Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2017 i Fast Car

Us modifiers have been trying to make our cars faster ever since Karl Benz built the first gasoline-powered automobile back in the 19th century. OK, so that might be a slight exaggeration. But you get the idea. These days it’s relatively easy to make your car faster, but once upon a time there wasn’t such a thing as aftermarket performance parts, so modifiers would ‘simply’ swap their engines for more powerful ones. Thankfully this style of modifying still exists and the engine transplant is regarded as the pinnacle of all modifications. Whether you’ve swapped out your B16 for a B18 or dumped your GT86’s 2.0-litre boxer engine for a Ferrari 458 lump (like Ryan Tuerck has - see page 90), there’s just no denying engine swaps are cool. Because of…

If there’s one thing to take away from Sam Flack’s S2000 story, it’s this: never try and get in the way of a man with a plan. You see, the last three years of this West Sussex-based travel exec’s life have almost entirely been filled with trying to prove his peers wrong by building one of the first wide arch-kitted S2000s on this continent. And a limited budget, a slightly shonky base car and only a driveway to perform it all on weren’t going to obstruct him in the slightest… “It was always the idea to put this kit on it,” Sam says, of the time when he was still in the process of purchasing one of Honda’s acclaimed roadsters – and pondering the idea of a seriously JDM M&M…

RONAL URS, FROM £144 (EACH) That’s not a new wheel we hear you say. And you’re right. It’s not. The URS is however a legend. Not to mention proof ze Germans do indeed have a sense of humour. Besides, technically speaking, Ronal are now making a new 7x14-inch version to add to the original 13-incher, and we reckon it’ll go down a storm. Considering how popular these lightweight beauties have become since 1991 (even on the most hardcore track cars), we can see them popping up at many an event for years and years to come. But sadly, none of that’s the big news. Nope, it’s the fact the famous Ronal Teddy is now being run out after 26 years of continuous production. In other words, it’s your very last…

A lot of seasoned racers and supercar enthusiasts will tell you that the mid-engined format is the only way to go. Enzo Ferrari was famously averse to the notion, keeping his F1 cars front-engined in the early 1960s while all the teams around him swapped their motors to a new position behind the driver. Until Ferraris started getting their arses handed to them on every circuit from Monaco to the Nordschleife. Old Man Enzo soon changed his tune. In terms of balance, the middle of the car is simply the best place for the engine to be – just ask any Porsche Boxster owner, who receives the criticisms of snooty 911 drivers with a wry grin, in the knowledge that the mid-engined roadster isn’t effectively a massive terrifying pendulum. But…

“History is written by brilliant people taking seemingly stupid ideas and making them happen” The Toyota GT86 – and its alternatively badged siblings, the Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S – caused no end of eye-popping excitement when they emerged onto the scene back in early 2012. The gestation had been long and drawn-out, with relentless glimpses and snapshots, rumours and hearsay, tuned versions hinted at before the base model had even hit the showrooms, and a whole whirlwind of media speculation. When the ’86 arrived, it largely delivered on its promises: rather than focusing on outright power, the new-wave Hachi-Roku ostensibly concentrated on being fun. Early suggestions that the model was designed to ‘teach young people about oversteer’ got lost in the media furore. But that was very much part…

For the last few months I’ve been driving the boys mad with my indecision about ‘rusting’ my Beetle. You see, it may be a low mileage 1.8T but, ever since I had some special paint from the guys at www.rustypaint.com here in our Fresh Kit pages, I haven’t been able to get it off my mind. I can’t help thinking that the Bug will benefit massively from a bit of an old skool overhaul, even though there are plenty of people saying I shouldn’t do that to such a rare classic. I mean really? A classic? Come on! Still, in my defence, it’s not like sanding off all your paint to bare metal - with this stuff it’s the actual paint that rusts, rather than the car. It basically acts…

And the winners are… Top five cars Meguiar’s would like to drive home in: Rat Rod Pick-Up........................Tim Mansell Mazda RX7................. Jordan Lewis-Warren Mk5 R32 Golf ............................ Danny Birch Red Austin.............. Mark & Carolyn Stewart Renault 5 Turbo.................. Steve Thomsom Snap-on Award ..... Andrew Carter’s Mk2 Golf Air Lift Award ................. Jon Livermore’s Evo Coming soon… We always aim to find and feature the best cars from around the world and bring you the most informative features possible. In the next couple of months you’ll find features on this utterly bonkers Supra-powered E36 from these very shores. And also this insane MR2 from Thailand. The Angry Man “THEY’RE BANNING ALL PETROL AND DIESEL CARS IN 2040! QUICK! PANIC!” No, let’s not panic. Because, quite frankly, nothing has really bloody…

With the sheer amount of car shows held across the UK, it’s always going to be a mammoth task to introduce a new one into the mix. It can take years for a show to become established as one of the must attends of the year. But SlammedUK’s Gravity event, now only in its second year, has already found that winning formula to place itself firmly as a stand-out in the car show calendar. Held at Stoneleigh Park close to Coventry, the two hangers were full of some of the best show cars from around the UK and Europe, as well as some of the top traders. There was even a special guest appearance from Monster Energy, bringing along DMO Deejay to keep the tunes flowing across the day. Steve…

Becoming an expert in your field never comes easy. You can’t expect to just walk into the boxing ring for the first time and flatten the likes of Anthony Joshua without putting in a little training first. And the same rule can certainly be applied to tuning cars – it often takes years of Bruce Lee-style discipline to fully learn the little ins-and-outs of successfully modifying a particular model. Our man Ibrar Jabbar here is living proof of this formula in action. As you can see, he currently owns what is easily one of the very best Supras in the country and most likely far beyond. But it didn’t all happen overnight. His Supra story is a decade and-a-half of fettling with every square inch of countless examples of Toyota’s…

“The car represents the perfect balance between style and performance” Our buddy Chris Baker is no stranger to Jap motors. We first met him many moons ago when he owned a stripped-out, smooth bodied K11 Micra, but since then he’s delved into the popular world of the nimble Mazda MX-5. Chris’s first experience of Mazda ownership wasn’t exactly what you’d call plain sailing. Keen on a bit of sideways action, Chris picked himself up a Mk1 MX-5 which he turbocharged and painted in a ratty, military spec theme. Life was good in the world of Mr Baker, until bad luck dealt him a shitty hand. A dodgy oil line rubbing on the alternator caused a fire that put a quick end to Chris’s plans of world domination. Chris isn’t the…

“Cirk isn’t most people. He’s an innovator, a visionary” The point of a pickup truck is fairly obvious. You’ve got a sensible enclosed bit up front so the driver and their passenger can feel like they’re in a car. And a big practical, exposed bit out back for throwing tools and logs and general burly bric-a-brac into. It’s been this way for generations. The USA in particular has warmly embraced the genre, with a Ford F100 or its various GM equivalents rumbling off the forecourt every few seconds. They’ve spawned crew-cabs so you can get the whole family up front and still carry a freshly stunned moose in the load bay, and of course there were the various hilarious adventures into muscle-pickups – the Chevrolet El Camino, the Holden Maloo,…

Wow. Take a look at our (soon to be someone else’s) S2000! It’s hard to believe that in just two days, It’s A Wrap UK (IAWUK) have totally transformed our giveaway car. The S2K has gone from a rather common metallic grey to one of the first cars in the world to be wrapped in Satin Thundercloud, from 3M’s latest range in the 1080 Wrap Film Series. And what a cool colour. In the darker weather it looks like a dark satin blue, but when the sun hits it there’s also a grey metallic hue. Sick! The thing is, with such a short turn around time, it’s sometimes hard to appreciate exactly how much work goes into a wrap. But as I witnessed the full job I can tell you…

I’ve still got a broken leg – well I guess an almost fixed broken leg – so once again progress on the BMW has been pretty much nonexistent. I’m not even allowed to drive it, even though it’s my left leg that’s buggered and the 335i is an auto. Something to do with insurance. Anyway, even though I can’t drive the car I did manage to climb in and sit in it for half an hour last week. Now before you think I’ve lost my mind, there was a valid reason for this… Regular readers will know that a couple of issue ago we used the 335i as a test car for trying out a bunch of Audiotec Fischer Match products. Match is a plug and play solution for replacing…

“I like to think different. That dictated the whole of the project” The car’s nickname is Rolo,” says Simon Calleja. “My mate Darren came up with that, as it’s got a caramel centre. The name’s kinda stuck.” You can see the logic when you peer through the window of this supremely sugar-sweet Mk4 Golf. It looks so deliciously caramely in there, it’s all you can do to stop yourself from climbing in and licking the seats. You’d be wrong to do so, of course, as seats are where people’s bums go. No, the principal aim of making the innards of this car resemble the kind of confectionery that has crack-like addictive qualities is that, well, this is a sensible family car. If it looks delicious in there, it’s easier to…

Fast Facts Sizes: 8x15, 7.5x17, 8x18 PCDs: 4x98-4x108, 5x98-5x120 Offset: ET23-45 Finishes: silver/polished lip, candy red/ polished lip, black/bronze lip KAMBR 150R, From £495 (set) We’ve always said, when it comes to finding the very best hoops to make your ride stand out from the crowd, choice of finish is just as important as design and fitment. The thing with these new 105Rs from KAMBR though, is that they’ve got the lot. Including a couple of unusually nice surprises, too. For a start, the classic deep dish 5-spoke is spot on for just about any car on the street, and the range of crazy finishes also seems to offer something for everyone. Come to think of it, the candy red, and black/bronze versions, have to be some of the sweetest…

We’ve seen some crazy engine transplants over the years. The thing is, if you’ve got the money, time and expertise, you can almost fit any engine into any car. The only limit is your imagination. In this 28-page section you’ll find three of the craziest engine-swapped motors currently terrorising the streets. From a rear-wheel drive V8 Caddy, to a Ferrari-powered GT86 drifter! It’s not all about the mental stuff though. We’ve also put together a guide on the more achievable and common engine swaps out there. It’s time to get inspired……

If you’re lucky enough to regularly read my incessant ramblings in these pages, you’ll be well aware I recently added a mini Rowswell to my life. Yes, that’s right. I’m now responsible for a small person’s life. Scary eh? Now don’t get me wrong, fatherhood is an amazing thing. However it’s not such an amazing thing for your car. From baby sick on the Alcantara, to little greasy handprints on the windows and the discovery of random items in every nook and cranny. Also, what they don’t tell you in the manual is just how much equipment a baby needs. How can someone so small need so much? However, you’d think having an A6 Avant I would have plenty of room surplus. But for trips away it’s a tad on…

ANTHONY GAULTER’S SILVIA S12 FC says : Getting the main spot in this month’s Readers’ Rides is this awesome, old-school Silvia S12. It might look rather subtle on the outside, but just take a look at the spec list and you’ll see the amount of work Anthony has put into this car – all in the last 12 months too. “The build started in October 2016,” he says. “I always wanted to fit a V8 into my Nissan S14a, but couldn’t do it as it was too nice to cut up. So I sold it and bought a little Nissan Silvia ZX Turbo off eBay for £600. Before I even bought the S12 Silvia I’d managed to make a deal on a Lexus LS400 for £350, so the plan was…