The cars and bikes thread!

[mlcor]

Ooh mlcor likes a track does he?!

He has, in the past. He wouldn’t want to do it in his current ride, but would be open to it in someone else’s.


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[Raza]

There are those of us fogies who’ve done enough time on tracks and high speed roads to not pretzel a fast car.


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I never meant to implicate anyone on this forum. I specifically used the word “fogey” because it would never apply to anyone here, you’re all too young in spirit for that descriptor to ever apply.

[geoffbot]

He has, in the past. He wouldn’t want to do it in his current ride, but would be open to it in someone else’s.


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Wise

[SyntaxTerror]

There are those of us fogies who’ve done enough time on tracks and high speed roads to not pretzel a fast car.

Sometimes they're the fastest out there.
Over here, "the old fogey" - Johannes Graversen - was the guy to beat for many, many years if you drove special saloons. He retired from racing in 2019 at the tender age of 74, having just won the special saloon title... in the Fiat X1/9 he's built, drove and improved on since 1980. Instant fan favourite.



I for one shall sorely miss the endless sideways action and the flames from his exhaust.

[mlcor]

I had a 1985 X1/9, labeled as a Bertone, after he bought the rights to the car from Fiat. Not much power, but great handling, wonderful manual gearbox, and clever packaging that allowed a fair amount of storage in both the front and rear trunks. The fiberglass roof was easy to put on and take off, and stowed in a slot in the front trunk lid, so the space under it could still be used. The spare was in an upright well behind the passenger seat.

Super fun little car, and Bertone had made some improvements for better reliability. Hadn’t thought about the little guy for a long time…


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[SyntaxTerror]

The X1/9 is a great, great little car. And unlike most of what you can buy these days, it drives like a car. Oodles of fun.

Not much power

Graversen could have helped you there. The final evolution of his 1425 cc had a turbo and 4 intercoolers, revved to 10K (!) and yielded 370 BHP. Above average
I figure that might be the reason the rear rims are 13x15". I heard someone joke once that if they were any wider, they'd meet in the middle.

[happyscrappyheropup]

Car like that, the fogeys that are generally the only ones who can afford them, it’s more the power that’s going to catch them out than anything. Sure, shifting down at the wrong time can exacerbate the issue, but this could easily have happened to anyone not accustomed to controlling that kind of power.

Inexperience or just plain bad luck. The anecdotes about some old dude wrapping his new car around a tree make for good headlines, but if that was the norm all of us older car nerds would be paying higher insurance rates.

I was complaining to my wife a few weeks ago that my new Aprilia was almost $300 a year(!) for full coverage <shakes cane>

[geoffbot]

Just booked this with my bro and old man. Psyched. https://thruxtonracing.co.uk/experie...ari-458-italia

[mlcor]

Just booked this with my bro and old man. Psyched. https://thruxtonracing.co.uk/experie...ari-458-italia

That’s a sweet ride. Naturally aspirated V-8 music. Probably not a manual, though.


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[happyscrappyheropup]

Just booked this with my bro and old man. Psyched. https://thruxtonracing.co.uk/experie...ari-458-italia

That will be a lot of fun. Be sure to post up pics and vids if you can.