I kept them OEM. I was too young and broke when I had the vr6 and I used the TDIs for communiting. I lucked out, because I needed to fly back to usa and sell the golf tdi because it was just sitting in storage, but I was able to sell it back to vw because of diesel-gate, for almost the purchase price.

 

Yeah the MK3 Jetta/Golf/GTI will always have a place in my heart. I never owned one (thought I did have a MK2 Jetta with a VR swap) but the MK3 is where it all really started for me.

 

Purely gratuitous - just another ('93) Integrale HF Evo.

 

Delta says HI from Lofoten

 

Some American porn from me for a change: Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe of David Smithies and Chris Clarkson at Brands Hatch, March 2018.

 

Saw this ad....needed the car. (Went from a Fiero GT)


Couldn’t leave it alone though and upgraded most things on my own......stiffened suspension first, then Euro headlights, then brakes and wheels, then oil cooler, then left it in the hands of a local tuner for two months(!) and he did some magic for about another 80 hp to get just over 200 bhp. I have no “real” idea of what he did but it left me broke but with a huge grin. Last mod was replacing the front grill/lights for a Hella 4 square setup. No pics as pre-digital and ex has all the hard copies. Had to sell with an out-of-country move and a new baby.

 

I had a Mk.III in the late 90s. Most people seem to think that the Mk.III was not a good iteration, but for three years I did 50,000 miles a year in mine and it was quick, civilised and ultra-reliable. Passed it on to my eldest who was also very happy with it.

 

Lol VW has always had some clever marketing.
Two commercials that always pop into mind are...

 

The Peter Stormare commercials would have been cringey if not for the fact that they essentially just let the guy off the leash for a little while (doesn't hurt that the Mk.V also elevated the GTI/GLI from 'yeah it's good' to true excellence. Oh man that 2.0)

BTW I had a Mk.IV Jetta 1.8T too, back in college after my first S2000 tried to take me out

Many a rain / snowstorm was experienced firsthand thanks to those dumb window clips.

 

Never realized Slippery Pete did those.

 

Now largely forgotten (as is Citroen in general), but the Xsara was a very fearsome competitor in the later days of 2.0L WRC.

 

Had a visit form this bad boy, some time ago, what a machine

 

Any Mini Cooper fans around?
Here is my 2016, Cooper S, manual transmission.

 

also a visit....needed to wear earplugs

 

Been playing around digitizing my slides/negatives and remember the days when you could actually get close to race cars.

 

I haven't been to an IMSA (nee ALMS) race in a while but they've always had an open paddock, no?

I remember standing next to a Corvette C6.R at Lime Rock 2006 when they fired it up. Nearly knocked me over from the soundwave force alone

 

The last few I have been to haven’t seemed as fan friendly as in the past. Could just be different tracks though. WEC was a huge disappointment and the top teams had miniature labyrinths to keep prying eyes away.

 

WEC I suppose makes a bit more sense, given that it's quite techno-focused these days. Although I remember being able to walk right up to the R8s back in the day. Of course, they were soon due to be replaced but still.

Even so, I've fallen out of love recently with circuit racing. I'll still show up for the endurance races, but prototype racing isn't interesting and until GT3 becomes the top class for touring cars, I can't say I'm particularly interested in watching a WEC or IMSA race where the cameras only follow the prototypes (WEC) / "prototypes" (IMSA) and occasionally the GTE cars.

 

NSFW! A Martini-liveried 037 kitted out for the Safari rally

 

It was called "dico volante"... ("flying disc")