GTAm

I'm sure you're right. GT2 is even more hardcore I believe.

Yep I remember the story very well. Pity they just banned them calling them thinly disguised 4WD F1 cars (which they were of course ). They (FIA) should have created a closed circuit racing for Group B on a gravel track. I remember there was a series a bit later in the UK that was dominated by a Metro 6R4.

My choice - Delta S4 for the twin charger 600bhp engine and ultra light body weight. Winning 1-2 on its debut. And would have definitely dominated the season if Toivonen did not crash and die. When the rules switched to group A Toivonen's team mate Makku Alen said that coming down from 600bhp to 250, the Delta HF Turbo (later Integrale) did not seem to have an engine .

Yes its very exciting indeed. The Alfistis are speculating if its the new engine under the bonnet - either the 3.2 Twin Turbo Diesel or the all new Alfa only petrol V6. The fans are understandably quite dissappointed with the GM source iron block. I think I should schedule an overseas trip for November so that I can see it on wide screen and avoid having to by a cheap DVD.

Great post DZ. My Favourites are, 1. Delta S4 2. 037 3. 205 T16 4. RS200 5. Quattro

Great post DZ. My Favourites are, 1. Delta S4 2. 037 3. 205 T16 4. RS200 5. Quattro

Yes I was all excited when the 959 appeared (eventhough I did not like the looks) but it was very momentary as then came the F40 !. It took a bit of getting used to with that huge wing and especially after the gorgeous lines of the 288GTO, but I still loved it more than the 959 which never fails to remind me of the VW Beetle (which rightly it must of course)! I guess the 4wd set up was initially brought to quell the tail happiness of the rear-engined layout......but now it seems that they have sorted things out completely (despite JC crashing a GT2) with the rwd setup. Amazing. It's hard to understand. Btw 911 Turbo facelift is due soon......

Don't say that. After the war and the economic recovery, we might bid on used one when it comes on auction . Read about the 250GT Califonia which was snapped up at $10.5 ? No fear though the 959 is sure to be a lot less

Yes it looks like an MGA but the front end looks like its pointing upwards a bit. Not sure if the hatch coupe is a 128 sport considering the size of the front bumper. Could it be an Opel?

What an awesome face! And racing tech brought to the road too. Audi has done a truly great car! With that kind of torque I guess 4.5k is more than enough...... I wonder what it sounds like!!

ha ha mine was terrible too. The B - pillars were separated by rust and was being held together by the stainless steel beeding ! The side valences we completely rusted and the floor had bent near the front bulk head. When it was stripped it scared me like hell to think of the crazy drives on the road and even a few on the track I did when underneath it was this bad. Could have ended in tears. The previous owner of my car had done some pretty devious stuff. The whole boot floor and spare wheel well was coated with fibre glass to hide the rust. And so was the front valence. I think I'm really lucky that the gearbox went bust and forced me to strip it down. I had 6 years of patch up fun with the car though and thoroghly enjoyed every moment. This is me doing a Hill Climb some time back.

Sadly I'm still a Ferrari virgin . I've been a passenger in a Countach around a yard in Melbourne but it was way too brief. I was just a passenger. Yes one drive in the Boxter and all the hype is justified. I don't like the looks of the original - the face lift is better..... but still they could have done a lot better IMHO. But the drive was something else. And it was in Scotland so we chose some roads that were so deserted. Its the weighting of everything. The steering, the pedals....ah perfection. And then the car is mid engined, so its the optimum sports car layout. And you can really feel it. Then there's the noise. Which I totally was not prepared for. Somehow I had forgotten to expect a great noise from a flat 6. But one strange thing was that the gearbox wasn't the smoothest. In fact it was a bit notchy and that stood out. Maybe coz it was brand new. Yeah the SL sound track is awesome - like a big engined bike crossed to a twin engined aeroplane. But this is so much more cultured. It instantly became my dream car even though I still say it looks acceptable but not great! This is why I am so keen to learn what a 911 is like with its flawed engine location and all. A Ferrari and a Lambo - after reading so much I can begin to imagine. But the 911 is a mystery. And there's even more hype around it than the even the Boxter. So I think I'll buy it (the hype I mean )

OMG how come? Was it damaged by an accident? It's too solid to rust!

Has to be the SL55AMG. I've driven it twice around Colombo. 1st time it was at night....surreal! The street lamps become streaks of light from the corner of the eye. The best 'car', or IMO the best driver's car I've driven is the Porsche Boxter.

Bit OT but has anyone driven a 911?

Whoa lots of 430 s in GT2!

I'd say the most fuel efficient cars are the Bullet proof Range Rovers, X5s and 750is. The Fuel is free on those for the owners as others have to pay the bill

Rumour has it that LH and JB are heavily into the party scene with some mega orgies as a finale (lucky b......ds). I really don't like the guys and I doubt LH will win the championship. What annoys me most is that Anthony Hamilton trying to be a star waving at the crowd etc. And the British tabloid press fuels all this like crazy - its the reason I think that LH won't win. Unless he is extremely lucky like James Hunt was. All this makes me miss Nigel Mansell. What a hard charger he was and he made do without any of the hype. Btw last month's Top Gear mag had featured some bookie info - the odds on the Hamiltons. Lewis will release a single this year 80-1 Anthony Hamilton will win a Gran Prix 150-1 If there was a 200-1 that Anthony and Lewis will release a duet I'd think about taking a punt !!!

Yes. Prodrive and Alfa (Fiat group) have a bit of a relationship. They ran the highly successful 155 BTCC cars. The mods done to the dominant touring cars finally came to the production version and transformed the phase 1 cars from a very average machine to best drive in the class. I recall CAR and Autocar mags raving about the kart like steering and very sporty drive and on some group tests overlooked the poor build to give it the win over the E36 BM. Then more recently Prodrive was involved in the development of the Fiat Stilo Abarth Schumarcher special edition. The truth is that for all its gorgeous looks the Brera has been far too heavy thanks to the GM ( ) derrived premium platform and does not sell well. The old Alfa GT still sells well despite the ancient 156 underpinings. And now they can do very little until they replace the model which should be rwd. There is a factory face lift coming next month for the 159 and Brera which will include a weight reduction programme and new turbo engines. But this will not solve the problem totally especially for the Brera. The 159 gets away a bit as in that class the Merc C and the Lexus IS are also not light. However Alfa always gets a lot more critisism than anyone else. Probably people expect a lot from the brand. And rightly so I think. Alfa UK are known to do these special editions when stock build up. They did it before with the Alfetta GTV and the Alfa Sud Ti in the 70s. The Fiat group started making money after a long time only a couple of years ago. And Alfa's focus now is on the Mito and 149/Milano which really need to be and should be class leading. So the Brera will have to hang on and make do with the face lifts until the new models which will be light weight and rwd arrive. Alfa and Fiat like Porsche generally understate performance figures, so I believe with 100kilos off the Brera S should be slightly quicker.

Yes. Prodrive and Alfa (Fiat group) have a bit of a relationship. They ran the highly successful 155 BTCC cars. The mods done to the dominant touring cars finally came to the production version and transformed the phase 1 cars from a very average machine to best drive in the class. I recall CAR and Autocar mags raving about the kart like steering and very sporty drive and on some group tests overlooked the poor build to give it the win over the E36 BM. Then more recently Prodrive was involved in the development of the Fiat Stilo Abarth Schumarcher special edition. The truth is that for all its gorgeous looks the Brera has been far too heavy thanks to the GM ( ) derrived premium platform and does not sell well. The old Alfa GT still sells well despite the ancient 156 underpinings. And now they can do very little until they replace the model which should be rwd. There is a factory face lift coming next month for the 159 and Brera which will include a weight reduction programme and new turbo engines. But this will not solve the problem totally especially for the Brera. The 159 gets away a bit as in that class the Merc C and the Lexus IS are also not light. However Alfa always gets a lot more critisism than anyone else. Probably people expect a lot from the brand. And rightly so I think. Alfa UK are known to do these special editions when stock build up. They did it before with the Alfetta GTV and the Alfa Sud Ti in the 70s. The Fiat group started making money after a long time only a couple of years ago. And Alfa's focus now is on the Mito and 149/Milano which really need to be and should be class leading. So the Brera will have to hang on and make do with the face lifts until the new models which will be light weight and rwd arrive. Alfa and Fiat like Porsche generally understate performance figures, so I believe with 100kilos off the Brera S should be slightly quicker.

Yes. Prodrive and Alfa (Fiat group) have a bit of a relationship. They ran the highly successful 155 BTCC cars. The mods done to the dominant touring cars finally came to the production version and transformed the phase 1 cars from a very average machine to best drive in the class. I recall CAR and Autocar mags raving about the kart like steering and very sporty drive and on some group tests overlooked the poor build to give it the win over the E36 BM. Then more recently Prodrive was involved in the development of the Fiat Stilo Abarth Schumarcher special edition. The truth is that for all its gorgeous looks the Brera has been far too heavy thanks to the GM ( ) derrived premium platform and does not sell well. The old Alfa GT still sells well despite the ancient 156 underpinings. And now they can do very little until they replace the model which should be rwd. There is a factory face lift coming next month for the 159 and Brera which will include a weight reduction programme and new turbo engines. But this will not solve the problem totally especially for the Brera. The 159 gets away a bit as in that class the Merc C and the Lexus IS are also not light. However Alfa always gets a lot more critisism than anyone else. Probably people expect a lot from the brand. And rightly so I think. Alfa UK are known to do these special editions when stock build up. They did it before with the Alfetta GTV and the Alfa Sud Ti in the 70s. The Fiat group started making money after a long time only a couple of years ago. And Alfa's focus now is on the Mito and 149/Milano which really need to be and should be class leading. So the Brera will have to hang on and make do with the face lifts until the new models which will be light weight and rwd arrive. Alfa and Fiat like Porsche generally understate performance figures, so I believe with 100kilos off the Brera S should be slightly quicker.

Unfortunately the engine is out and undergoing a total rebuild. So all I can offer you right now is an opportunity to drive an Isuzu truck with the car on it

Ha ha no way I could EXTRA real Fulvia coupes and X 1/9s !

If I remember what I read last, I think TATA is struggling to meet the 1 lakh target.

Img 0007 I think.