaro? Check. Supercharged V8? Check. Pushrod suspension? What?

We were also finally able to bring you a feature of the car that continues to dominate the Extreme time attack class at these events – the TS-Racing Audi S3. This is a machine, that aside from its exterior shape, has very little in common with the car it’s supposed to be based on.

Peter will be going in detail as to why this thing leaves all other cars for dead on track. But here’s a hint…
SECOND CHAPTER
Power Leads The Way
Ah yes, the brick – a shape that for decades described what most Volvos looked like. This angular 240 coupe however, turned out to be one of the cleanest and most memorable creations from Rudskogen.

No detail was left untouched in this project, and I’m sure it will blow your mind. But patience is needed here, as there are a lot of cars that we need to get through!

We need to give a huge thank you to the Rudskogen Motorsenter management and the Gatebil organizers that allowed us access to the entire track each night right after the mayhem had ended.

If it wasn’t for them, shooting three cars each per night would never had been possible as scouting for locations alone would have taken up half of our available time. So a big thumbs up to them all!

While first generation Lancer Evolutions may be popular over in Japan, Australia and New Zealand, Peter was surprised to see one over on this side of the world, let alone being drifted! You may remember this particular Mitsubishi from Gatebil Mantorp last year, but let’s just say it’s changed a little since then.

What on earth is this? That was our initial response to seeing this wild Porsche creation from Elite Projects over in Sweden.

And, of course, that’s why we featured it. Can you guess the engine that sits under that massive once-piece rear cowl?

You must think I’m overdoing the whole brick thing now, but you will soon see why I just couldn’t pass up the chance to shoot this 242 DL. The ‘DL’ moniker stood for Deluxe, but this car has since traded its luxury for something a little more fun and suitable for Gatebil activities.

I’ll leave a little clue, shall I?

Kenneth Alm, the four-wheel drift master, showed up to Rudskogen to shakedown his all-new project. It’s pretty different form his red Audi we all love, but rest assured that all-important element of surprise is at the core of the Scirocco.

Who needs headlights?!

This was Peter’s first time in Europe and he was loving all the interesting machines he came across in the paddock. You may be scratching your head as to why he would pick an Opel Omega Wagon, but there’s a good reason why.

Yep, a pretty good one!

Hopefully this little teaser post has you salivating with anticipation for all these crazy Gatebil cars we have coming. Before we get to that however, let’s concentrate on the event itself first, so stay tuned for that in the next couple of days.
Ha det bra from Norway!
Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: speedhunters_dino
dino@speedhunters.com
Additional Images:
Alok Paleri
Instagram: rennworksmedia
alok@speedhunters.com
Peter Kelly
Instagram: pedey_kenmeri_creative
Whats the first car at the top of the page?
Sam Marchant It's a Cayman with a 911 turbo engine that's been made to look like a 918.
^^ Gatebil.
The Scandinavian car scene has got to be the most progressive in the world. It isn't about "bolt on" brands, and check sheets. It's back yard fabrication creating something, truly, unique.
Thanks to them all for the inspiration, and to Speedhunters for exposing us to these brilliant madmen with an artistic style of their own.
Can't wait!
Those 2 porsches, I want one. now. Im teaming with excitement for those two features!
Yah.... we are gonna need way more of the blue 3rd gen TA that Alok shot.
So many insane builds!
My body is ready
took me most of this article to realise it was pedey, don't know this Peter guy
JohnathanWhye Haha yeah, same guy!
CP9A Will lol
@zz Those two cars blew us away!
smithadamb Absolutely, it's on a whole other level
TarmacTerrorist Indeed!
speedhunters_dino JohnathanWhye haha It is weird seeing him being referred to as Peter, since a lot of us know him as Pedey
Wow i can't wait. Looks like some truely awsome cars. Really hoping that there is a V10 in that 240?
speedhunters_dino i sent you a PM on facebook, i guess that it went to you spam box.
But if you have time to answer, it would be great.
Want to see the lot!!!! But mostly keen on the rat rod. Is the body a Vauxhall or do I need to wait for the feature?
Wait , isn't the Dark Grey/Titanium color 240 is the BMW V10 engine swap one ? Together with the Blue one hint Viper , so pair of V10 Bricks ?
So many clean cars...
Would like to see more on that Camaro
The Viper engined Brick, please! Me wants!
AdamBezzegh Hehe me wants too:)
RDS Indeed, V10 seems to be the new style haha
JoshuaWhitcombe speedhunters_dino JohnathanWhye +1 to change his name to Pedey
Chris 'Haffy' Hafner Opel
DennisOvergaardNielsen speedhunters_dino Having internet issues in Europe, so hardly go on FB. Try mailing me
senbilcock JoshuaWhitcombe speedhunters_dino JohnathanWhye there you go Pedey, your fans have spoken!
Golden brakes and a suspicious sticker on the front rails ... is that Amazon sporting a Skyline GTR AWD gearbox swap next to its BMW V8?
speedhunters_dino Chris 'Haffy' Hafner Vaux/Opel euro trading. Same body, same GM...
Something about that last S13 shot really works so well, love it. Maybe because it captures the atmosphere at Rudskogen at that time of night?
Volvo scrumptiousness again... SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!
smithadamb It was my first time in Scandanavia and that's exactly how I saw it too, it really is an eye opener. I'd just come from Japan, which is awesome too, but they tend to stick to bolt on engine modifications much of time, so it was a bit of a culture shock!
I hope this means we get a closer look on that thing.. Also, im 99% sure it has at least one turbo. Crazy people.
sepiahatchback Bulging brick bonanza... SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!
sepiahatchback no, not the wagon numb nuts, the 5 window on bags...
#Gatebil soooO bucket list
Grattis Møkkis,tøft!
oh some pretty nice cars you chose there
It's actually a Chevy master special -33
Saikkonen Did you make it back to Sweden in the end? The Chevy looked great - you've done a fantastic job with it! Dino Dalle Carbonare I'm looking forward to the feature… HURRY UP!
Pretty sure it's a firebird, you know like knight rider, not a camaro.
@Mike Or may a bit of both?
jdmRob Thanks, glad you approve
Scottie_LP Has to be done!
jeunehatchback sepiahatchback LOL
pedey Thanks @pedey
Acc Hehe, good guess, but there is a little more to it...
AdamBezzegh Feature car
Moisty speedhunters_dino senbilcock JoshuaWhitcombe JohnathanWhye LOL
speedhunters_dino Well that front fascia is all Firebird...
Pleeasee more information about Alm's Scirocco.Which Engine how horse power which driveline?
FunctionFirst speedhunters_dino Really they are kinda sorta the same thing once the bumpers are off...
The Master sedan has easily one of the best interiors I have ever seen in anything ever.
Thanks Taryn!
I got home nice and safe. But the drive home wasn't the greatest I had. It started to rain and my seats may look as good as a cinderella but my back and butt felt everything but that.
But it was totally worth it!
And thanks for letting me have the car in your stand! You guys ( read girls ) are awesome.
the omega looks interesting
Lotus Omega engine swap and converted to single turbo ?
speedhunters_dino Acc or is it a Sellholm unit? The front diff must be in the middle of the sump judging from the pics, Skyline was the first of that layout coming to my mind
So I'm guessing no 7's day coverage this year?
Dat scandinavian lite tho.
sean klingelhoefer A special kind of light...
3nigm4 Unfortunately not, I was on a plane on the 7th
Riddlah You'll have to find out in the feature
DaveT Feature coming up very soon...
AdrianDeff Hehe, patience, all will be shown in the feature
DaveT FunctionFirst speedhunters_dino There you go, hence the potential to mix and match
Saikkonen Pleasure to have you there Saikkonen Send you a mail today
The volvo OMG!!
ThomasFoulon Which one?
speedhunters_dino Riddlah yeah ...thanks...
for sure i will
That Amazon guys.... That Volvo Amazon.... OMG but that Volvo amazon though......... guysssss....... WOW.
This Gatebil event coverage makes my life feel despicably boring
Holy Ham, is that a Z-tune GT-R? I'm looking forward to that one.
It's a Firebird. You wouldn't call a Levin a Trueno.