In The Moment / Mt Madonna Video
Just a quick camping trip a few weekends ago featuring Parker the Corgi and Ty the Husky.
In The Moment / Battery Townsley
Just a few pics from a brief hike this weekend.
In The Moment / Murican Muscle
I may prefer European and Japanese cars, but there's plenty of love for good ole American iron!
Even though I've seen muscle cars my whole life, there's something about these Trans-Am racers that really grabs my attention. Maybe it's the cats...
You can keep your GT500KR or kitted up Elenors, I'll stick with the good ole GT350 thank you very much.
I mean how can you hate the classic gold/black combo the Hertz special?
"Bullet" Green would be a close runners up for my color choice though, tied with the classic blue.
There's something great about the late 60's/early 70's and their amazing colors...
Of course, it wasn't all Mustangs at the event. Plenty of other great American classics such as this Falcon Coupe.
Plenty of non-Fords here too, but they'll get more attention with an upcoming post. Till then, enjoy this mean looking COPO.
Car Spotlight / Audi 200 Quattro Trams-AM
Here was one of the more interesting cars we saw at the Monterey Historics, an Audi 200 Quattro used in the Trans-AM series. In the 1988 season which it was entered, the Audi dominated the series winning 9 out of the 13 races on the roster and failed placing podium only twice. After the '88 season had ended, AWD was banned and Audi moved onto IMSA's GTO class with the newer 90 Quattro. You know you've done things right when they change the rules to kick you out.
This car's dominance in Trans-AM would only be a taste of things to come as these were still the early years of Audi's road-racing experience. Even when they would eventually drop their AWD platforms for the sake of abiding series regulations, they knew how to put together a properly running vehicle, an efficient and determined team, and spot some of the best drivers around.
That's not to say that the cars didn't have their own personalities. Coming straight from the Group B monster, this highly boosted 5 cylinder has a very distinct sound and will definitely be remembered as one of motorsport's great engines.
Another distinct quality is the extremely loud chirps of the blow-off valves. Sure nowadays they're associated with obnoxious Subaru & Evo owners looking to race anyone they can agitate. But back in the 80's, turbocharging was a big deal (I mean, look at what Ferrari & Porsche put out that decade) and to hear the wooshing and chirping over the roaring V8's from the rest of the field was something special to experience.
And let's not forget those amazing BBS turbofan wheels that were all the rage. They're still super cool to see, with or without the mesh designs on top.
May not be as legendary as it's successor, the Audi 90 Quattro, but with those wide hips and that ultra-German livery, it's still an icon all of it's own.
Car Spotlight / Classic Ferraris
There's nothing like spotting a vintage Ferrari to really make you realize, you're someplace special. These aren't grocery getters, they're cars that you will only see in certain areas on earth during certain times of the year. Partly it's due to their fragile nature, but mostly it's due to their mind-boggling values. It's at this level in the market where cars are no longer viewed as cars, but as art pieces. So let's take a quick look at what the gallery of Laguna had on show this weekend.
Firstly I'll start with the newest candidate on this post, the 288 GTO. I've posted it yesterday, but it's worth showing again here.
Hard to imagine the original plans for this car was to rally in Group B. What an exciting scene that would have been to see! Sadly, Group B was shut down before it had a chance to show it's potential, but at least we got the first all-out performance Turbocharged Ferrari. (technically the 308 turbo was Ferrari's first turbo, but many don't really consider it to be any more significant than the NA 308's).
Next up is this Dino 308 GT4 which was interestingly converted into a race car. It took a while for me to see the beauty in its Bertone body, but I think it really has earned its stripes as another classic. Unlike the Mondial's... *shudder*
Now it's time to check out the real classics, the 250/275/330's.
Firstly we have the 250 LM, best known as the last Ferrari to win overall at Le Mans. It was also notable as one of the first mid-engined road cars Ferrari ever offered. It's not as pretty as some of Ferrari's other models, but it still has those great curves the 60's were known for.
And lastly, the two heavy hitters, the 250 TR and 250 GTO. Best known in the automotive world as two of Ferraris greatest sports/race cars and best known outside the automotive world as two of the most valuable cars in the world with every example capable of pulling in 7 digits.
Firstly the 250 TR or Testa Rossa. This car was the equivalent of the McLaren F1 in its day, absolutely dominating the racing circuits and giving Ferrari it's racing reputation away from F1.
This car also marks the end of a certain era in Ferrari, when some of the company's top talent left due to conflicts with the often difficult founder, Enzo himself. The team that was responsible for the TR also took many of the designs with them, leave Ferrari in a very tight spot.
Enter then, the hero. The savior. The "Greatest Ferrari of all Time". None other than the 250 GTO. This was the car that not only put Ferrari back on the map, but showed the world that Ferrari was still a force to be reckoned with in the racing world.
Perfect looks and successful racing hardware make it, to many people, the ultimate car. Part art, part racing legend, and part automotive history.
In The Moment / 2015 Monterey Historics
August means two things for me nowadays. Hot weather and Monterey Motorweek! The two aren't always hand-in-hand, but unfortunately, this year it was pretty intense. Fortunately though, so was the action! Shelby was the main sponsor this year and though I wasn't able to check out the new GT350 up close, they sounded amazing racing around the track. But I didn't come here for new cars, so let's get to it!
The day seemed to start off alright, but we soon ran into some hurdles. After I was picked up by Mike, we went to grab Kenny but was stopped for 30 minutes to allow a marathon to go by. At least traffic was pretty light when we finally got down to Monterey. After grabbing our gear and throughly dowsing ourselves with sunscreen, we headed to the track.
We expected it to be hot this weekend, but we didn't expect the sun to be so intense. Our game plan was to comb through the paddock, grab lunch and head to the car carousels parked in the inner pits and end the day watching cars go by up at the infamous Corkscrew.
It did seem like there was more F1 cars entered this year than in the past. Sure the better known cars like the John Player Specials and the blue Tyrrells get more attention, but these lesser known entries were more interesting. I mean, just look at those stacked exhausts!
I'll be posting up more detailed coverage on the cars themselves, but for now, check out Ferrari's first and latest supercars. Personally, I haven't been the biggest fan of the LaFerrari's looks (as mentioned in a previous post) but this blue was absolutely stunning! The blue, grey wheels, and light cream interior is a perfect combo for me.
Of course, the Historics has always had a bias for American metal. If anyone's into muscle cars, this should be marked on every calendar. Me personally, I've always been more into Japanese and European cars, but over the last decade I've learned to appreciate American cars and the racing examples at Laguna is easily my favorite "style".
One thing that was apparent around noon was that it wasn't only the people who were suffering from the heat. These F1 cars were trying to get back into their pits as quickly as possible since they're only means of cooling is having the air flow through their cooling systems at 100+ mph. Crawling in traffic sent their temperatures soaring and several were visibly overheating.
This guy couldn't handle the heat in his suit, so he needed to shed off on the way to his tent.
Pretty cool motorized bicycle spotted in the pits. The livery is spot on.
Some new cars that were showcased in the paddock. Some ultra-rare production, some pure conceptual, and some in between such as the very good looking black NSX. I've been critical of the continuous stream of delays the car has been weighed down by and the almost entirely unknown hybrid powertrain, but the styling hits it for me in the same way the updated 1st gen R8 did. It doesn't seem too over-stylized, or at least to my eyes.
There was an offroading demo hosted by Land Rover in the middle of the track. Mike was chosen to be the driver and we quickly hopped into the Discovery 4 since we were eager for the strong AC the car had. At least for these few minutes, we were able to escape the heat. The LR did really well though, I must say, with zero slippage detected from the wheels and pretty impressive articulation from the suspension, unlike the Evoque you see in the image above.
Certainly one of the highlights was this Skyline race car which was brought in to go up against 240Z's, 901's and CLS's. Unsurprisingly it sounded very similar to the 240Z's, but the sight alone was still very special, even as someone who's been lucky enough to always be around them.
Finally, we wanted to end the day just sitting in some shade and watching cars go by. So up to the Corkscrew we went.
Even modern cars, the drop can be pretty intense, so I couldn't imagine it in these older vehicles (with their older tires/suspensions!) pushing as hard as some of the drivers did.
The Corkscrew is always the most popular location on the track for spectating, and the wonderful shade was especially welcoming.
Another year and another Historics in the books. Can't wait till 2016!
Outdoors / Camping at Mt Madonna
This weekend, some friends and I went camping for one night at Mt Madonna Park in Santa Cruz mountains. The site was really accessible and great for beginner campers which was important because not everyone was ready to get their wild side on. The site was also dog friendly, so we brought Parker and another dog, Ty who despite some head-butting and a sore tummy was still able to have fun hiking with us. A firepit, great weather, good food and good friends made for a pretty positive trip. Given how easy everything was, we'll hopefully have another trip with even more people set up sometime soon.
Car Spotlight / Keeping Small Classy
Years of following the BMW scene has gotten me pretty burnt out on the slam-it-on-style-5's trend. Not that I feel it's become a bad look, it still looks "correct" when done right, but it doesn't grab my attention that much. This Roundie on the other hand rekindled that spark for me. Maybe it's because the Style 5's aren't actually BBS's but rather Enkei's that are ever so slightly different.
Brand new factory-correct paint sure doesn't help either. Unless it's a really early 70's color (bright green or orange), I've always preferred 2002's in darker colors just like this burgundy.
Great height too, not un-useably low or super cambered-out. Just right for a car built for looks. The car isn't finished yet so it'll be exciting to see where it goes in the future.