Innehållsförteckning för June 2017 från Fast Car

The 4th-generation Subaru Impreza was a controversial thing. After years of sparring with Mitsubishi on the rally stages, the iconic four-door saloon had knocked any boring old Ferrari off the bedroom wall poster slot, usually in World Rally Blue with gold wheels. And then, in 2007, Subaru decided to piss away all that heritage by gluing the hallowed badge onto a hatchback. Er… wtf? It’s been a few years now though, we’ve got over it. And fortunately for us today, there were enough people back then shelling out £31k on the ballistic STI version to now create a perfect storm of used Impreza values. Decent 4th-gen WRX STIs start at around the £10k mark, which may seem like a decent wedge for a 10-year-old car, but you are getting bulletproof…

Japanese Domestic Market, or JDM, is a powerful term for enthusiasts. Back in the heyday when Japan was churning out iconic cars such as Honda Integra Type R, Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline GT-R, Mazda RX-7 and so on, they inadvertently created a following of enthusiasts who would not only lust after JDM cars more than their North American and European counterparts, but who would even want to buy aftermarket parts from Japan as well. It’s common knowledge that the Japanese attention to detail is on God’s tier and if you were planning on going down the rabbit hole of modifying your car, there’s no better reassurance of quality than Japanese-made parts. Somewhere down the line however, having JDM parts became something more. It became a status symbol. Like that neighbour…

ROTA SPEC 8, £150 (EACH) There aren’t many wheels out there that simply mean nothing but all-out business like this new Rota Spec8. It’s one of those uncomplicated designs that just oozes the feeling of no-nonsense and no messing about – all you’re getting here is the automotive equivalent of a pair of big, hairy bollocks, just hanging out there for all to see. And we like that premise, a lot (you speak for yourself, son – Jules). Aimed at the smaller Jap and Euro rides, this 4x100, 7x15-inch beauty is available in 3, equally business-like finishes, and should suit just about any motor you can actually bolt them to. A classic 8-spoker with a simple modern twist that won’t break the bank. Perfection. www.rarerims.co.uk ROTA SPEC 8 • Size:…

Ellesse Heritage 2017 Collection, from £18 If you’re getting on a bit like us you’ll probably remember that the Italian sports brand Ellesse was absolutely massive in the ‘80/’90s. Come to think of it, even if you’re far too young and sprightly to have been around then, you’ll know that they’ve also made a massive comeback in recent years. Well, for 2017, they’re saying you can have the best of both worlds with their awesome new Heritage collection. This ensemble of tracksuits, tees and shorts features a truck load of sweet old skool-inspired items and even a few top re-issues from the very fi nest designs over the last 60-years. In fact, our very own ‘90s sporting god, not to mention 1996 South East Regional Ping Pong Championship runner up,…

When we think about places with an abundance of automotive enthusiasts, what countries come to mind? Japan, too many different countries to list in Europe, the USA, Australia? But how about Indonesia? The world’s largest island country is known for its beautiful beaches, rich culture and, as I found out on a recent trip, amazing coffee. However, most wouldn’t think this island is filled with spirited enthusiasts wanting to drift, race and show off their project and demo cars as much as any country famous for petrolheads? Living in Japan and being my first time to Indonesia, I wanted to see first hand what kind of car culture Indonesia was hiding, and if it would be different to the car culture in Japan. I went with a set of questions.…

Here at Fast Car we’re very glass-half-full kinda guys, but this month we are literally brimming over the top because life is good, very good in fact. Why? Simple, show season is finally here, Japfest is not far away (at the time of writing this anyway), the sun is starting to shine and it’s not long until we can whip the top off the S2000. Also, we can start touring the shows where you, yes you, could get the chance to win this awesome car. But before all that, we needed to make sure the S2000 was treated to some new wheels, as going to Japfest on standard rims would be sacrilege. As you can imagine, when it comes to wheels the choices in 5x114.3 are pretty vast. Style wise…

WARREN CHARKER’S LOTUS EVORA FC says : This supercharged V6 Lotus is the work of serial modifier and long time Fast Car reader, Warren Charker. Warren has been modifying cars since the age of 18 and he’s still at it in his 40s. In that time he’s put his touch on everything from GTis to Cosworths and Evos, but he is particularly proud of his latest project, this tastefully modified Lotus Evora. Warren loves to show the car at events up and down the country, but as he’s also a firm believer in using the car for its sole purpose – to be driven quickly – he’s been to the Nürburgring in it too. SPEC: LOTUS EVORA MAIN MODS Carbon fibre BOE fabrication induction system; H&R spacers; lowered; Alpine 970…

New Civic Type R Perhaps the most important and relevant car to FC readers from this year’s show is the new Honda Civic Type R. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that the previous Type R was being launched, so Honda is certainly keeping us on our toes. Expect a slightly more powerful version of the fiery, boosted 2.0-litre VTEC motor that we found in the previous model, with improved suspension and finished off in a completely new package. Watch out for these beauties hitting our roads towards the start of summer. Liberty Walk McLaren 650S It’s nice to see brands like Liberty Walk, the infamous Japanese wide-arch experts, creeping into events as important as the Geneva Motor Show. Kato-san, the legend behind the firm, had brought along a…

“I’ve done almost all of the work myself to be able to afford to do it” Production sports cars are designed to be good all-rounders, which is the reason why most of us modify them – because they’re just not good enough at certain things. We’re happy to sacrifice the parts we don’t care so much about, to get far more of what we love. The thing is though, once you go hardcore in your modifying (and let’s face it, many of us at least plan to) our cars may become awesome at one thing, but often pretty crap at everything else. This can apply to anything – a track car, a drag car, a show car or a drift car. Take your pick. When you go wild with your…

Unless you’re a particularly die-hard Subaru nut, we would strongly advise against you choosing ‘Impreza models throughout the years’ as your specialist subject on Mastermind. Because since the first WRX was conceived in 1992, us car guys have been treated to enough limited edition-spec’d versions of this rally-bred super saloon to comfortably fill an Argos catalogue, meaning that it’s almost impossible to find two cars with an identical list of bits on them. Amongst the sea of RAs, Version 5s and Spec Cs, however, stood a few models which no one has forgotten about: the ultra-rare two-door variants which transformed the car from a slightly quirky Japanese saloon into a stunning, squat coupé. The most memorable (and perhaps most valuable Impreza model you can currently buy) is the iconic 22B…

PIONEER SPH-DA120 PRICE: RRP £399 A name that has long been held in the highest regard by in-car audio and entertainment experts across the globe, Pioneer has now added yet another revolutionary product to its bulging portfolio of headunits, the SPH-DA120. The first Apple-recognised headunit with built-in AppleCar Play functionality, the Pioneer SPH-DA120 promises to re-define your in-car audio and entertainment expectations by opening up a whole raft of connectivity options. The result of one of the audio stalwart’s most exhaustive development process yet undertaken, SPH-DA120 has been designed with Apple from the ground up. Meaning its functionality and display exactly mimics that utilised by the iconic Californian software behemoth, though it can also equally be utilised by Android users. This means, not only does it function in a manner…

“One of the coolest cars on the planet today...” The world is full of go-to guys, people to whom you instinctively turn to get a particular job done. If you want to kill everyone in the building, call Liam Neeson. If you want a song written about said massacre, get James Hetfield on the blower. Need someone to beautifully document it all on film? Get Annie Leibovitz involved. And if you want to drool over a badass car that’s going to break necks across the globe and smash every conceivable scene to pieces, Steve Pham is the man in the know. He’s got a Rocket Bunny NSX, for goodness’ sake, and a Liberty Walk Ferrari 458, and a particularly naughty Nissan GT-R… but perhaps the finest of them all…

Since ‘Crail Daddy’ Willie Robertson sadly passed away in 2013, annual show The Big One has been dedicated to the big man. It was Willie who gave us Crail Raceway and over the past couple of decades, it’s helped fill many of our pages with some awesome action. Thankfully, it continues to do so, as this visit proved, with a full-on event from start to finish. To kick it all off we had father and son drifters Alan and Ben Dryburgh who lit up the start line with some smoky burnouts in a big power Supra and a cool MX-5. This is the kind of tribute Willie would have loved! Following this was Grant Butler’s crazy 834bhp Focus going for its first ever drag strip launch. The purple monster had…

JAPAN RACING JR7, From £109 (each) We think you’ll agree that there can be no better hoop to kick off our annual Jap special than this classically-inspired little beauty from Japan Racing. Available from those purveyors of all sorts of weird and wonderful parts for orimental motors, TarmacSportz, these may be derived from the circuits and street racers of everyone’s favourite Pacific superpower but, while the heritage is clear, these are actually available in plenty of usable sizes. Yep, unlike many of their original JDM cousins, which only seem to come in teeny weenie widths and diameters, the JR7 range can easily sort out anyone looking for subtle, small rims, along with those after some real girthy arch-fillers. For these sort of prices, that’s unusual to say the least. Still,…

If this looks like a Honda Civic Type R Tourer to you, that’s because it is. Sort of. Honda sold the FK2 Civic Type R as a hatchback or nothing at all. No saloon version and definitely no estate. So what is this and who built it? We’ve seen a few reports on this car suggest it was put together by Synchro Motorsport – probably because of the graphics on it. However, after speaking to the man who headed-up the project, Alyn James, we can reveal that’s not strictly true. It’s more accurate to say it was built by members of the Manufacturing side of Honda UK at their Product Development workshop in Swindon. The confusion is that members of Synchro Motorsport, a race team created by Honda employees, use…

If you saw my projects entry last month, you’ll already know that I made the decision to get my Vossen CV1s refurbished by the guys at Platinum Alloys. But, the decorative stainless steel lips meant the wheel refurb would be a little trickier than normal, as these needed to be carefully removed and then put back, or possibly replaced if there was any corrosion underneath. Fortunately this is a specialist service that Platinum Alloys can offer. However, lady luck was on my side this time and there was no sign of hidden corrosion, so my old lips could be reused. Phew! This good news meant my wheels were moved to Platinum Alloy’s wheel stripping facility (the largest by volume in the UK) where they spent the night, before emerging the…

Cossie turbo’s are renowned for overheating problems, usually due to inferior installations. But old and internally furry radiators don’t help the situation much! We’ve noticed a gradual decline in cooling ability with our old single-row ally rad. So we’ve installed a twin-row unit, which is 60 percent bigger on tube surface area and seems to have got us back in control. However, we’d thought we’d take the conversion a little further and looked into the Red Line Water Wetter. Yes, it does seem to be a fairytale sort of technical name. But when you look at the claims and credentials you really can see there might be something in the physics side that could work! This is why it works… • It reduces or eliminates bubbles or vapour barrier that…

Old Skool You’ll no doubt remember it was our 30th Anniversary last month. Well, while we were going through all the old archive snaps, here’s one from 13-years ago that Jules and Midge outright banned from appearing in the issue. To be fair they didn’t say anything about THIS issue though, right? There’s certainly a few more pounds and a bit less hair floating around nowadays too, although Midge still has his Fiesta and Jules still owns those questionable trainers. Swings and roundabouts. Short Stuff It’s a universal truth that there’s nothing worse in life than a moaning Midge, so when the little fella stated, and I quote; “I hate this bastard, fucking wobbly, knackered desk,” Glenda thought he’d cheer him up by setting up a brand new one more…