Tag Archives: PistonHeads

Mechanical Orchestra – TVR T350

The TVR T 350 is probably as close as one can get to a four wheeled motorcycle that will scare a young mans prospective in laws to death, it’s small and according to one journalist in 2004 the engine belongs in an orchestra pit.

The T 350 comes with TVRs own 350 hp 3605 cc / 219.9 cui Speed Six all alloy 24 valve engine that is canted over at 30 degrees so that it fits into the svelte T 350 body that measures just over 13 feet long by six feet wide by 47 inches high.

TVRs under the direction of previous owner Peter Wheeler dispensed with creature comforts like interior lights, air bags and traction control, though these vehicles did come with air conditioning.

Weighing just 2,616 lbs / 1,187 kg performance from rest to 62 mph was 4.4 secs up to 100 mph in 9.5 secs with an official top speed of 175 mph.

Production of the T350 ran from 2002 until 2006 when Russian/Greek/British baby oligarch Nikolai Smolenski took over the company and soon after halted production of all TVR models.

Allegedly Mr Smolenski has announced various plans to restart production most recently with a Corvette powered model which might be built anywhere between Blackpool and Cape Town, here is hoping this hairiest of automobile brands finds its way back to the market soon.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this T350 along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed todays orchestral edition of Gettin’ a little psycho on tyres and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Rustproof & Secure – Subaru Impreza WRX STi Type UK

Integrated Nose – Porsche 944 S2

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Porsche introduced the 944 model in 1982, it shared the same platform as the earlier 924 and latter 968 models. The 944 shares similar body revisions, wider wheel arches, of the earlier 924 Carrera GT.

In 1987 the 944 S2 broke new automotive design ground being the first example of a vehicle with an integrated front bumper where the wing and bonnet (fender and hood) blended smoothly with the bumper. This design feature is still much in evidence today.

The 944 S2 was also noted for carrying the largest 4 cylinder motor of it’s day the then brand new 208 hp 3 litre / 183 cui engine was particularly smooth thanks to its counter rotating balance shafts.

Optimum front to rear weight ratio of the 924/944/968 design was achieved by placing the gearbox directly in front of the rear axle.

60 mph from rest could be reached in 6.6 seconds,

top speed for the 944 S2 was quoted as 150 mph.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this 944 S2 along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s integrated edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

UK Limited Edition – Subaru Impreza P1

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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 !

Superfast2 – Ferrari 430 Scuderia

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The Ferrari 430 Scuderia, launched in 2007, fell between the standard road F430 and the race only Ferrari F430 GTC as a track day car.

A 430 Scuderia benefits from a weight saving over the standard F430 of 100 kg / 220 lb.

Performance of the 430 Scuderia was further enhanced by electronic upgrades including Superfast2 software for the semi – automatic transmission which facilitates 60 ‘millisecond’ shift times.

The Scuderia engine produces 508 hp at 8500 rpm enough to give the vehicle a rest to 62 mph time of 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 198 mph.

When tested around the test track by a popular TV series the Scuderia proved to be even Stevens with the Nissan GTR and fractionally faster than the Porsche Carrera GT and significantly faster than a Mercedes Benz SLR.

Thanks to the pistonhead who brought this fabulous Ferrari along to January’s Sunday Service.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s Scuderia edition of Ferrari Friday and that you’ll join me again tomorrow, don’t forget to come back now !

Mini Rust Beater – Domino HT

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Today’s blog comes from the BMW Plant near Cowley where the current range of retro Mini’s are made and where I saw this splendid little Domino HT at the recent PistonHeads Sunday Service.

The Domino’s in 4 styles were Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) kit cars designed around Mini running gear and manufactured by Fibretech GRP Ltd which was taken over by Domino Composite itself renamed Composite Designs from at least 1978 to 2007 when liquidation forced the cessation of production. It would appear an wholly autonomous group DominoCars – Organisation is attempting to keep the Domino brand alive.

The HT (hard top) model seen here was the follow on from the original T top Pimlico model and is loosely based around a standard Mini though it is bereft of the standard Mini seams and gutters. It is also significantly different below the waist line with built in flared wheel arches and a flared body around the top of the road wheel line. The doors are 2/ 1/2 inches shorter than Mini doors to accommodate the higher sills needed to aid the structural integrity of the GRP body.

If your original style Mini is falling to bits with dreaded tin worm you could do worse than find a smart Domino GRP body, take of all bits of your Mini and transfer them straight on to the GRP shell including subframes, interior, windows, up to 13″ wheels and off you go in your new car with parts recycled from your old one.

Hope you have enjoyed to days Glass Reinforced Plastic edition of ‘Gettin a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Mission Possible – Bristol Cars Ltd

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Last Monday 27 employees of Bristol Cars Ltd passed through these gates on their way to work.

This morning only 5 employees will return through these gates as the manufacturing arm of Bristol Cars Ltd has been placed into administration with RSM Tenon.

Tom Maclennan of RSM Tenon is quoted as saying ” There have been a number of immediate redundancies due to the financial position of the company, (but) we are maintaining the sales and service operations so customers will continue to be supported.”

Though not without some criticism over the way the company has been run in the past, there has been a significant amount of support for Bristol Cars Ltd on the internet, in the light of this unfortunate development, from owners and non owners alike as evidenced by threads on pistonheads.com, The Nostalgia Forum and particularly on the Bristol Owners Club forum where members recall many of the Bristol Cars Ltd team with fondness having known them for many years.

One member of the Bristol Owners Club, Teb Marius from the Netherlands with professional experience in handling these types of financial situations is calling for professional assistance from members and non members in the UK to investigate the possibility putting together a Bristol Owners Club led Consortium to negotiate a viable future for Bristol Cars Ltd with the administrators. Send Teb an e-mail if you can offer any such professional assistance.

Alternatively for anyone with the financial muscle who wants make a bid for the manufacturing division of Bristol Cars Ltd, Tom MacLennan and Trevor Binyon at RSM Tenon have been appointed joint administrators of the business and would be interested to hear from you.

In anticipation of good news about the future of Bristol Cars Ltd I hope you’ll join me again at “Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres”. Don’t forget to come back now !

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring