Showing posts with label Prodrive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prodrive. Show all posts
Saturday, 25 April 2015
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
The Real McCoy - Mini Cooper S
The 1964 Monte Carlo Rally boasted a superb entry including factory backed vehicles from Citroen, Ford, Mercedes, Saab, Volvo, Volkswagen and a fleet of 6 works Mini Coopers.
Starting from Athens, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Lisbon, Minsk, Monte Carlo, Oslo, Paris and Warsaw, the field converged on Rheims in France and from there on to 5 competitive stages and a couple of laps of the Monaco Grand Prix track.
The Ford Falcon Sprint of Bo Ljungfeldt won every stage of the rally including the laps around Monaco but in those days the overall results were determined by a handicapping system which translated stage times and engine size into points which meant Ljungfelds 305 hp 4.7 litre 289 cui Falcon did not have a sufficient time margin over the 70hp 1071cc / 65 cui Mini Cooper S seen here crewed by Paddy Hopkirk and Henry Liddon which was declared the winner of the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally.
33 EJB is thought to have been built in 1963 and crewed by Hopkirk and Liddon to 3rd overall and 3rd in class in the 1963 Tour de France prior to winning the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally.
The car belongs to the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon and is seen here at the Prodrive workshops because the engine was not running properly.
Like the Revenge Mini Replica I blogged about some months ago 33 EJB also has it's Replica's like this one built in the USA.
Finally I'd like to correct an oft repeated error reference the registrations of the works Mini's on the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally seen in the 5th paragraph of this link.
What ever BMW or anyone else may say the registrations of the works Minis on the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964 were as follows :-
33 EJB #37, Hopkirk/Liddon, Cooper S, 1st overall/1st in class.
570 FMO #182 Makinen/Vanson, Cooper S 4th overall/2nd in class
569 FMO #105 Aaltonen/Ambrose, Cooper S 7th overall/3rd in class
477 BBL #39 Baxter/McMillan, Cooper 43rd overall/2nd in class.
18 CRX #187 Thompson/Heys, Cooper S crashed
277 EBL#189 Mayman/Domleo, Cooper S crashed
My thanks to Alan, Tim, Stephen, Darren, Fred at The Nostalgia Forum who helped me out with the registration numbers.
Hope you have enjoyed to days Handicap edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Monday, 11 April 2011
The Bosses Car #2 - Aston Martin Rapide
Regular readers may remember a couple of months ago when i visited the Morgan factory I happened across Charles Morgan's limited edition Aeromax.
A couple of weeks ago I happened across Dave Richards, personal transport this fabulous 'large and in charge' Aston Martin Rapide while visiting Prodrive.
The Rapide is Aston Martin's top of the range 4 door saloon, a successor to the Aston Martin V8 based Series 1 Aston Martin Lagonda of 1974/74 of which just 7 were built.
The 2010 Rapide is powered by a 470 hp 5935cc / 362 cui V12 ...
that is shared in common with both the DB9 and V12 Vanquish.
This is only the second Rapide I have ever seen and it still surprises me how graceful this four dour DB9 looks.
Surprisingly this range topping model of of a well known British Marque is actually assembled at a dedicated Magna Steyr plant in Graz, Austria.
The standstill to 62mph performance time of 5.2 seconds and top speed of 184 mph will undoubtedly helped a near standard Rapide take second in class during the 24 hour race at the Nurburgring in 2010.
More on Aston Martin and the Rapide Luxe can be seen up the Drive Channel.
Hope you have enjoyed today's Austrian built edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres, and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
A couple of weeks ago I happened across Dave Richards, personal transport this fabulous 'large and in charge' Aston Martin Rapide while visiting Prodrive.
The Rapide is Aston Martin's top of the range 4 door saloon, a successor to the Aston Martin V8 based Series 1 Aston Martin Lagonda of 1974/74 of which just 7 were built.
The 2010 Rapide is powered by a 470 hp 5935cc / 362 cui V12 ...
that is shared in common with both the DB9 and V12 Vanquish.
This is only the second Rapide I have ever seen and it still surprises me how graceful this four dour DB9 looks.
Surprisingly this range topping model of of a well known British Marque is actually assembled at a dedicated Magna Steyr plant in Graz, Austria.
The standstill to 62mph performance time of 5.2 seconds and top speed of 184 mph will undoubtedly helped a near standard Rapide take second in class during the 24 hour race at the Nurburgring in 2010.
More on Aston Martin and the Rapide Luxe can be seen up the Drive Channel.
Hope you have enjoyed today's Austrian built edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres, and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Sunday, 10 April 2011
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 !
Sunday, 3 April 2011
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 !
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 !
Friday, 25 March 2011
Ferrari by David Bailey - Ferrari 550 Maranello GTS
Some of you who read my Rowdy blogs may remember a blog about the 2002 celebrity Prodrive Ferrari 550 Marranello GTS (03).
That chassis took part in at least 42 Races in the GT/GTS class for at least four different teams from 2002 to 2006 and had a host of celebrity drivers including,
Colin McRae World Rally Champion, British Touring Car Champions Rickard Rydell & Alain Menu, British, Luc Alphand former World Cup Skiing Champion and Dakar winner, David Brabham Japanese GT Champion and Le Mans winner 2009, Jan Magnussen Danish Touring Car Champion, Danica Patrick queen of IRL, Darren Manning IRL driver, Christophe Bouchut 1993 Le Mans Winner, and one of my former racing instructors Tim Sugden former British and Asia Pacific GT Champion.
Prodrive prepared a batch of 20 550 Maranello GTS's for racing in Europe and the States where they were regular winners in the GT/GTS class in 2001.
In 2003 today's #88 550 Maranello GTS Chassis ZFFZR49B000108462, the 6th of the 20 Prodrive built, was driven by Thomas Enge, Jamie Davies and Peter Kox,
with around 750hp coming from it's V12 engine,
beat the Corvettes by 10 laps at the Le Mans 24 hour race winning the GTS class coming home 10th overall.
This vehicle entered exclusively by the Prodrive team is known to have run in at least 9 races in 2003 in all bar one carrying the #88, this chassis carried the #08 in it's last known final at Petite Le Mans.
When the effervescent Jackie Irwin, who has petrol running through her veins, told us on my recent visit to the Prodrive factory we were allowed to sit in some of the vehicles parked in the display area like a 12 year old I headed straight for the 550 Maranello,
the experience of sitting in this fabulous car was an odd mixture of agony and ecstasy, the seat was made for someone with hips the size of a 12 year old, yet at the same time the purposefulness of every last detail inside the vehicle sent my mind straight to Le Mans, by some strange fate I also found my self posing for this photograph taken by David Bailey , I am sure Twiggy would have felt far more comfortable in the seat, but then I doubt she would ever find herself posing for David Bailey of the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club.
My thanks to David Bailey, everyone at the Bristol Pegasus MC and Prodrive who made my visit such an interesting day out.
Hope you have enjoyed today's David Bailey edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
That chassis took part in at least 42 Races in the GT/GTS class for at least four different teams from 2002 to 2006 and had a host of celebrity drivers including,
Colin McRae World Rally Champion, British Touring Car Champions Rickard Rydell & Alain Menu, British, Luc Alphand former World Cup Skiing Champion and Dakar winner, David Brabham Japanese GT Champion and Le Mans winner 2009, Jan Magnussen Danish Touring Car Champion, Danica Patrick queen of IRL, Darren Manning IRL driver, Christophe Bouchut 1993 Le Mans Winner, and one of my former racing instructors Tim Sugden former British and Asia Pacific GT Champion.
Prodrive prepared a batch of 20 550 Maranello GTS's for racing in Europe and the States where they were regular winners in the GT/GTS class in 2001.
In 2003 today's #88 550 Maranello GTS Chassis ZFFZR49B000108462, the 6th of the 20 Prodrive built, was driven by Thomas Enge, Jamie Davies and Peter Kox,
with around 750hp coming from it's V12 engine,
beat the Corvettes by 10 laps at the Le Mans 24 hour race winning the GTS class coming home 10th overall.
This vehicle entered exclusively by the Prodrive team is known to have run in at least 9 races in 2003 in all bar one carrying the #88, this chassis carried the #08 in it's last known final at Petite Le Mans.
When the effervescent Jackie Irwin, who has petrol running through her veins, told us on my recent visit to the Prodrive factory we were allowed to sit in some of the vehicles parked in the display area like a 12 year old I headed straight for the 550 Maranello,
the experience of sitting in this fabulous car was an odd mixture of agony and ecstasy, the seat was made for someone with hips the size of a 12 year old, yet at the same time the purposefulness of every last detail inside the vehicle sent my mind straight to Le Mans, by some strange fate I also found my self posing for this photograph taken by David Bailey , I am sure Twiggy would have felt far more comfortable in the seat, but then I doubt she would ever find herself posing for David Bailey of the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club.
My thanks to David Bailey, everyone at the Bristol Pegasus MC and Prodrive who made my visit such an interesting day out.
Hope you have enjoyed today's David Bailey edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Sick Bag Not Included - Prodrive P2
In 2006 David Richards tasked every department in the Prodrive Group with developing the Prodrive P2 into a fully functional concept car in order to demonstrate " the perfect manifestation of what happens when our inspirational ideas combine with our innovative approach.”
Development from designs by Peter Stevens, whose portfolio includes the Jaguar XJR 15 and McLaren F1, to fully functioning vehicle took just 9 (nine) months.
Prodrive started by using a much modified All Wheel Drive Subaru R1 platform around which to build the P2.
Under the hood lurks a 345 hp turbocharged Subaru flat four taken from the Subaru World Rally Championship (WRC) programme complete with Prodrives Anti Lag System (ALS) tuned for the road that minimises turbo lag by burning fuel in the exhaust system at low rpm which keeps the turbo turbine spinning at high speed. Such systems which increase the throttle response of turbocharged vehicles were banned from Formula One in 1981.
The P2 also uses a modified version of the Subaru (WRC) drive train which features Prodrives ATD™ system which compares what the driver is expecting with what the vehicle is providing. The system modulates torque to individual wheels using a differential control system.
In a four wheel drive application such as the P2, if the car is understeering / pushing, then the system will deliver more torque to the back wheels, making it behave more like a rear wheel drive car; if the car is oversteering / loose then more torque will be delivered to the front wheels. ATD™ enables the car to be driven through corners at much higher speeds.
When a well known large presenter of a well known motoring programme tried the P2 with the ATD™ switched on he apparently drove the P2 in such a tight circle at such high speeds he made himself ill and had to stop the car and open the door to spill his diced carrots and peas on the tarmac.
With a power to weight ratio of 350 hp per tonne the P2 can reach 62 mph in 4 seconds and a top speed of 174 mph.
Prodrive estimated that it would have been able to retail the P2 for around £40,000 / $ 65,000 in 2006, but declined to manufacture the vehicle themselves.
Hope you have enjoyed the ride in today's ATD™ edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Development from designs by Peter Stevens, whose portfolio includes the Jaguar XJR 15 and McLaren F1, to fully functioning vehicle took just 9 (nine) months.
Prodrive started by using a much modified All Wheel Drive Subaru R1 platform around which to build the P2.
Under the hood lurks a 345 hp turbocharged Subaru flat four taken from the Subaru World Rally Championship (WRC) programme complete with Prodrives Anti Lag System (ALS) tuned for the road that minimises turbo lag by burning fuel in the exhaust system at low rpm which keeps the turbo turbine spinning at high speed. Such systems which increase the throttle response of turbocharged vehicles were banned from Formula One in 1981.
The P2 also uses a modified version of the Subaru (WRC) drive train which features Prodrives ATD™ system which compares what the driver is expecting with what the vehicle is providing. The system modulates torque to individual wheels using a differential control system.
In a four wheel drive application such as the P2, if the car is understeering / pushing, then the system will deliver more torque to the back wheels, making it behave more like a rear wheel drive car; if the car is oversteering / loose then more torque will be delivered to the front wheels. ATD™ enables the car to be driven through corners at much higher speeds.
When a well known large presenter of a well known motoring programme tried the P2 with the ATD™ switched on he apparently drove the P2 in such a tight circle at such high speeds he made himself ill and had to stop the car and open the door to spill his diced carrots and peas on the tarmac.
With a power to weight ratio of 350 hp per tonne the P2 can reach 62 mph in 4 seconds and a top speed of 174 mph.
Prodrive estimated that it would have been able to retail the P2 for around £40,000 / $ 65,000 in 2006, but declined to manufacture the vehicle themselves.
Hope you have enjoyed the ride in today's ATD™ edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Monday, 21 March 2011
Inspiration and Innovation - Prodrive Factory Visit
I was privileged to join fellow members of the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club and Barrie 'Whizzo' Williams on a factory tour of the Prodrive Factory over the weekend.
David Richards a qualified chartered accountant and 1981 World Championship Winning Rally co-driver who started his business as a motor sport consultant in the middle east, says of his company that it's purpose is to 'inject excitement'.
That injection of excitement is backed with 25 years of Championship winning motor sports success that includes rallying
and racing ...
to the very highest levels including two spells in which David Richards ran teams in Formula One.
In 2006 Prodrive built a fully working concept car, but declined to put it into production,
After numerous successes running Aston Martin racing teams ...
David Richards led a consortium of investors in a $925 million take over of Aston Martin in 2007,
a company of which he is now the Chairman.
It was uplifting to see British engineering is alive and well in Banbury, Oxfordshire with a fascinating range of activity including the assembly of a range of competition vehicles, computer operated machining of a huge variety of items from solid blocks of material, and truly mind boggling assembly of competition spec wiring looms, if your into engineering and or motor sport the Prodrive tour run by the effervescent Jackie Irwin, who has petrol running through her veins, is an absolute must.
My thanks to everyone at the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club who organised the tour including Andy who kindly did the driving honours.
Hope you have enjoyed today's excitement injected edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
David Richards a qualified chartered accountant and 1981 World Championship Winning Rally co-driver who started his business as a motor sport consultant in the middle east, says of his company that it's purpose is to 'inject excitement'.
That injection of excitement is backed with 25 years of Championship winning motor sports success that includes rallying
and racing ...
to the very highest levels including two spells in which David Richards ran teams in Formula One.
In 2006 Prodrive built a fully working concept car, but declined to put it into production,
After numerous successes running Aston Martin racing teams ...
David Richards led a consortium of investors in a $925 million take over of Aston Martin in 2007,
a company of which he is now the Chairman.
It was uplifting to see British engineering is alive and well in Banbury, Oxfordshire with a fascinating range of activity including the assembly of a range of competition vehicles, computer operated machining of a huge variety of items from solid blocks of material, and truly mind boggling assembly of competition spec wiring looms, if your into engineering and or motor sport the Prodrive tour run by the effervescent Jackie Irwin, who has petrol running through her veins, is an absolute must.
My thanks to everyone at the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club who organised the tour including Andy who kindly did the driving honours.
Hope you have enjoyed today's excitement injected edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
Friday, 11 March 2011
Leading From The Front - Ferrari F550
In 1996 the Ferrari F 550 saw the return of a model with a motor in the front to the top of the Ferrari range for the first time, since the much loved Ferrari Daytona 365 GTB4, in 20 years.
This top end vehicle was powered by a 485 hp twin cam 48 valve V12.
Featuring a tubular steel chassis the F550 was clothed with an aluminium body.
Capable of reaching 60 mph from rest in just 4.2 seconds the F550 could cover 402 meters in 12.5 seconds and had a top speed of 199 mph.
The F 550 was also used in sports car racing by several private entrants including Prodrive who built 10 vehicles for themselves and BMS Scuderia Italia. Victories included a Class win at Le Mans for Prodrive in 2003 and the FIA GT Championship for BMS Scuderia Italia in 2004.
Hope you have enjoyed today's front engine Ferrari Friday edition of 'Gettin a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow. Don'r forget to come back now :-)
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