Homologation Specials
When standard ‘road-going’ spec isn’t enough… The act of homologating a car is a scarce thing in modern racing. Back in the day though, it was a carmakers way of entering a motorsports series while giving designers and engineers a chance to go above and beyond on the wild factor – all with a pair […]
Rallycross: Oli Bennett Interview
W. R. X. If you’re big into racing, those three letters stand for something special. Thrashing and bashing around the globe, the World Rallycross Championship pitches 600bhp hatchbacks against each other in short, sharp, multi-surface bouts. Blink and you’ll miss it. Keep your eyes pinned and you’ll enjoy one of the most intense experiences in […]
Prodrive P2
Bwaaaah. Bu. Bu. BWAAAAH! Flat but percussive with rough, loping edges, it could only be a boxer four. Rough and inconstant, the gloriously impure gargling swells with each passing second, gaining pitch and volume as the revs continue to climb. It’s not an exhaust note: it’s just an exhaust noise. Dirty, angry and overlaid with […]
Ash Sutton – a star of the future?
Ron Dennis said that when he was the boss of McLaren Racing and watching Ayrton Senna in his early career, he saw a driver with pace, dedication, but also a driver with huge intellect. When I interviewed Ashley Sutton at Thruxton (a circuit where Senna won five times) I saw a driver with exactly those […]
Subaru BRZ – The Enthusiasts’ Car of Choice?
I would argue that the Subaru BRZ is the enthusiasts’ car of choice compared with the Toyota GT86. That might sound contentious, but maybe I like playing devil’s advocate? Hand on heart, I think the BRZ is a sports car in the traditional sense. It’s a rear-wheel-drive machine with 200 horses pulling under the lid. […]
Finding Richard and Colin – part 3: WRX STi’s Final Stage
It was all coming to an end very quickly, quick just seems to be the theme around a Subaru WRX STi. Our final day had dawned on our trip through Snowdonia in the blue beast, and as we’d come to expect of North Wales, conditions were wet and chilly. The scenery remained just as beautiful […]
Finding Richard and Colin – part 2: Subaru WRX STi in Snowdonia
When I was very little my family and I lived on the south coast of the isle of Anglesey, just off the coast of North Wales. My earliest memories of motorsport date back to this time, when my father would take me to the village of Ty Croes – a place you may know as […]
Finding Richard and Colin – part 1: The memories, the journey, the speed
Racing a car flat-out between trees and along cliff edges on surfaces that most normal people would struggle to hit the speed limit on requires a huge amount of talent – and equally large plums. The people who do this are called rally drivers, and they’re a special breed. The loose, insecure terrains they shoot […]
Subaru XT
wacky wedges and narrow markets
Subaru BRZ Launch
Launch of Fuji Heavy Industry’s BRZ comes with cheese on top…