Innehållsförteckning för April 2016 från Fast Car

Our past two cover cars have been a Liberty Walk-kitted Audi R8 and a Dragon Performance 997 Turbo. Both epic cars in their own right, but not exactly budget friendly. Because of this, we’ve decided to balance the books with some awesome home-built cars in this issue, ones that prove money doesn’t have to be limiting factor in your build. This month’s cover car is a case in point. The builder of the car, Jon Dryer, has used his imagination rather than his credit card to gain respect and by doing some clever wheelin’ and dealin’ (quite literally) he’s managed to kerb the cost even more. Modifying doesn’t have to be expensive, and if you still don’t believe us, check out our bargain mods feature over on page 32. It’s…

NEW £62,000 NOW £17,000 It’s one of those typical pub discussions we have as car guys – if you had X-amount of pounds, what car would you buy? This question popped up the other day and the price bracket that was up for debate was the under 20k mark. Now this throws a whole bunch of cars in to the mix, but obviously we were focusing on the performance stuff. All the usual BMW M5 and Audi RS4 hats were thrown into the ring, along with Porsches 996 and Cayman S. But it was a real curve ball of an option that got us really talking – the Lexus IS F. The first thing we did was check they are in the aforementioned price bracket before all giving each other…

“Shabby chic? It’s a bit like your Nan’s house, but with a hint of style.” “It’s what an interior designer would refer to as shabby chic” It’s a thoroughly personal point of view I know, but I’m pretty certain this is my favourite cover car for quite a few years. True, it’s probably not one I’d actually own (I’m nowhere near cool enough to pull that off), what I mean is, judging by the way it’s been put together and the story behind it, this one beats just about anything else hands down. You see, for someone like myself who perhaps takes this whole modifying lark a bit too seriously, it’s nothing short of a wake up call. Dare I say it? This is in all likelihood the most inspiring…

3SDM Forged Size: 13-22-inch diameters, 5-16-inch widths PCDs: Any Offsets: Any Finishes: Polished, anodised or powder-coated 3SDM FORGED SERIES, From £708 (each, 19-inch) To say the guys at 3SDM have stormed the home-grown scene over the past few years is something of an understatement. Their unique designs and introduction of affordable directional rims to the UK has already made them something of an institution. In fact, their cast rims seem to be more popular on the street than free chips, and it’s pretty easy to see why. This new range is something entirely different though, it’s what a scientist might refer to as ‘a bit fookin’ special’ and that’s because it’s 3SDMs first venture into full on, forged multi-piece wheels. Now, the time and money you have to invest into…

Features • 1100W motor • Digital display • Adjustable 1000-3000rpm • 2-handles • 180mm Pad If you’re serious, or at least would like to be serious, about your detailing, some sort of machine polisher is a must have. The simple fact is using one of these is the only real way of removing blemishes and will always be much more effective than trying to do it all by hand. Besides hand-polishing is just plain knackering, and we can’t have that now can we? Aside from those nasty UFO-shaped buffers you can buy for 20-quid online (seriously, don’t waste your cash), there’s two main types of machine to choose from – a DA (Dual Action) and a rotary polisher. The difference between the two is simply how they rotate their pad.…

“It won the Nardo High Speed Challenge with a record speed of 234.407mph” If you like your Japanese metal, chances are this ain’t the first time you’ve seen this monster of an R35. It was built by the Japanese driving god Smoky Nagata as a development car for Top Secret, the world famous tuning specialists. Anything Top Secret produces gets a lot of attention, but this 1,100–plus bhp GT-R grabbed the headlines for winning the Nardo High Speed Challenge in 2013 with an outrageous record speed of 377.242kph. Yes, that’s exactly 234.407mph! But, while we all dream of owning a true super-modified supercar like this, Lewis Petrie is the lucky man who made the fantasy a reality. Just how the hell did he pull this off? “Well, it started off…

You’d be forgiven for thinking you’re looking at some sort of immaculate American Golf here and that we had to fly our fat ‘limey asses’ all the way across the pond to shoot it. But no, it’s actually a European car, a UK car in fact – the steering wheel’s on the correct side and everything. You see, squatting on Corvette wheels, with its funny-sized numberplate and running lights in the front bumper Adrian May’s VW appears to be as American as handguns, hamburgers and dying of heart attacks, quite suddenly, on the toilet. Shit, there’s even a cute (not to mention legally required) sign on the driver’s mirror warning that ‘objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.’ Handy if you’re a visiting US Citizen, or just stupid.…

You’ve no doubt spotted some killer show cars in recent years proudly rocking the Dapper sticker on their flanks. But did you know that getting your hands on such an accessory is a strictly invite-only affair? Created a few years ago by American car lover Rodolfo Lamaestra, the ‘Dapper Fam’ was initially nothing but a group of stanced car lovers out in the States. But pictures of the group’s awesome rides soon spread like wildfire across social media, leaving the world dying to know more about the Dapper brand and how they could get involved. Rodolfo now hand-picks rides from across the globe to represent his extended car family, and Prakash Thanky here is the proud owner of one of the UK’s finest offerings to the club – this old-school…

Gambare Nippon! Seriously, this is the perfect slogan that can be applied to the current Japanese car situation, meaning “good luck Japan.” There has been a certain feeling of vagueness in the cars that the land of the rising sun has churned out over the last decade. For a while there I really thought it was well and truly over, but every once in a while, a domestic manufacturer would surprise me and again I would muscle up some faith. Despite the at-times complete lack of coherency, direction and innovation that manufacturers here subject us to, I am now sitting here in front of my laptop smiling because I’ve just gotten out of a car that has finally given me real hope for the future. As I continue to be…

It doesn’t matter if you’re on minimum wage or a million-quid an hour, there’s nothing more satisfying than a proper freebie, especially when it comes to modifying your motor. Now, I guess everyone has good months and bad months but a budget of practically zero doesn’t mean the modding has to stop, quite the opposite. Just have a flick through any online forum and it’ll be packed with model-specific mods that you can do on the cheap. Some seem more complicated than brain surgery, others may be simpler than you think but every so often you’ll come across a load that’ll work for pretty much any ride on the street. Let’s get inspired with our favourites… GET SOME AIR… Performance panel filters and induction cones are pretty reasonably priced nowadays…

ROLLOFACE E92 GT3 WIDEBODY KIT, FROM £5460 Unless you’ve been on holiday for the last couple of years, you’ll know that aero kits are, once again, back in business and we’re fully expecting to see some properly mad stuff coming thorough from the likes of Rocket Bunny and Liberty Walk in 2016. One big name you may not of heard of in the UK though is USA’s Rolloface, who stormed SEMA with their new 10-piece BMW widebody kit. These guys are perhaps better known for their awesome big brake conversions and forged wheels but they’ve clearly put the same level of engineering into this big bag of fully-functional aerodynamic enhancements. Not only will this monster kit swallow up 12-inch wide wheels without any extra modifications but it’s even available in…

You may think it’s kinda strange that one of the biggest events in the UK takes place when you can practically still taste the Christmas turkey. It seems weird that the guys at Autosport feel the need to ram-pack Birmingham’s massive NEC pretty much as soon as the last New Year firework has faded into the sky but, in my mind, that’s nothing short of utter genius. You see, for the most part, January sucks so if there’s one thing guaranteed to cheer things up a bit it’s a nice, warm indoor event showcasing the very best the racing car world has to offer. It certainly works too, and that’s probably why the show is now in its 26th year. Think of it like this, it’s a new year, a…

BRADLEY SMART’S LEXUS IS 250 FC says : You don’t see many modified IS250s and on this evidence we wish we did. Bradley has done an amazing job of transforming this executive bruiser into a show winner. The 3IS front end conversion is awesome as are the Corbeau RRS seats that have been retro-fitted to be electric and heated through the original switches. It sounds just as good as it looks too with an Infinity straight through exhaust. We reckon with a set of 3-piece rims tucked under the bagged arches and Bradley will have his hands on a full-blown feature car! TECHSPEC LEXUS IS 250 TOP MODS: 2015 3IS front bumper, D2 bags and Air Lift management, Sat on 3SDM 0.01s, Corbeau RRS seats, Infinity cat back exhaust system.…

“Sorting the suspension involved three months of head scratching and grazed knuckles” The ‘70s were defined by certain key stylistic trends, and while most of them (flares and perms) have dated horribly, some have more than stood the test of time. A great example of this is the wedge, an automotive styling trend that looked utterly out of this world when it first broke in the early part of the decade. Countless manufacturers jumped on the wedge-shaped bandwagon and the shape came to dominate car design for a good few years, though you could make a strong case for the British being its most passionate devotees. Lotus was particularly enamored with the shape and opted to base its whole model range round it, giving us the Esprit, the Eclat and…

“IS IT A BIRD? IS IT A PLANE? NO, IT’S A HIGHWAYS AGENCY VEHICLE ON THE MOTORWAY” Going into 2016, the show season calendar is now starting to fill up pretty fast with a show somewhere around the UK (and beyond) every weekend. But for the people of South Wales, it’s a long road trip, sometimes across the length and breadth of Great Britain to attend a show… until now! Hosted at the Carmarthen Show Ground, Cruise Culture, hosted by Cruise Swansea, is a relatively new show, now going into its 3rd year. Along with the Top 50 cars and club stands, there was a live DJ smashing out the tunes, a limbo competition and a car sound off. Despite the unfortunate weather, it was not enough to put people…

We are living in an exciting time right now. Car culture has never been so mainstream and there is every reason to be a petrol head. While December usually winds down for me in terms of shooting, every year it comes around I seem to get busier and busier. This winter was no exception. I kicked it all off with a trip to the desert to follow the likes of Ken Block and the rest of the Monster Energy crew for some fun in the sand dunes. Southern California is not known for such harsh winters, which of course is nice if you want to play with cars. Right after that I headed over to the other side of the country for Frozen Rush, in Maine. It was basically a…

With the specially selected show cars spread across three massive halls, it was clear to see that each one had a well-deserved spot in the show. As we’ve come to expect from 100% Tuning there was a style of car for everyone to appreciate, from the tightest of fitments, to three-wheeling lowriders, to big power Jap rides, to body kitted masterpieces from Italy. The thousands of people who flocked to the show over the weekend had a huge variety of show cars to check out. Hall 1, the biggest hall at Ahoy, featured the largest number of show cars, a huge display stand from Streetgasm with a fair few high-end cars including a kitted Lamborghini Murcielago, the hologoraphic ‘Selfie’ Lambo Gallardo and a crazy bagged Ferrari 360 Spider. Also returning…

There’s almost certainly something hardwired into the very DNA of serial car modifiers, something that prevents us from just leaving well enough alone, dooming us to an endless cycle of car part buying, tweaking, tuning and spending. The downside is that anyone involved in the car tuning scene, no matter their job or how carefully they manage their finances, is perpetually broke. The upside is that we’re treated to a seemingly never ending stream of cool cars and stunning builds, with individual owners often having more than one project on the go at any one time. Finding time to focus on and finish one specific car often leads to various builds in various states of completion. Stuart Knight knows a fair bit about the juggling act that is trying to…

LEGO GHOSTBUSTERS ECTO-1, £44.99 One of the true facts of life is that you never grow out of LEGO, just ask our Initial G, he’s got more bricks now than he had when he was a wee nipper (that’s because LEGO wasn’t invented when he was a kid – Midge). The guys and girls at the LEGO factory are always producing cool product lines, no more so than this Ghostbusters Ecto-1 model that was made famous by the 1984 film. Just remember to clear away any stray bricks, trust us you don’t want to stand on one in the middle of the night! www.lego.com CLIPPER TEAS, FROM £1.69 (26 BAGS) Now before you think we’ve made a mistake and put in the wrong press release, hear us out. This month’s…

The dreaded airbag light has always been the modder’s enemy when fitting an aftermarket steering wheel or seats on any modern car and that’s for three main reasons. First having it on or flashing is an instant MoT failure in the UK, which isn’t good. Second, your car will automatically disable the rest of its airbags, which is worse and, the real clincher is, that little bastard will inevitably start to get on your tits after about 3-miles. Here’s how to sort it out… Be Prepared Prevention is better than cure, so if you can stop the light coming on in the first place, it can save you time and expense later. Factor this bit in as part of the job you’re doing and get everything ready. The basic premise…

CAT-BACK SYSTEMS All cars made since August 1992 require a catalytic converter to get through an MoT emissions test, so a cat-back system leaves the cat in place and bolts on right after. A larger bore midpipe and backbox take away most of the restriction created by the standard system and free up a few horses. BACK BOXES As the name suggests these are just the rear section of your system and, although you’ll get a slight performance gain, they’re more for image really, giving you a shiny tailpipe and more noise. TURBO/MANIFOLD-BACK SYSTEMS For pre-1992 cars, some imports and where free-flowing goodness is the goal, a turbo or manifold-back exhaust will see the biggest gains. These replace the whole system including that mega-restrictive cat and therefore, on newer cars,…

Rusty 911 Even though there were mixed reactions with some of the more stuffy motorsport fraternity, this Canadian import has to be about the coolest racecar we’ve ever seen – just check out that well-earned (and accidental) patina! Found on the London Motor Film Festival stand, apparently it was a mint, concours example owned by the President of the Porsche Owner’s Club… right up until it caught fire. Since then it’s been rebuilt, modified and used for chump car racing before being shipped over to our shores. You’ll be seeing a lot more of this one in FC soon, we promise. MStyle M4 The F83 M4 Convertible has been on the market for about 15-seconds and is a serious bit of kit already, but that hasn’t stopped the bods at…