The Loud Pedal

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Car Week Reveals

Monterey Car Week is the premier North American car event as we have pointed out repeatedly and the world’s automakers certainly see it that way as Car Week often serves as the North American reveal of new models or special editions.  This year will be no different as several special reveals will occur as well as celebrations of certain automotive milestones.   We suspect that this list may grow in the coming days as more information starts to come out related to Car Week events.

Lamborghini

One of the featured classes of the Pebble Beach Concours will be a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Lamborhini Countach. Yes, hard to believe that the Countach was unveiled 50 years ago. Adding further celebration to this milestone Lamborghini will unveil a new hybrid Countach, the Countach LPI 800-4.

Aston Martin:

Aston Martin will be returning to Monterey Car Week to celebrate its 70th anniversary since the brand entered the American market.  Aston Martin will host an event at the Pebble Beach.   The Aston Martin Club 1913 located on the 18th Fairway of the Pebble Beach Gold Course will be open for guest to  view a display that celebrates the return of Aston Martin to F1 and will celebrate its connection with the James Bond franchise.  Aston Martin will also unveil the Aston Martin Valkyrie Roadster and as “debut a new product from the brand which extends the company’s performance credentials a step further.”

Pagani:

Pagani will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Huayra with the reveal of the Pacheco Tempesta package the Quail.  The modifications increase engine power and add some minor design details.

BMW:

Bringing a strong contingent to Car Week, BMW will be bringing some heat.  Expected to be revealed are the new BMW M5 CS, Alpina B8 Gran Coupe, I4 and iX.  It will also serve as the world premiere of the M4 Competition conversation and the first M3 and M4 models with all-wheel drive.  

At the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion BMW will have the North American Premiere of the BMW M Motorsport M4 GT3 customer race car.  Also at the reunion will be one of BMW Motorsports’ 2020 M4 DRTM cars.  Additionally, BMW will run three historic M3 race cars piloted by John Edwards, Conner De Phillippi, and record holder for the most IMSA pole positions, Bill Auberlen.  The M3 GTR and the two (E92) M3 GT will compete in the ‘Masters Endurance Legends’ class with two 40-minute races on Sunday.

Audi:

The four rings will debut a concept designed to convey their vision for the future known as the Sky Sphere.   Details are minimal other than the name sounding like the next iteration of the James Bond franchise.

Pininfarina

The production-ready Pininfarina Battista electric hypercar that was first shown as a prototype at the 2019 Geneva International Motorshow will make its North American debut. The Battista is powered by a 1,877-hp from Rimac made up of four electric motors with a 0-60 time of under 2.0 seconds.

Bentley

The luxury brand will debut several development prototypes called the Blower Continuation Series and the Bently Mulliner Bacalar projects. Car Week will also host the public debuts of the new Bentayga S and the Continental GT Speed Convertible. Both the Bacalar and Blower Series are limited to 12 units each. The Blower model is the first to be produced by the factor since 1930. What does all of this mean? We have no idea, but it’s all the more reason to go check it out.

[theloudpedal]

So You Wanna Do Car Week?

After reading numerous social media post from folks who inquire about Car Week at the last minute, we thought we should provide a reminder and/or guide.

So you finally noticed the social media post and the references to this thing called “Monterey Car Week” and decided as you wipe the sleep from your eyes and stagger to your laptop that you want to see the action for yourself.  With the start of Car Week only days away, we’ll start with the bad news first.  You are too late, like six months to a year too late.  By now most accommodations in and around the Monterey Peninsula are booked solid and tickets to many major events are sold out.    

We know our title image is misleading, as to imply that its impossible, but its important to lower your expectations so that we can move to the good news. Now that the bad news is out of the way, you still might have hope, but it’s based on your willingness parachute in for a day and soak in as much as you can.  As we have covered previously,  you can do Car Week on a budget and/or in a day.  If you are a real glutton for punishment, as we are, you can do more than one day but you must be willing to drive back and forth each day or at the least find a hotel/motel/inn that may be closer than your home, but will still be at least an hour or more away from the Monterey Peninsula.  

 What we wrote a few years back still stands:

“If you want to do things "right," Car Week requires several days to soak it all in, so hotel/motel costs are unavoidable.  The best advice we can give is to reserve your accommodations as early in the year possible.  And by early, we mean the day you leave.  If you can find a place that will let you reserve a room a year in advance, we suggest you do it.  If you can't swing a room because of the cost, or you're just not willing to drop some coin till you're sure it's for you, just go for a day.  Posting up at one of the locations we're going to be talking about in this post will absolutely deliver an experience that will probably rival most of what you've seen at your local meet-ups, or shows.  It's damn near impossible to avoid having your mind blown or your neck broken, just walking down most streets in Carmel or Monterey during the event week.   We've both done single day trips, and have even driven down and back from Sacramento twice in a weekend a few times.  We don't recommend it, we haven't done it in quite a long time, but we can absolutely guarantee that it's worth the effort and/or fatigue.”

Check our Car Week events guide here for a full list of activities and links to purchase tickets where necessary.   One might get lucky and still find tickets available for a given event.  One event that we know should always be at the top of your list is the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and tickets are still available.  If you only have one day to experience we recommend spending most of your day at the track enjoying everything the Reunion has to offer and then finishing your day with a stroll on Ocean Avenue in Carmel or downtown Monterey to do some Monaco-esq car spotting.

If you need more suggestions send us an email or comment on social media.

[theloudpedal]

Radwood NorCal 2021: COVID-19 Can't kill RAD

Hitting some local cars and coffee events and a Bugorama event last month got us a little juiced for the reopening of the world. When we heard that the good people at Radwood were plowing forward with a 2021 NorCal event, we were excited….guardedly optimistic, but excited. After the last year and a half, we’re always ready for news that something is going to be canceled, postponed or non or spectator-limited. Ready for whatever, we bought our tickets and marked our calendars.

On what was to be the hottest day of the year for Sacramento (for the record, it was 114 when we got home) we headed down to the San Mateo County Event Center for not only 80s and 90s automotive and cultural Radness, but also spectacular Bay Area weather.

The gods were clearly smiling on us. We arrived a bit early, participating cars were still pulling in and setting up. It didn’t take long to see that this event was a much needed relief from the pandemic. This was our 4th Radwood Norcal event, and it was pretty obvious that all who attended were ready to be back, and with force. We can’t prove it, but this event was even a bit more Rad than normal. The clothes were a little more day-glo and flammable than usual, bangs were a little longer, the jank was a bit jankier and the average level of rad game that people brought was, just flat out, more than usual. Everyone had smiles on their faces and we were really pleased to see even more young people, and families that we’ve seen before.

For the unindoctrinated, Radwood is more than your average “car show.” Corny as it may sound, it’s more accurately a “celebration” of cars and culture of the 80s and 90s. As much as neither of us really long for a return to these two decades, (coincidentally, our formative years), there’s an unescapable tug at our heartstrings as we circulate through these events. Part of it is that we get to be around the poster cars of our youth. It’s always a “thing” when you walk up on an amazing red Countach, a Skyline of any “R” variety, or a cocaine white 911 turbo slant. The other part is that so many of the vehicles are, for lack of a better term, unicorns. Things that were never imported to the states, stuff that you never knew were imported into the states, stuff you only read about, and stuff you never knew actually existed.

This, as every Radwood event, had all of these things and more. As always, we’ve provided you a big gallery below with lots of images from the event. While everything there was pretty rad there were a few things we saw that we’d like to single out because of their almost excessive radness.

The first, and in the aforementioned category of things you didn’t even know were imported into the states, were not one, not two, but three Lancia Delta HF Integrales. All three were fantastic, but the white one with the Martini graphics and several mods was particularly tasty!

Firmly in the “things you didn’t even know existed” category was this amazing 1990 Daihatsu HiJet named Kiri, from the small Japanese mountain town of Kirigamine. Yeah, why not….suffice it to say that pretty much everyone was blown away by a tiny fire truck. When it started doing laps around the event center blaring warnings about confirmed Godzilla sightings, we nearly lost our shit, it was unbelievable (and naturally, the warnings were in English and Japanese, so that). Maybe the Countach was the most dazzling car at the event….but maybe not. Just now, researching it a little, we see that it was awarded the RADDEST IN SHOW award…says us, well deserved! For more on Kiri, check is out on Insta @teenytinyfiretruck

Many of these 80s and 90s nostalgia-mobiles were more than tributes to a bygone era when Miami Vice and the original Bay Watch were the top prime time programs. The contingent of Germans from brands such as BMW, Audi, and Porsche looked as if they just came from the showroom having been well preserved by their owners. Others showed signs of wear but also preservation in the same sense that a Hollywood actor or actress might also be well preserved with copious amounts of Botox. They also exemplified a style of an era that cared little for efficiency as often cars with the styling lines of shoeboxes were considered the A-listers of their day. They all brought back memories of drug deals gone bad, car chases, and of course late nights at Studio 54.. all in the movies of course.

Radwood NorCal 2021 was just the right way for us to bust out of the COVID funk and get back out into the automotive universe. If you’ve never been to a Radwood event, or if you’re already hooked, they’re are more opportunities to partake in some much needed rad. There are events planned in Chicago, the PNY, Austin, Greenwich and SoCal through the end of November. If you’re interested in any of those events, their amazing swag, or in their new RADFORSALE auctions of 80s and 90s autos, just go to their mainpage or on all the usual social media platforms @radwoodofficial.

As usual, we leave you with a gallery below to fill in any gaps that our report may have left.

[theloudpedal]

A Return to Normal?

Last year was so long and the alterations to our lives had become so normalized that a return to something that looked like 2019 and before looked impossible to us in early 2021. While we maintained hope, as vaccines rolled out and discussions turned to the possibility of reopening society, we were still cautious. Could it be real? Was it true?

Last year, most automotive events were canceled, and what racing did occur was without fans and included protocols that excluded all but a limited number of media observers.  We had many conversations as to whether TLP would survive the new reality that we faced.  Without updated content, a website is just a dormant archive of the past.  We were lucky that we had an archive of material to rely on for our social media needs and that for the most part, everyone else was in the same boat as us.  Of course, 2020, with all of the things it wrought upon the world, really put things into perspective as whether the automotive blogosphere even mattered anymore. 

To continue as what we are, we needed to see some light at the end of the tunnel.  Earlier this year the potential for being able to do what we do was bleak.  Dates for events were being established with big asterisks indicating subject to change, worse subject to cancellation.  

The clouds parted and we were met with the astonishing news that Monterey Car Week was back on (more or less) schedule with a full slate of events with a major event returning from 2019 would be open for the fans.  This event is the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion, a cornerstone of Car Week activities that everyone should have on their list.

The Reunion is a living museum featuring hundreds of historic, classic, and often priceless sports and racing cars in attendance.  Every car entered at the Reunion must race on the track.  This is one of the only places we know of where historic and sometimes one-off creations, iconic racers,  Grand Prix (including pre-war),  TransAm, Can-Am and international endurance racing cars are driven to the limit (mostly), and in some cases, by the very people/personalities that made them notable. 

As we have said many times, the Reunion is for us the cornerstone of Monterey Car Week activities and should be for you as well.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more details about the Reunion and our full Monterey Car Week guide.

To purchase tickets click here

Provisional Schedule

[theloudpedal]

SuperCar Sanctuary

When you write for an automotive blog from time to time you get a false sense that there is nothing new to see or to experience.  That’s not to dismiss the joy or awe of an automotive event or rare find, but sometimes one can forget the elation of new discovery.  Dare I say, the ability to see and hear the cars of our dreams can be taken for granted.  Perspective is everything so its important to always appreciate the access and ability to peer behind the curtain to see those objects that were the bedroom posters on our walls as teenagers.   No longer needing to go to the Bay Area to see the best to offer on a cold Saturday morning, Northern California’s automotive scene has come up in the last decade with the multiple and well organized cars & coffee events across the Sacramento region.  This coupled with several driving events and the emergence of what could be described as super car clubs for like minded automotive enthusiasts, the area has put itself on the automotive map.  The Sacramento region has become much more than a stop over point between the coast and the ski slopes.

It is with all this as a backdrop that a messaged arrived from a friend regarding an invite to see something special in a private residential garage.  How special one may ask?  A McLaren Senna to be precise, meaning that 1 of the 500 examples made by McLaren is just down the road.  This was going was gearing up to be an epic Saturday afternoon.

An invite to view a Senna would have been more than enough to satisfy the urge for automotive content, but upon arrival at the residence it was revealed to be so much more by any measurable standard.  Even with the Senna on the main card, the undercard was filled with names like 488 Pista, Aventador SVJ, McLaren 765LT, Porsche GT2 RS, Ferrari 458.... epic, mega, insane, insert your superlatives here.

More than the just the cars was the owner and caretaker.  A true aficionado for not just performance but a willingness to push performance a little further with his own custom upgrades.  Plus, no garage queens here or sad thoroughbred sports cars that will never see the redline.  The cars are driven and enjoyed, but more than that they are upgraded with titanium exhaust and new aero bits and pieces by the owner.  No further proof was needed than the stripped down McLaren on a lift in the process of being further improved.  

It was a display of supercar passion, not only to drive and enjoy these dream machines but furthered by the passion to pull apart and disassemble super cars in one’s home garage.  At first it could seem as near insanity as who would tinker with these machines and risk damaging their tightly spec tolerances?  In fact, the reality was that this was the par excellence of automotive devotion not to just drive for enjoyment but to dive into the very hearts and souls of these machines

Enjoy the gallery of photos from the supercar sanctuary.

[theloudpedal]

911 Carrera- Above Expectations

The 8th generation of the Porsche 911, known as the 992, is the fitting continuation of the legacy of the 911 that first arrived almost 60 years ago.

One doesn’t really get into the driver’s seat of a Porsche 911 as much as the driver wears it like a bespoke suit.  The combination of machine and driver into one entity that controls the road, rather than being controlled is evident from the first moments of climbing in.  The driver is low, enveloped by the car indicating a clear approach to driving that is centered around sensory feedback and absolute precision.

The Porsche 911 comes in many flavors progressing through the models with increasing options, drivetrain configurations, and power outputs.   Visit the Porsche configurator and one could spend many glorious hours configuring the dream 911.  From Carrera, to Turbo S, to the track car for the road, the GT2RS, the 911 comes in 15 variants. 

The version we tested is the “base” 911 Carerra with the Sport Chrono Package and the 821 watt Burmester sound system.  The standard engine is the understated on paper, but absolute rocket on the road, 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six and the seven-speed dual-clutch PDK transmission.  With the Sport Chrono Package, 0-60mph time is 3.8 secs, only .8 slower than the Porsche GT3RS.  Of course, manufacturer disclosed times are typically a little slower than what can be achieved with the right driver, properly heated tires and a closed course.

The Sport Chrono Package provides for tuning of the chassis, engine and transmission, and settings are chosen by a mode switch on the steering wheel, derived from the 918 Spyder.  It includes four settings, Normal, Sport, Sport Plus, and Individual.  In the middle of the selection dial, is a button that when depressed unleashes maximum attack from the engine and transmission for 20 seconds.  Another element of the package are dynamic engine mounts which according to Porsche, “minimizes the perceptible oscillations and vibrations of the entire drivetrain, particularly the engine, and combines the benefits of a hard or soft engine mounting arrangement. In short, it enhances both driving stability and driving comfort.”  Another goody is launch control, sadly not tested during our drives.  Finally, the Sport Chrono Package includes the Porsche Track Precision App which enables the clocking of lap times, and driving stats, 

If you don’t have the cheddar to buy into the pinnacle of the Porsche 911 line-up (at $293,200 MSRP) you may want to consider the “base” 911 Carrera.  It’s easy to chuckle when using the term “base” because the 911 Carrera demonstrates that it may be among the best “base” models of any sports-car on the market today.  Of course, no one is going to get out of the dealership for the $97,400 MSRP as the addition of a few options and mark-up pushes the prices closer to the $120,000 mark.

The transmission.  No neck-breaking shifts here. The 911 Carrera comes standard with the 8 Speed PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplung) which roughly translates into “the most buttery smooth shifting you’ll ever experience” whether cruising in traffic or pushing the redline on a mountain road.  Gears 1 to 6 have a sports ratio and top speed is reached in 6th gear.  In any scenario, pull the steering-mounted paddle shifters and watch the number change without the slightest notice that the transmission has changed gears. 

Everything is fast nowadays. Performance cars are measured by their 0-60mph times and in the last decade manufacturers of all types have pushed every limit to get close to the holy grail of sub-three second times to 60mph while the hypercars of the modern age push for 2.0 seconds and lower.  Those numbers are well and good, and help ensure that those cars live in the imagination and for a lucky few in the garages of gear heads and petrol sniffers around the world.  The speed to 60mph, like quarter-mile times for American muscle cars, help sell magazines (those that are left), help social media types get more views, and ultimately help with car sales.  Yet, it’s an incomplete summary of what that speed really means.  Is it comfortable to drive?  Is it controllable by mere mortals?  Can it go over a speed bump without a crew of engineers and plywood?  Not likely on all counts.  We are in a Golden Age of performance cars where engines get smaller (or electric) and power gets bigger, but Porsche has been there the whole time steadily advancing with each generation outdoing itself and its competitors. The fact is few of those cars in the sub 3.0-second category will ever be pushed anywhere near their limits, nor even near the limits that are safe for public roads.

Three days of carving up Northern California’s best curved roads demonstrated that’s the Porsche 911 Carrera is built for pure driving enjoyment.  Whether taking it slow and steady through rural California towns, or pushing the revs on twisty mountain roads, it handles everything like it's reading the driver’s mind.  Think about it and the car is already doing it making it the seem the car has the muscle memory of the driver.    

The 911 Carrera punches way above its weight class.  The 379 standard horsepower feels a lot more like 400hp and beyond. Coupled with the PDK transmission the blink of eye shifts are pure driving pleasure without limits.  Depressing the throttle doesn’t just send the 911 rocketing down the road, but leaves the driver with a giant grin on their face.  Porsche could name it an “instant happiness” lever and charge for it as an option.   It is more car than most will ever need to fulfill their speed desires and enjoy an unparalleled driving experience.   No need to splurge for have an S or GTS logo attached unless money is no object, and you really know what to do with the extra horsepower...which most do not.

The appeal of the Porsche flat 6 twin turbo is all the more attractive to Porsche addicts and automotive enthusiasts as Porsche, like most all automakers are moving toward an electrified future where the growl and bubble of high revs will be replaced by the whirring sound of electrified powertrains.  How many more generations of combustion-engined 911s will be produced?  Likely, not many thus making the 992 perhaps one of the last of its kind.

Are Porsche’s subject to breathless hype and almost cultist-like allegiance from Porschephiles?  Yes, and once you have driven one, even a “base” model you immediately understand that the hype and allegiance are well deserved and maybe even understated.

[theloudpedal]

It’s a triple threat- #ferrariFriday and a #flashbackfriday that was shot with 🎞 film (ask your parents) at the 2002 American Lemans Series at #lagunaSeca. #ferrari #ferrari550maranello #ferrari550 #throwback #lemans #lemans24 #prodrive #racer #racecar #carswithoutlimits #v12 #flatout #drivefreeordie #filmphotography #filmisnotdead @ferrari @ferraridrive @ferrpartsusa @prodriveofficial @weathertechraceway @tomasengeracing @ferrari.lovers https://www.instagram.com/p/CBoF2vRl9GJ/?igshid=1tjizc9si5702

[theloudpedal]

Le Grand Rendez-Vous

On the weekend of what would have been the Monaco Grand Prix, French director Claude Lelouch, Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and a Ferrari SF90 Stradale made a short film using the empty streets of Monaco.

This new film was a modern recreation of the 1976 cult classic “C'était un rendez-vous” in what was effectively an illegal street race across Paris on public roads. Below for your enjoyment are both versions:

Rendez-vous in Paris  was shot well before GoPro cameras and drones and was done as one continuous shot with no cuts. In the film the driver crosses 18 red lights and they were real as this was filmed on public roads with real traffic in what was supposedly a Ferrari 275 GTB. It become a cult classic amongst automotive types and back in the day one could find the rare VHS copy of the film for $40 or $50. The film, while still well appreciated by automotive enthusiast, as most films do was telling a bit of a lie…Actually a big lie. The car that drove through the streets was not a Ferrari, but was the director’s Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL, with a 6.9 litre V8. The engine noise and tire squeals were added in post production using director Lelouch’s Ferrari 275 GTB.

[theloudpedal]

TLP's Isolation Play List

If you are doing your part to help stop the spread of Covid-19 by self-isolating we thought we would put together a playlist of free online automotive related videos and movies to help you pass the time.

1) One of the most famous automotive videos of all time. We remember when the DVD/VHS of this movie could be purchased for $40 but now is free and online. Due to the illegal nature that had to be undertaken in order for the movie to be filmed, the director Claude Lelouch was arrested upon the first screening.

2) BMW Films- Star- This is one of eight films produced by BMW known as The Hire series. This particular films was directed by Guy Ritchie.

3) Chase Scene From Bullitt

4) Gymkhana 1-The first one that started it all.

5) Gymkhana 10

6) Senna at Monaco, 1990

7) Truth in 24- Chronicles the Audi Sport racing teams as they attempt to win a record fifth consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans.

8) Truth in 24 II- Every Second Counts

9) Our Return: A documentary of our road to Le Mans 2015.

10) Thrilling IMSA Finishes

[theloudpedal]

AutoRama 2020: All Thawed Out

It was that time again when we emerged from our #NorCal winter slumber to check out what is typically our first major car event of the season, the Sacramento Autorama. Of course, in Sacramento emerging from a winter slumber means transitioning from low 60’s degrees Fahrenheit to mid 70’s degrees. Yeah, it’s tough out here.

This was our umpteenth Autorama weekend. We’ve lost count of how many of them we’ve attended over the years…..and speaking of umpteen years, this year’s event was the 70th annual. We have to give props to the stewards of this time-honored Sacramento tradition for keeping this event going for so long. It’s a pretty amazing testament to the love we all share for paint and chrome. Here’s to 70 more!!!

The Autorama is the answer to that question that gets asked about our neighbors or that the non-descript workshop on the corner. What’s that noise emanating the neighbor’s garage? Is that a grinder? Did you hear a wrench clang off the floor? What’s all the clanking all about? In residential garages, specialty shops across California and other parts of the west coast each weekend, and sometimes each day, are occupied by dedicated gearheads who turn vision and passion into tangible displays of chrome, sheet metal, and homegrown ingenuity.

If we’re honest, (and with all due respect,) this year’s highest-end headliner cars weren’t the event’s real strength. In our humble opinion, the draw of the fanciest and best-prepped machinery ebbs and wanes every year. We don’t mean this to slight any of the entrants, but when we go to the Autorama, we always want the impossibly beautiful and well-pedigreed headliners cars to knock us over with a feather. They were all fine and good, but the real appeal this year was, well, everything else. As we always note, some of the cars on display are regulars. It’s always good to see them like it’s great to see old friends. They’re always contenders for our favorite of show, just as much as anything else.

And speaking of old friends, we were extra pumped to see so much Sacramento talent on display in all of the buildings on the CalExpo campus. One of the best cars of the Autorama this year is a local favorite that we’ve often seen on the mean streets Folsom, CA and at our favorite weekly meet up, the World Famous Cars and Coffee Folsom: Scott Roger’s 1934 Ford Coupe. This car is so badass it scares most other cars. It’s got bigger flames than the 3rd circle of hell, louvers for days and a normally aspirated Boss 429 that’s so big it probably has its own gravitational pull. Maybe we’re biased, but hey, it’s our blog and we’ll do what we want. Regardless of local favoritism, this thing’s a beast and something everyone should see.

It was no real surprise when we learned that a stunning 1949 Mercury won the King of Kustoms Award. From its spot on the second-floor display of the main building (one of the premiere placements for the event), it captured our attention as soon as we reached the top of the stairs. Owned by Glenn Black of Taft, CA, the massive swooping Mercury was built by Ironworks Speed & Kustom. It was a 14-month project and every inch revealed absolute attention to detail and creativity. Even when it all comes together, a discerning observer can often find something with a custom car to quibble with a turned-up nose and air of superiority. Not here! The Merc was sitting on Diamondback wide whites with center caps displaying the red mercury logo. It was on point and flewless.

The last car we’ll feature for this post had us back and back again a few times. Every pass by the car revealed some new, and frankly mind-boggling detail missed on the previous pass. This 1968 Camaro, called “Rhodium,” was built by Eastbay Musclecars and featured every trick in the proverbial book and a few that we’d never seen before. Every body panel was touched and reworked, the car was apparently widened over 4”, and the wheels! We’re huge P-car fanboys, and those 19” and 20” Forgelines with centerlocks looked like they were just swiped from a new Porsche 911. And just when we’d seen all the custom features, something else popped up. When admiring the interior paint-matched rollcage, we noticed the exposed inboard suspension shock and spring assemblies. They were visible from the cabin, and then on another pass by the back of the car, we noticed that the open trunk lid revealed a and alternate view from the rear. What a fantastic thing, this car. Our hats are off to the builders who executed a very respectful modern take on a classic.

Aside from all the “official” entrants in the various buildings, this year’s event featured several hundred more cars outside, driven in for an informal “drive-in,” show and shine for those who just wanted to show their cars off to the world. After a couple of years of soupy weather and lackluster turnout, this year really delivered the goods. As inside, we saw several cars and trucks from our local meet-ups and cars and coffee events, and were able to mix and mingle with the owners and/or builders. As featured in our big gallery below, this “parking lot” show featured everything from low (and in some cases “no”) budget cars, all the way to 2016’s America’s Most Beautiful Street Rod Winner.

In this age of complex computer programming necessary to even start up a modern automobile it is always refreshing to see the classics reimagined, or in many cases left exactly as they were. Don’t misconstrue our approach as we’re just as amazed at the modern stuff as anyone, but something about classic simplicity is the fuel necessary to keep the passion and dedication going. If you are a regular reader and you haven’t made time for Autorama, or other classic car shows, you owe to yourself and your kids (DO IT FOR THE KIDS!) to check it out as the owners and builders of these machines are more than gracious to share their stories and the stories of their magnificent beast.

As always our photos are usually better than our words so enjoy our robust gallery:

[theloudpedal]

The Wakefield Effect

(Before I begin, I hereby express my sincerest heartfelt apologies to the subject of this piece. I’d fully intended to make this report during the holidays, but it was not to be. I have no good excuse, and for that Alex, I apologize)

#meaculpa

Those of you who know me personally know that I’m not particularly shy and frankly a little hard to shut up at times….which is true.

That’s why an experience I had on an October evening was so notable. There were a few minutes where I was actually speechless, and a bit lost for words after that. Because this was such a rare event, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share a little with you about this thing…this person who is what I consider pretty special, in a day and age where so few things are actually special.

So I’ve been following and chatting with a chap named Alex Wakefield on Facebook for a little while now. He’s my age (give or take a few) and we share a love for the wheeled arts. I really appreciate him because he’s snarky, he loves all kinds of racing and, well, I think he truly appreciated an ancient pic I sent him of me and Reinhold Joest.

But I digress….

Aside from being a gearhead, this guy has an excess of something I have none of…namely talent. I think I take a decent photo from time to time, but I’m not sure I’d really consider that a talent (I’ll call it an “ability,” and leave it at that). Finding one “keeper” photograph (out of a thousand duds), worthy of a little filtering, and posting on social media isn’t super noteworthy in my book. Alex, on the other hand, actually makes something, and I think he makes it quite well. What Alex makes is art. Not high tech digital renderings, and not stuff you’d want to swipe past quickly on some screen or other. He works in ink, paint, graphite, blood, sweat and…errr…gears.

In October of last year, Alex had a giveaway/contest for a small grouping of ink sketches that were a part of he called his Inktober Challenge. The Inktober Challenge was for interested parties to comment on one of the 6 sketches of open-wheeled racing’s modern greats (some of his his favorites) that he posted on his FB feed. 5 of the 6 were great choices, heavy hitters, but one I singled out above really got me right in guts. I shared my comments, as instructed, and we had a fantastic off-line chat about the subject of the piece, Greg Moore, and hell if I didn’t have a case of the warm and fuzzies for the rest of the evening.

So, if you also love racing, and you’d like to see more of his amazing work and maybe buy some for your walls, please check out Alex’s website here. He has a great body of work in motorsports and non-motorsports portraits and he also does commissions.

-Andrew

[theloudpedal]

Confirmed Crazy: TLP Goes to Winter Jam

As we reported in early December, we finally tiptoed into the world of drifting by experiencing a great event in our own backyard called Sonoma Drift. It was very scrappy, firmly grassroots and indicative of the larger world of drifting. Upon leaving that event, our new friends Faruk Kugay and Heather Taylor told us that if we liked what we’d just seen, we should plan on coming back in late December for a bigger event, Winter Jam.

Well, we had a helluva good time at Sonoma Drift, so naturally, we wanted to get another fix. Fortunately, as the event was only an hour’s drive for us, we didn’t have to wake up at zero-dark-thirty. Another bonus was Winter Jam occurred the weekend before Christmas, a time that is pretty much dead air for any sort of automotive event.

We made decent time and came in on Highway 37 as per usual and also per normal, we hit a bit of fog as we got closer to Sonoma Raceway and the San Pablo Bay. The real fog cleared a little and then there was a little more “fog” on the hillside where Sonoma Raceway lies. As we got closer to the main gate, we both realized that it wasn’t actually fog covering the hill, but actually tire smoke. Literally clouds of tire smoke so thick and vast that it appeared to be legit fog. All it took was rolling down the windows to confirm that many perfectly innocent tires were being massacred just inside. (Truth told, at this same moment, we were reminded how disconcerting the particular sound of squealing tires heard in drifting really is. These cars aren’t running with racing slicks, they’re harder compound conventional road tires. They’re pretty loud, and time after time our brains were triggered to expect the sound of a car on car or car on K-wall impact. Though there were a good number of actual car on car and car on barrier incidents, the banshee howl of tires being flogged is the heartbeat of the event.)

We’re pretty seasoned when it comes to automotive events, meaning that rarely are we caught off guard or feel like noobs when sniffing gasoline and shredded tires. When we attended Wednesday Night Sonoma Drift it was, for lack of superlatives, a lot! We had been told that Winter Jam was a Sonoma drift event on steroids. Hundreds of participants from across Northern California and the world getting sideways on multiple drifting tracks set up around (and some actually on) parts of Sonoma Raceway. There were so many courses in fact that, that we didn’t even get to see them all. Their existence was confirmed the varied smoke signals emanating from the farthest corners of Sonoma Raceway. It was non-stop action in every corner with participants and spectators in constant motion moving from paddock to drifting course to the (in)infamous donut box. It was perhaps the most chaotic motorsport event we’ve witnessed, with something to see and hear without any discernible break or cold track period. As with our first-time witnesses drifting we still don’t know how (or if these) events or scored or even how winners are determined, though it seems to matter very little. Most of the time, when a driver doesn’t quite achieve the intended entry angle, speed or slide, the driver usually converts the failed attempt into a world-class hooning demo. It’s like looking at art in that you know it works for you, but you’re not sure why. If you are reading this and you haven’t attended a drift event previously we strongly recommend you start with an event like Winter Jam, Wednesday night drifting or even Summer Jam in 2020. It’s the best place to be with a big wide dumb grin your face followed by giggles and comments you haven’t made since you were a teenager. It reveals your inner child without judgment or criticism. If the stress of work or life got you down go watch someone else destroy some tires and you may find it to be the best therapy program available.

We pinkie swear that, as 2020 unfolds, we’ll nail down more about the the structure of this thing called drifting. There are undoubtedly a lot of “adulty” details, rules, regulations and other stuff that forms the backbone of the sport, and were frankly a little embarrassed that we haven’t delivered any of these details after reports of two events now. For that we apologize, but on the other hand we reflect that this stuff is such comprehensive sensory overload that we must be forgiven for our less than comprehensive reporting. We also challenge you, if you haven’t already, to try a drifting event and keep your perspective and objective as you drink from the proverbial fire-hose that is drifting. You won’t be able to do it.

-The Loud Pedal

[theloudpedal]

These People Might be Crazy: TLP goes drifting

There’s one kind of automotive event we’ve put off attending for a while now. Not gonna lie, drifting kind of seemed like more of a novelty in the overall pantheon of motorsport. On the drive over to Sonoma Raceway to pull back the curtain on this new to us motorsport we discussed our preconceived notions. Sure, we would have acknowledged that it’s some sort of competition that could be scored…but also something judged on artistic flair or other metric. That it was something other than “real racing” was pretty much how we would have described it. We’ve been around the block a time or two…young guys in slammed late-models, lots of camber, lots of tire smoke, stickers, rev limiters, loud exhaust and lots of pshhhhh…yadda yadda yadda. Been there, done that, wrote the article. (And in our defense, we saw a little of that)

But it was more than that. It was a whole lot more.

Enter Heather Taylor. Long story short, we met Heather at Sonoma Speed Festival this year. Among the many things she does (and there are apparently many) she makes sure that bonehead photographers and gawkers don’t walk on to hot race tracks, and generally helps make sure racing events are safe for spectators as well as competitors. Out of the blue, she sends us an email in her role as PR Manager of Team Faruk telling us about a new Netflix show and a guy named Faruk. We don’t know her real well and we have no idea who this Faruk guy is, but whatever.

Needing another Netflix show to binge like we need another hole in our heads, we binged the Netflix series, “HYPERDRIVE.” It was…well…a lot to behold. Pretty much everything was over the top (crazy) and the color commentary was a bit much, but what emerged as the competition progressed was some pretty impressive driving talent from a bunch of people (some of them well known to others) we’d never heard of. Truth told, we’re still not sure how we feel about HYPERDRIVE. But we digress….

As sure as Heather said, one of the competitors on the show was this Faruk Kugay. Faruk did not win the the HYPERDRIVE challenge, but he did do well, and he drove the holy snot out of his Toyota Supra 2JZ powered BMW M3 putting out over 600HP (We’re no experts, but we were pretty sure that HYPERDRIVE was’t exactly a true “drifting” competition…in fact, it was so over the top, we’re not sure what it represented other than sheer motorsport porn.) The guy’s also a bay area local #represent, and as the google search turned up races in something called Formula Drift (apparently it’s a bit of a “thing,” but again, we’re new to this, #noobs).

So Heather also invites us to come to Sonoma Raceway to meet Faruk, kick some tires and learn about an event he manages called Sonoma Drift and maybe strap into a drift car for some demo laps. What could possibly go wrong, right? Go meet some relative strangers, watch some young guns with flat-brimmed hats hoon around in some home-brewed “race cars” in a parking lot…at night, no less. Then maybe get in one of these things with a stranger and let them do their thing while we sit there and well…hold on and pretend everything is alright (ummm, but it’s crazy). Easy peasy.

Our initial apprehensions were soon relieved when meeting up with Heather and Faruk.

Faruk may be fast in his race car, but he may be just as fast as an event organizer as manager of Sonoma Drift ,which since 2012, has grown to become one of the largest grassroots drifting events in the country. The Wednesday night drifting occurs simultaneously with Wednesday night drag racing, with participants rolling in to race what they brought throughout the evening. Faruk is responsible for ensuring that this, from our outsider perspective, chaos is a safe and as entertaining as possible, with an army of volunteers assisting with the endeavor. He was in a constant state of movement and communication, directing folks and setting up the track configurations, yet made time to give us a tour of the course and explained just exactly what was going to happen once things kicked off. His only currency keeping everyone in line and on program was a fist bump and word of encouragement. Between the drifters and the drags, there were literally hundreds of cars (and a few trucks) ready for action. If this is how many cars come out on a Wednesday evening (as has been the case for the drag cars for decades), the future for drifting is indeed bright.

(We can’t repeat this part enough, Faruk is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and the perfect ambassador for drifting)

The Ride-a-Long:

As part of our visit, we were scheduled to do a ride-along with one of the drift participants. Excitement for the opportunity was somewhat tempered by an incident that Faruk experienced only days prior at SEMA Ignited at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. Putting the “ignite” in Ignited, Faruk had an unscheduled Car-BQ in the drift box outside the Las Vegas Convention Center. A video of the incident was/is all over social media putting the danger of this sport (as exists in any motorsport) on full display, helping us second guess a taste of the full drifting experience. After quickly signing away liability, one of us (Mark) would do some research for the Loud Pedal team and get the full drift experience. Faruk connected us with a participant willing to let a noob sit shotgun and either scream in excitement (or excrement) or cry in fear. A big thank you to Julian Dumay who offered to take our Farouk around the paddock drift course in his Nissan S12 200SX powered by a 350z engine. Below is a compilation of three clips captured during the experience. In the first part, the yelling that can be heard in the background are primal screams of pure joy.

While never getting a completely clean run as each was interrupted by incidents (in which we may, or may not have been involved in) nonetheless it was a grin-inducing introduction to something that we had long misunderstood. Simply thinking about it brings a smile at this moment and the hope to do it again.

Grass Roots:

Drifting as a driving technique has been around since the first person experienced the glee of sliding the rear of their car around a corner successfully. The modern sport of drifting traces it’s origins to Japan and Kunimitsu Takahashi. Takahashi started his racing career with motorcycles and later went on to race cars in the 24 Hours of LeMans, Japanese touring cars and even one Formula 1 race in 1977 at the Japanese Grand Prix. In the 1970s while competing in the All Japan Touring Car Championship Takahashi would overcome the inadequacies of the racing tires used at the time by drifting through the corners to keep up his speed. It was a technique that would put him on the top step of the podium race after race.

What does this history have to with drifting today? Drifting may have gotten its start on the race track but with a little American spin (no pun intended) it has a strong grassroots foundation. Sonoma Drift is a great demonstration of RWYB..Run What you Brung. The paddock was filled with all manner of drifting cars from big American V8s, to vintage and bone-stock rotary-powered Mazda’s. Some came on trailers, but most others were driven in through the main gates. Some owners had a little extra cash for upgrades but generally, the stable of cars reflected the pure passion of the weekend wrench turner sweating and busting their knuckles in their backyards and garages. And We’re Out… After it was all done, and we wussed out of spending any additional time because we were cold and tired (#schoolnight…#oldmen) so on the way home we reflected on what we had just learned. First, we learned that hanging out with drifters as not as bad as our parents had warned us about. Drifting is one of the few automotive sports, where even when a failure occurs it’s still as entertaining and mind-blowing as when the proverbial “it” all goes right. Sonoma Drift also reinforces the utter foolishness of folks that do their hooning on public roads and engage in s(l)ideshow behavior that can end up killing people for no reason. With an investment in some safety equipment (and tires…lots of tires) and for less than $50 every Wednesday night, one can burn up their rubber until the late hours of the evening. Sonoma Drift gives participants an organized and controlled (relative speaking, as it is drifting after all) environment to unleash whatever psychotic sideways fantasies one may have.

(Before we close, we would like to extend our most sincere thanks to Faruk and Heather for their time, their hospitality, and their willingness to hold our hands through our first experience with drifting)

We got a taste for drifting as a sport and as a community, though we still have much to learn (other than that these folks might be crazy) about this side of the motorsport road. We’re already hooked and are planning to return to Winter Jam on December 21-22 to get another dose of this crazy. Amateurs ticking off practice laps is quite a different thing from running in direct competition for cash prizes and/or glory. Registration for each event will go on sale one month prior to event date. Register online at: www.sonomaraceway.com/sonomadrift

Spectator tickets available at Gate 1 Main Entrance - $10 (Kids 12 and under are FREE)Gates open at 3pm - Drifting 4:00pm – 10:00pm (Starting time is subject to change without notice).

[theloudpedal]

@huntibunti @datassun @datsunef @datsun_garage @datsuns_unlimited @toyotires @rocket_bunny_ #stancenation #shakotan #naritadogfight #noriyaro #noriyarojapan #hightopfade #superstreet #Underlvl #spiritofthestreets #datsun #hayashiracing #drivefreeordie #sema #hoonresponsibly https://www.instagram.com/p/B5DeaoGlUcX/?igshid=1f8d0uqh4h5xk

[theloudpedal]

GRRRRR ‘03 Corvette C5R at the ‘19 Monterey Motorsport Reunion. #montereycarweek #lagunaSeca #rolexReunion #corvette #corvetteracing #corvetteC5R #americanMuscle #v8 #racer #americanclassic @corvette @corvette_motorsport @corvettefamily @corvettelifestyle @corvette_dream @weathertechraceway https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Uo4UIFmqQ/?igshid=gvoqbsmf59lq

[theloudpedal]

Just another cat photo on social media. #jaguar #JaguarXJR #garrettturbo #v6 #racer #racing #racing🏁 #goodingpebble #carweekforever #carweek2019 @jaguar @jaguarusa @jaguarracing @jaguaruk @goodingandcompany @garrettturbocharger https://www.instagram.com/p/B3SIboylVIf/?igshid=1c3246z136ohu

[theloudpedal]

The Evolution. Fully carbon fiber bodied 1970 Dodge Charger and winner of ‘18 Goodguys Gold Award at SEMA. #dodgecharger #speedkore #carbonFiber #dodge #mopar #power #custom #megacar #carweek @speedkore01 @speedkore01 @dodgeofficial @officialmopar @moparworldwide @mopar_musclecars @semashow https://www.instagram.com/p/B3M6eeNFiFr/?igshid=1pjwjpjb2f7xn