Pur Sang De La Route

Renault R8 Gordini

Racing Maloo - HSV Maloo

Two weeks after starting the 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' blog I remember getting a huge thrill from discovering an HSV Maloo on the streets of Bristol and learning that it was the fastest pickup truck in the world.



Last weekend while at the Britcar British Endurance Championship Racing Weekend at Castle Combe I stumbled across another Maloo this time in full race trim including



slick tyres to compliment it's 400 hp Corvette LS2 engine which according to one passer by in a Britcar T shirt is tuned to 600 hp good for reaching 60 mph in under 4 seconds.



When I got home I was surprised to learn that there is an Australian racing series for Ford and Holden pick ups, where pickups are known as Utes, which is part of a staircase to find talent for the top tier Australian V8 Supercar series.



Even more surprisingly I have found out that late last year an announcement was made by Britcar to the effect that they would organise a debut season for a UK V8Ute Series using only the rebranded Vauxhall VXR Maloo pickup model.



The cars were to be rented from Britcar with the rental cost including entry fees for a full season of races.



The plan was that at each meeting the Maloo's would take part in three 40 minute races with mandatory pit stops for driver changes.



The projected series is on temporary hold, I look forward to an announcement from Britcar that the series will get a chance to go public and from Vauxhall that the VXR Maloo gets the opportunity to enter the UK market place.

Thanks for joining me on this Antipodean Racing edition of 'Gettin a lil' psycho on tyres' I hope that you will join me again tomorrow ! Don't forget to come back now !

The slowest car they have ever built - Audi R8

For the 8th day of Christmas and first day of the New Year I present this Audi R8.



According to the on line publicity it takes 70 skilled workers to fit over 5,000 unique parts to each vehicle and build 25 of these cars a day.



These vents direct air straight through the car.



The aluminium space frame which includes 99 meters of welds, 782 punch rivets, 308 self tapping screws, and 113 weld studs takes 45 minutes to manufacture.



The R8 rides on a magnetic damping system which provides the the driver with two modes of ride, comfort or sport.



This is the first Audi to compete with Porsche it is not quite as quick to accelerate but has been demonstrated to have slightly better handling than the 997.



Powered by a 420 hp all aluminium dry sump 32 valve V8 with Fuel Stratified Injection, FSI, the R8 is capable of a 12.8 sec 1/4 mile and a top speed in excess of 185 mph.



Audi use 210 exterior LED's in the R8, 186 of them as brake lights which run at 5,700 degrees centigrade, they are said to use 50% less energy than conventional bulbs.



Expect to see racing versions of the R8 in two wheel drive form make an impact in GT3 racing in the coming year particularly at the annual 24 hour Nurburgring race.

Hope you have enjoyed to today's LED edition of 'Getting a lil' psycho on tyres and that you will join me tomorrow living the life of Riley. Wishing you all a healthy and happy New Year, don't forget to come back now !

I JUST WANT ONE ! - Maloo R8 !

The odd Latvian Lada Zhiguli notwithstanding it's not everyday I amble along the streets of Bristol and get stopped dead in my tracks on seeing a vehicle and think WTF is that I want one and want it now !



Such was the case with this vehicle, which oozes refinement and speed by the bucket load yet looks like a pick up. Turns out the Maroo R8 is manufactured by Holden Special Vehicles in Australia and has it's origins in the humble Holden Ute - pick up.



This Maloo R8 would appear to be the latest E series introduced in 2007, which features a 412 hp 6 litre / 366 CUI LS2 V8 from the Corvette parts bin.



This pick up does not just look fast either, it holds the record for being the worlds fastest pick up timed at 168 mph / 271 kph a staggering 13.5 mph / 22 kph faster than its closest competitor the Dodge Ram SRT-10.



I don't think its a stretch to say the Maloo R8 is a considerably better looker than the Dodge either.

For a long time the 1970 Chevrolet El Camino has been my dream pick up, my dream just took a turn for the Australian outback :-)

Hope this Antipodean Stunner leaves you in good spirits for the week ahead, Don't forget to come back now ! Hear ?