Scandinavia On Form: Elmia 2015
The Virgin Experience

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Scandinavia now, and I could be completely forgiven in thinking that this place has no real car scene. Most of my days have been spent living in the hipster’s paradise that is Stockholm: a thriving hub of environmentally-conscious efficiency, teeming with twirled mustaches, man-buns and organic, paleo, gluten-free, chai macchiatos.

Jump in a rental car (a Volvo of course) and head out of the city and into the rest of Sweden however, and it’s like a completely different country. The people act differently, dress differently and seem to have a completely different set of interests. Essentially, they’re the car-obsessed yin to Stockholmer’s immaculately-groomed yang.

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This weekend just past, we did just that. Jumping in a V70 rental wagon, which I must say is a brilliant road trip vehicle, we ventured into Sweden’s interior with our sights set firmly on a lake-side town called Jönköping, which hosts the Bilsport Performance & Custom Motor Show – more commonly referred to by the locals simply as ‘Elmia’.

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Elmia, like New Zealand’s 4&Rotary Nationals or Japan’s Tokyo Auto Salon, is the time and place to reveal the results of all your hard work in the garage over the long winter.

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It is here, within these huge halls, that you will find the real Scandinavia; the massive scene overflowing with insane engineering, monster power figures and a decidedly unconventional way of thinking, hidden from those living within the sanitized confines of cities like Stockholm.

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Whilst we have covered this event last year, Scandinavians produce so many new cars every year that most machines on show would be completely new, if not a heavily modified iteration of when we last saw it.

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It’s a place where one should never assume anything based on what they know about a make or model. Just because A Volvo V70 is front-wheel drive, it doesn’t mean the particular one you’re looking at under those bright Elmia lights will be.

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It’s not just monster-power custom builds though. Elmia is also equal parts a motorsport nerd’s heaven…

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A hot rodder’s paradise…

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And a JDM junkie’s goldmine.

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Whilst not excluding anyone else – no matter what kind of sub-genre of modified cars they might be into. For someone like me, with such a wide range of tastes, it’s nothing short of a Mecca.

Always Surprising
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One of the best things about Elmia is its ability to keep you on your toes. You never know quite what you’re going to find when you turn a corner.

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Predictably, there were plenty of bad-ass Volvos on show.

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In fact, there were so many, we’re going to put together a special post, just for our favorites. But the Scandinavian attitude towards modifying vehicles is one of no limits, and nothing seems too hard.

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Which is while you’ll find Viper V10s hiding in Silvias.

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Oh, and in FD3S Mazda RX-7s as well.

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How about this little Finnish BMW 1502, powered by a Honda F20C S2000 engine?

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Speaking of BMWs, one of the most insane cars to break cover at this year’s show was Viktor Mårtensson’s incredible carbon-clad 2JZ-powered E30. This thing, while not quite finished yet, is going to be an absolute monster. You might remember Victor from the feature on his previous build, one of the most popular stories we’ve ever published.

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I’m also in love with this E30, which, with its E92 M3 V8 powerplant, looks like stupid amounts of fun. I can’t wait to see both of these Bimmers in action this summer at the Gatebil events. I can’t decide which machine I’d prefer though – big power Toyota turbo six or buttery-smooth BMW V8?

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One of my favourites from the weekend showcases exactly what these people are about. Joakim Stigenberg’s Ford Escort is an absolute mish-mash of parts, and he’s built it all himself. The car runs a 900hp Audi 2.5-litre five-cylinder, the entire AWD driveline from an R33 GT-R, and is built to slide.

There’s Beauty Here, Too
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While you could be forgiven for assuming that the Scandinavian enthusiast has a clear focus on pure function – after all, that’s what they’re famous for, in part thanks to us – it’s not entirely the case. Elmia was certainly not hard on the eyes.

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Though with that said, I guess everyone has a different idea of what beauty is. For me, it’s a broad definition. I’d consider a truck beautiful… when it’s running this gorgeous 16.2-litre V8 six-turbo setup, good for 2,200hp. There’s a reason I used it as the cover image for this story. Just look at that fabrication work!

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In a similar, yet entirely different vein, I thoroughly enjoyed Chris Gustafson’s Golf R32 engine bay. The turbo VR6 setup is just so simple, clean and pretty.

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This Finnish E30 M3, running a supercharged E46 M3 engine, appeals too – perhaps in a more traditional sense. While there’s nothing outlandish about it, the inch-perfect paint really makes the street-driven car flashy, without going too far.

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For a motorsport nerd like me, beauty can directly translate to ugly in other people’s books. But walking into Hall B for the first time and spying perhaps my all-time favourite race car – the TWS Racing Volvo 850 Estate ran in the 1994 BTCC season – I was speechless. I’ve wanted to see one of these in person for many years, and you can bet I took a metric ass-tonne of shots. Yes, we’ll be taking a closer look in a Spotlight soon!

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If I was surprised to happen upon Rydell’s BTCC wagon in Sweden, then imagine my utter confusion when I sighted two pretty familiar shapes looming in the distance: a pair of genuine ex-Nismo racers. The first, a 2001-season JGTC S15 Silvia, which left Japan a couple of years ago and has since been completely rebuilt by the owner and now runs, of all things, a monster Opel Calibra V6 race engine capable of revving to just shy of 12,000rpm.

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The second Nismo car, which only just arrived from Japan last week, is the Dunlop 2006 Super GT car that was used all the way up until 2010 for testing the R35 platform. Before it left the Port of Yokohama, it was setup and prepped, ready to rock for the Gatebil Extreme Racing series here in Scandinavia, with young ace driver Oscar Sandburg behind the wheel.

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The owner was kind enough to let me crawl all over number 47… Nerdgasm, pure and simple.

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Don’t think I’m biased towards the Euro and Japanese stuff either. One huge hall was completely dedicated to the American classics – and there were plenty of gems inside. We featured Steven Jarrud’s Dodge Charger SRT8-converted Coronet last year, and since then it has been tidied up in a big way. I have to say that although I enjoyed the ratty patina look, the new colour is spot on!

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The older I get, the more builds like Robert Pellbrink’s 1950 Buick Super Sedanette draw me in. Is it possible and/or wrong to be physically attracted to a car?

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As I come to the end of this article, I feel like I’ve only barely scratched the surface. But, as you’ve probably guessed, we managed to pick up a treasure trove of amazing feature cars over the weekend, and until we bring those to you in all their glory, we’re going to be running more awesome content from Elmia as the week rolls on. That will include  a closer look at some S-chassis inspiration, and an unabashed immersion into the show’s best Volvo 240s to celebrate 40 years since the inconic Scandinavian chariot was unveiled. To tide you over until then, check out the massive Bonus Image gallery below.

Peter Kelly
Editor-in-Chief
Instagram: speedhunters_pedey
pedey@speedhunters.com

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117 comments

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1

More Saab goodness in feature cars please, and that hot dub, and the sky blue Corvair? And...

2

welp the semi was the best ride in the article....that mini was hot full article on the semi please...

3

More on that RWD orange Saab 90 series....right?

4

LavarBowers working on it! It's so badass!

5
GregFentonHNHS

This show looks like it has everything. 
That blue corvair looks awesome, any ideas on what it's running

6
Bogdan_Samoletsky

Am I right it is the opposite engine? With 2 carbs?
http://www.speedhunters.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/AM7I0764-800x533.jpg


It would be interesting to have any additional information about this vehicle.

7

Bogdan_Samoletsky from what I could see, it is a flat four of some kind. Perhaps someone with a better eye for these motors could assist?

8
vroomtothetomb

OMG!!!!Hilmerson Mantaaaa!!!!! I see at least 10 spotlights!!! Is this Valhalla?

9

Fantastic article, this is what SpeedHunters is all about for me. I cant wait to see the spotlight on the 850 BTCC car

10

Please say you've got more on that Saab.

11
Bogdan_Samoletsky

Peter_Kelly Bogdan_Samoletsky
Thanks for zooming!
I think it is an alfa romeo 33 engine! In a chevrolet! Really magazing

12

Nice to see some people loving the old Buicks. That boat-tail Riv and the Roadmaster are pretty nice. Can't wait until my Buick is done.

13

MUCH WOW ON THIS POST! EVEN MORE FOR THE 'CORONER' FOR SURE!

14

@Difinity the Liberty Walk Corvair!

15

Every car pictured on this page deserves a feature. What an event!

16

scibO It was hard to choose, but in the end I lined up nearly 20 top-quality feature cars - what a gold mine!

17

When i saw the first picture with all those turbo chargers all i could think is the yelling leave no exhaust behind!!! lol awesome article!!!

18

I cant even ...

19

Can anyone please explain how the compound turbo setup is supposed to work on that Scania truck?

20

how can a car with R33 drivetrain built to slide?

21

There is an overload of win in this post!  I don't even know where to start so I'll just say thanks.

22

SO FULL OF WIN!!!

i need more of that vw bug.... actually i need more of everything!!

great, great post!!!

23

Please more pics of the white Toyota Corolla at the end on the bonus Images.

24

Umm... not sure where to start, too much awesomeness!  I'm diggin' the boat-tail Riviera with the '63 nose grafted on.  Surprised to see a couple of Corvairs, owned a '64 convertible back in the day.  And, the Scania cab-over is bonkers; parallel to series turbocharging.  At the very least do an article on the Scania, please.

25

Not a single dull car in this article! Eye opening every one of them

26

Is there anymore information about the 6 turbo monster V8? I'd love to know what engine that is and how they got 6 snails to work together

27

@Frozenstar
It is not uncommon here in scandinavia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgYXd06rVdc

28

@ Peter Kelly.
Please make a cover of that orange saab 99 rwd :D
http://www.garaget.org/?car=220628

29

Peter_Kelly please tell me you got a feature lined up on that beautiful chestnut brown early split beetle and one on that lbworks styled corvair?

30

Protter This^. The most interesting car of the article imo, and only one picture was taken of it.

31

For the Scania a bit confusing at first; each bank has three turbos each.  Starting on the hot-side it's: headers feed into the small outboard turbo.  From there is splits aft into the two larger turbos.  Then out the two individual tailpipes.  Cold-side: the two large turbos parallel feed into the small turbo (i.e.. compounding).  Then it feed into either a common or separate left and right intercooler. Lastly, to the to the intake manifold.

32

Elmia looks completely overwhelming.

33

Ho-ly shit. This place is incredible

35

EhruMejil And the same guy also owns/build the Gray e46 m3, Brown/whitewalls Beetle and the dark R32 Golf standing next to each other.

36

The scania was built by a shop called Svempas, they are legends in the european custom truck scene. The engine is the same V8 as used in roadgoing scania trucks.
This isn't their first mid-engine six turbo scania either. They did one about 15 years ago which put out 3000hp and 6200NM.
Sling Shot II test run: http://youtu.be/TkXaLmgXB8E

37
Pete the perfect pilot

Yes, ok, but where there any Mazda rxs there?

38

If Speedhunters did a car show, I think it'd look a whole lot like this. Bloody hell, I'm heading back to the top for a second read.

39

Wow that would be an awesome show to attend! It's great to see how most have props and sets built around the vehicles. It's extra work but really adds to the ambiance.

40
EricSeanDelaney

That Riviera gets around.

41

EricSeanDelaney Right? That's what I was thinking.

42

EricSeanDelaney No kidding. No kidding that is some dedication to the show circuit

43

That variety.... Incredible builds.... Great coverage!!!!!!

44

Let's hope Jon's RS6 is included in the 20 top-quality feature cars lineup!

45

I've seen many crazy videos of the orange '71 Manta!  I believe it's running a twin-charged Volvo motor, completely handmade suspension, and show-car finished.
Incredible show, would love to attend!

46

drool... so the list of cars that I want to own just got longer, almost every photo contained something I want!

47

All I wanted was a Pepsi.
in for more on that Corvair too... with my Pepsi.

48

Pete the perfect pilot Yes, with a Viper V10 engine...

49

Best car scene in the world. Better than Japan. No arguments.

50

My brain just exploded. Please feature every single thing in there. BRB, frothing.

51
Michael Atwell

Liberty Walk Corvair... Something no one asked for, yet is so right!

52

Beauty is a Hennessy Venom GT or a sexy girl

53
inspector_exacto

That picture with the two Supras, there is a wicked looking Saab wagon behind them. Have anything more about that?

54

It's very hard to decide, but if I could only pick one of these to ride in it would be the awd escort.  Not much compares to awd drifts... although wheel stands in a scania would be quite close!

55

What powers the Beetle? More info please

56

Anybody else notice the size of the blower on that Chevelle in the background of all of the Scania pics?

Dear Lord

57

I was thinking about everything then again I was thinking about nothing.... Until this awesome Corvair showed up!

58

smithadamb Not in your wildest dreams, pal.

59

crispykrem3 smithadamb

60

yeah, you better feature that Chimera OR ELSE!

61

Oh man I wish I was still there. I want to see Mattson's new rwd Volvo build and that friggin superbo Opel manta wasn't there last year! I watched videos of that thing years ago and can't get enough of its sound.

62

Acctually my purple FD is shown in the article... And it was 4 of them at the show, one with a fortune bodykit.

63

More truck! And what's the orange off-roader in pic3?

64

apparently it's from a Scania 730

65

HOLY H3LL!!!!.....that 2nd sentence is enough to put me off ever wanting to go to Stockholm......and Scandanavia(Norway, Sweden and Finland at least) is the only region why I'd return to Europe for a holiday!

On topic......EVERY car posted here is amazing. Japan might have some competition on it's hands finally!!!!!

66

smithadamb Close, very close......but still not as diverse. Quality on par, diversity, no.

67

That Scania is very angry now

68

cnk Anything old school?

69

PolyMEDrummer Pete the perfect pilot No longer an RX then is it? Ugh.

70

@aghad EhruMejil Well, isn't he just awesome then.....note: there's no sarcasm in that comment, legit, the guy is awesome!

71

Michael Atwell Can someone just decide to "Liberty Walk" their car.....wouldn't they have to have some hand in it.....or did they? Seems very odd to me?!?!?!?

72

cnk Your FD is a thing of beauty, good job sir. And perfect wheel choice too.

73

Not what I can really, but my whole weekend was a blir so I wouldnt trust me :p

74

Thank you sir!
The wheels will get changed soon tho to something more rare (:

75

cnk Thats cool, I like rare too ;) Its more about the excellent fitment. btw Is that Midnight Purple?

76

Really = Recall* blir =blur *

77

Ill get just as good Fitment on the new wheels!
Nah, the color is alot more special then the picture tellS acctually And will shift from this purple to dark green in daylight...
And in sunrise/sunset ull hint copper and maroon in the paintshop too.
Its something i cooked up myself :p

78

cnk Sounds awesome, you got some skills buddy. Cheers!

79

MilesHayler That's actually a super-nice Opel Manta, it's been around the Scandinavian scene forever. Here's a video of it running a ten!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCsjkysxmKM

80

bluestreaksti The Escort is so nicely built too, I can't wait to see it hammering some tyres this summer!

81

inspector_exacto From what I could tell, it was more of a showy type build. Bonnet closed etc.

82

@zz Will do!

83

Spaghetti smithadamb It's an interesting argument. I've spent quite a bit of time in both and I'd say one is not better than the other, they're just very different. The best thing about Japan is the pure handle on style, the variety and the lack of inhibitions - you do what you want, how you want and with whatever vehicle you want. 

Scandinavia on the other hand does big power and crazy engineering far better than Japan does. They also have a far more hands-on, do-it-yourself approach, perhaps due to the fact that they have the room to have their own workshop space, and a long-ass winter with nothing to do but mess with cars.

84

Waxhaw Brad I'll be taking a closer look at that one soon!

85

@TROLLS ROYCE It is!

86

oldschoolcat Thanks! I'm looking forward to seeing the new BMW destroy some tyres!

87

Jagdroach EricSeanDelaney They got him to skid it outside the show too, which is nice to see! https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=905984759464658&hc_location=ufi

88

@FlushPoke cnk There was actually nothing older than an FD3S in the entire show! Stark contrast to my home country!

89

azmedaj  From the guy above: "The scania was built by a shop called Svempas, they are legends in the european custom truck scene. The engine is the same V8 as used in roadgoing scania trucks.
This isn't their first mid-engine six turbo scania either. They did one about 15 years ago which put out 3000hp and 6200NM."
Sling Shot II test run: http://youtu.be/TkXaLmgXB8E

90

I would never have guessed that with the shocks and shock mounts!

91

Peter_Kelly Then I remembered correctly! :P
And btw. my car was showed with a closed bonnet too (Like the saab)
but its still the place where most money throughout the build has gone... I just dont think the finish of it was as good as the rest of my car :p

92

Aktifspeed whew. I was worried no one would get my comment.

93

DaveT Aktifspeed Obviously we are of a certain age growing up on SoCal thrash...

94

hope there's a feature on that awesome truck :)

95

nugundam93 It's certainly on the list!

96

RWD Saab 99 with a B204. YES PLEASE! I'd love to see a story about that one.

97

Mfabs It appears to be a volvo redblock which makes me think B21ET based.

98

Spaghetti 
Please dont judge all of us because of a bunch of wierdos. Besides you wont find any cool cars where those people live anyway....most of them havnt got a drivers licence and those that do drive a Prius or carpool. 
;-)

99

MatsKarlsson Spaghetti Or ride the free city bikes like me haha!

100

alot of features i see lurking in this post ...waiting patiently especially for that truck ...

101

Peter_Kelly nugundam93 awesome!

102
DanielPihlAndersen

Must be 10 years ago i saw that orange Manta in a danish car magazine. Still looks great :D

103

I saw Supras in this post. I'm happy. :D

104

MatsKarlsson Spaghetti It was tongue in cheek, but I get what you're saying....we have them here too!

105

DanielPihlAndersen I was very surprised when I heard the car was that old, it still looks excellent. I believe it actually burnt down recently, and the new owner restored it back nearly exactly how it used to be.

106

Is it me or this level of craftmanship is one of the greatest in the world?

107

@Frozenstar It has fully adjustable controls to the AWD system, he can just turn a knob and choose between AWD or RWD... 
http://www.facebook.com/Trustitsideways/photos/a.173519572834174.1073741829.168704676648997/366874946831968/?type=1&theater

And btw a R33 has actually more just RWD models than AWD. GTS and GTS25T are both RWD and only the GTR is AWD. :D

Check his Facebook page btw! https://www.facebook.com/Trustitsideways?fref=ts

108

@granis Alm is the man at awd drifts! :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rnV4cNbUoU

109

More on that damn beetle with the inline engine! PLEASE!

110
JeanMichelThise

Oh god if you could feature Viktor Mårtensson's E30 i'd be so happy.

111
KeatonBelliston

DaveT Just a fuckin Pepsi!!

112
JockeStigenberg

Thanks a lot man;)

113

all seriously impressive work

114

Husa  Seriously!!!  How is that not its own feature?!?!

115

WTF is that Orange car above the row of yellow Volvo's?!? Whatever it is, I LOVE IT! It looks like a Kenmeri sort of, but then the tail end throws me off?

116

Nevermind... theres a sign in front of it. LOL

117

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