Mechanical Orchestra - TVR T350

The TVR T 350 is probably as close as one can get to a four wheeled motorcycle that will scare a young mans prospective in laws to death, it's small and according to one journalist in 2004 the engine belongs in an orchestra pit.



The T 350 comes with TVRs own 350 hp 3605 cc / 219.9 cui Speed Six all alloy 24 valve engine that is canted over at 30 degrees so that it fits into the svelte T 350 body that measures just over 13 feet long by six feet wide by 47 inches high.



TVRs under the direction of previous owner Peter Wheeler dispensed with creature comforts like interior lights, air bags and traction control, though these vehicles did come with air conditioning.



Weighing just 2,616 lbs / 1,187 kg performance from rest to 62 mph was 4.4 secs up to 100 mph in 9.5 secs with an official top speed of 175 mph.



Production of the T350 ran from 2002 until 2006 when Russian/Greek/British baby oligarch Nikolai Smolenski took over the company and soon after halted production of all TVR models.

Allegedly Mr Smolenski has announced various plans to restart production most recently with a Corvette powered model which might be built anywhere between Blackpool and Cape Town, here is hoping this hairiest of automobile brands finds its way back to the market soon.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this T350 along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed todays orchestral edition of Gettin' a little psycho on tyres and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Rustproof & Secure - Subaru Impreza WRX STi Type UK

Top of the 2007 Subaru Impreza range was the WRX STi with 260 hp, considered at the time the default Rally Replica of Choice in some circles.



The STi Type UK was available with an optional 300 hp engine with Prodrive re engineered engine parts that were stronger and or lighter than the originals including a larger air intake and intercooler.



Unique to the Type UK is a Thatcham Category 1 alarm, satellite tracking system, enhanced rust proofing ...



and 10 spoke gold alloy wheels attached to a reengineered suspension which is more stable than the standard Subaru Impreza WRX STi.



Prodrives Driver Control Centre Differential System (DCCD) allows the driver to control the oversteer (loose) and understeer (push) characteristics of the car by adjusting the front to rear torque balance delivered to the four driven wheels.



Against the contemporary Mitsubishi Evo the STi Type UK appeared the the more reasonable value.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this Type UK along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed today's Type UK edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Integrated Nose - Porsche 944 S2

Porsche introduced the 944 model in 1982, it shared the same platform as the earlier 924 and latter 968 models. The 944 shares similar body revisions, wider wheel arches, of the earlier 924 Carrera GT.



In 1987 the 944 S2 broke new automotive design ground being the first example of a vehicle with an integrated front bumper where the wing and bonnet (fender and hood) blended smoothly with the bumper. This design feature is still much in evidence today.



The 944 S2 was also noted for carrying the largest 4 cylinder motor of it's day the then brand new 208 hp 3 litre / 183 cui engine was particularly smooth thanks to its counter rotating balance shafts.



Optimum front to rear weight ratio of the 924/944/968 design was achieved by placing the gearbox directly in front of the rear axle.



60 mph from rest could be reached in 6.6 seconds,



top speed for the 944 S2 was quoted as 150 mph.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this 944 S2 along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed today's integrated edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

UK Limited Edition - Subaru Impreza P1

Last week I looked at the Prodrive P2 which was based on a Subaru R1 with Impreza WRC running gear.



The Subaru Impreza P1 (Prodrive One) is a limited edition of just 1000 models based on the Impreza WRX.



The power of the AWD flat four turbo P1 was boosted from 218 hp to 280 hp.



The front and rear spoiler designs are credited to Peter Stevens who was responsible for the latter Prodrive P2.



The P1 was the result of a collaboration between Subaru Technica International (STi) the racing department of Subaru and Prodrive who ran the Subaru WRC rally campaign.



When the car was launched in 1999 just 500 units were envisaged for the UK market only however demand was so high that production ceased with the 1000th P1.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this UK Spec only P1 along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed UK Limited Edition of ' Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', and that you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

English Corvette - TR7 V8

The prototype V8 powered Triumph TR7 variant was produced as early as 1972. The performance of the model led to these vehicles being dubbed English Corvettes in some circles.



The Triumph TR8 Coupe was in production from 1978 to 1980 the TR8 Drophead was designed by Michelotti and introduced in 1980 continuing in production until 1982.



As a result of poor labour relations and the inherent industrial action it is thought that only 400 TR8 Coupes were built along with an estimated 2400 Dropheads, the majority of which were sold in the United States and Canada.



In other countries outside North America some TR7 owners upgraded their cars with variations of the all alloy Buick / Rover 3528cc / 215 cui V8. From the best records available to me this appears to be one such upgraded car.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this TR7 V8 along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Slightly off topic, why is it the only time 'my' driver 'Happy' Harvick wins a cup race I am too busy too catch it ?

Congratulations to Kevin, who is misquoted to give this blog it's name, and the #29 Richard Childress Team :-)

Hope you have enjoyed today's English Corvette edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now!

Mini Rust Beater - Domino HT

Today's blog comes from the BMW Plant near Cowley where the current range of retro Mini's are made and where I saw this splendid little Domino HT at the recent PistonHeads Sunday Service.



The Domino's in 4 styles were Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) kit cars designed around Mini running gear and manufactured by Fibretech GRP Ltd which was taken over by Domino Composite itself renamed Composite Designs from at least 1978 to 2007 when liquidation forced the cessation of production. It would appear an wholly autonomous group DominoCars - Organisation is attempting to keep the Domino brand alive.



The HT (hard top) model seen here was the follow on from the original T top Pimlico model and is loosely based around a standard Mini though it is bereft of the standard Mini seams and gutters. It is also significantly different below the waist line with built in flared wheel arches and a flared body around the top of the road wheel line. The doors are 2/ 1/2 inches shorter than Mini doors to accommodate the higher sills needed to aid the structural integrity of the GRP body.



If your original style Mini is falling to bits with dreaded tin worm you could do worse than find a smart Domino GRP body, take of all bits of your Mini and transfer them straight on to the GRP shell including subframes, interior, windows, up to 13" wheels and off you go in your new car with parts recycled from your old one.

Hope you have enjoyed to days Glass Reinforced Plastic edition of 'Gettin a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Fit for a Sheikh - Bristol 405 Drophead

The Bristol 405 introduced in 1953 was the first Bristol to dispense with the BMW inspired grill and is unusual for having a single fog light placed in the middle.



There were two versions of the 405 this Drophead of which 43 were built and an imposing 4 door saloon of which 308 were built until production ended in 1958.



A 1971 cc / 120 cui straight six motor was exclusively tuned to produce 125 hp for the Drophead, the Saloon was given a 105 hp version of this engine. One blogger described the sound of this motor as being like 'a squadron of Lancasters'.



The first two 405 D's were strictly two seaters with fully retracting roofs, however all bar one of the remaining Dropheads had roofs that rested on the rear body work making space for rear seats. A one off 405 D was produced for Sheikh Yusuf Mohammed Al Tawil and shipped to Jeddah in 1955 painted gold with silver wheels, white wall tyres and an electro-hydraulic operated roof.



The slick action four speed gearbox of all 405's were fitted with a Laycock overdrive for high speed cruising operated by the large toggle switch to the right of the steering wheel.



The first 18 to 20 Bristol 405 Drophead chassis were sent to Abbots of Farnham where the bodywork was crafted. Abbots landed a large contract to build estate / station wagon version of the Ford Zephyr and Zodiac models and the remaining 405 D's were sent to Tickford, in Newport Pagnell, for body work to be built according to the Abbots of Farnham drawings. I am not sufficiently drenched in Bristol Cars lore to tell you where this particular body was crafted... yet.



I suspect I could get used to fresh air motoring in a vehicle fit for a Sheik that sounds like a 'squadron of Lancasters' how about you ?

Thanks to the owner of this fabulous vehicle for bringing it to the Sunday Service at the BMW Plant a couple of weeks ago.

Hope you have enjoyed today's fit for a Sheikh edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres and that you will join me again tomorrow for a Swedish tease. Don't forget to come back now !

California Dreaming - Ferrari California 2+2 Convertible

A couple of years ago I was at an airport and I noticed in the duty free area there was a Ferrari on a turntable that was a raffle prize.



I'd never seen one like it before turns out that it was a California, at £25 / $40 a pop for a ticket I passed on what may well have been my only opportunity to own a Ferrari without regret.



Allegedly the California was originally conceived as Maserati, however the economics of the project dictated that only a Ferrari badge offered any hope of a financial return on the vehicle.



Researching this blog I was surprised to find the California introduced in 2008, shares it's engine design with both ALFA Romeo and Maserati models.



Over 1,000 hours are said to have been spent in a wind tunnel perfecting the aerodynamics of the California so that it's drag coefficient is 0.32 the lowest ever achieved for any Ferrari.



I have to confess it was not until I had run a registration check on these vehicles that I had any idea of exactly which models they were and indeed they were both the same type, I thought the red one was a 612 Scaglietti !



Allegedly there is room on the back seats for two adults in a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti something at 6' 2" I'd love to put to the test.



Even if I had known it comes with a front mounted 450 hp 4.3 litre 260 cui V8 engine I doubt I would have been tempted to buy a raffle ticket....



because for all the attention to detail ...



beautiful craftsmanship ....



seven speed dual clutch transmission ...



and promise of the joys of open air motoring ...



alone price of the road tax on the Ferrari California is enough to keep me on the road for a whole year in my 20 year old jalopy ... but that does not stop me from dreaming :-)

With thanks to the PistonHeads responsible for bringing these dream machines to the Sunday Service at the BMW Plant in Cowley a couple of weeks ago.

Hope you have enjoyed to days California dreaming edition of 'Gettin a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow for a look at another vehicle bearing the California name. Don't forget to come back now !

PS Should I have failed to quench your thirst for Ferrari's take a look at the new Ferrari FF with Michele Rahal over on The Drive Channel.