Innehållsförteckning för Summer 2019 från Fast Car

Transit vans are a necessity of life – they’re like oxygen or Oreos, the world just couldn’t operate without them. But that doesn’t mean they have to be boring, right? Sure, it may be necessary to cart things around for work purposes, but it’s nice to be able to do so with a little panache (and speed, that goes without saying). So it’s MS-RT to the rescue! This South Wales-based tuning firm has already established itself in the Tranny firmament with their souped-up Transit Custom, and now they’ve launched the MS-RT Transit Connect to entertain professionals who need to carry slightly smaller things around. You get a full bodykit including rear spoiler and diffuser (yeah, proper race car style) along with 18-inch OZ Racing wheels, stainless quad exhausts, and a…

The MINI brand has come a long way since the BMW reinvention in 2000. Choosing to supercharge the top-spec Cooper S laid out a pretty serious statement of intent, and things have really been escalating since. John Cooper Works packages have always added a frisson of lunacy to the model range, and the GP special-editions are frankly a bit scary. And now, MINI have launched their most powerful models ever – and they’re available in Clubman and Countryman form. Yep, this time it’s the big stuff of the range that receives the crazy numbers: the new John Cooper Works Clubman and John Cooper Works Countryman share a ballistic package that combines ALL4 all-wheel drive with a fresh new four-cylinder TwinPower Turbo motor producing 306bhp. 0-62mph is dispatched in 4.9-seconds, so…

Life is all about compromises. We have to balance our natural impulses to live in the moment with a slightly longer view, because otherwise we’d all die very young. Remember that episode of Futurama when Bender the robot turns into a human and immediately eats, drinks and smokes himself to death? Moderation, that’s the key. So when your partner, spouse or significant other suggests that you need to get a sensible family car, something that’ll be practical for taking the kids to school and carting garden waste to the tip, you’d better not turn up with a stripped and ’caged Fiesta and a Cheshire cat smile. You’ll suddenly find yourself living in the garden shed. But don’t worry – getting a family car doesn’t mean you have to buy a…

There’s an old saying that you may have heard, it goes something like; “the best tool is the nearest tool”. And, while that can be true on the odd occasion, it’s clearly much better to get the right tool for the job. That said, I will admit that it’s a bit of a specific test this month, and by that I mean one for those who have a penchant for fitting speakers or stripping interiors. But, I’m 100-percent going to stand by my choice, because here’s a product that could actually make a difference to your modifying career… not to mention your wallet. THE PRODUCT First things first, it may say Door Remover Set on the packet (and if you want to go that far it will certainly help), but…

Fitting Time: Give yourself an hour or so, just to be safe. Costs: Fascia and ISO Adaptors from £10 Obviously, you’re going to need the actual headunit, and there’s many you can choose, but you’ll need to consider a few things first. Here it comes down to what you need as much as what you want. No matter what brand of hardware floats your boat, bear in mind that it’s impossible to physically fit all headunits in all cars. Some motors simply can’t easily accept a doubleDIN unit, for example, not without making some sort of custom dash (my Beetle and TT spring to mind). So, you may find yourself limited to a singleDIN unit. Don’t worry though, many of these come with all the features you could ever desire…

Nope. We’re not going to offer you half the trade price for your car, like those websites. Instead we want to give you the chance to be featured in the best modified car mag on the planet! So, if you own a cool-as-a-cucumber car you think is worthy of Fast Car, we’d love to see it. Please send a selection of good quality images and a spec to jules.truss@kelsey.co.uk, with ‘Feature Car’ as the subject. If we like it, we’ll get back to you to arrange a photoshoot. Simples.…

Everyone knows Meguiar’s and if you read this magazine you’ll also know that each year they build a fresh demo vehicle (we’ve featured the last two, the Crown Victoria Cop Car in 2017 and the Sunny Pickup in 2018). They don’t just build these cars to showcase their products but to demonstrate their passion for vehicles. In essence, the guys and girls behind Meguiar’s UK are just like you and us: car nuts. So what’s Tom V Dale? Well, Tom and Dale are the Meguiar’s guys responsible for the demo vehicles, and each year that they embark on the build journey, their conflicting styles and opinions on car building clash. So this year, the head honchos at Meguiar’s UK had enough of the bickering and told them to build a…

We knew from the start that the first challenge in the Build-Off would be at Japfest. But we’ll be honest, we didn’t think it was going to be hitting the sprint strip! We kinda thought they’d make us fit a gear knob or something. But no, when we turned up at 5:20am, we were greeted with a locked pit garage and told to come back after we’d parked up all our stand cars. So, yeah, that’s what we did, just in time to meet a monster of a man, 6-foot-9-inches of Paul Cowland, the face behind such TV gems as Turbo Pickers, and Salvage Hunters: Classic Cars. Now, we’ve both known Paul for a good few years, long before he was on the telly, so we instantly knew the challenge…

That’s right people, what started off as a fun project to show the world what Zero EV was all about has ended up with the EV32 set to compete in mainstream motorsport! But there’s a lot to do before it can make its official debut… The starting point in any motorsport is safety, and the Tesla electric motor is scary fast! So I reached out to Caged Laser to sort a competition spec roll cage and, blow me, did they do one hell of a job! It’s automotive safety porn at its finest and is fully TIG welded and designed to BDC/ Gymkhana regulations. What more could a guy possibly want? It looks more like a piece of art than a safety device. And it would have almost been sacrilege…

Sheepey’s Huracán employs some ingenious solutions to keep the cooling optimal in the face of some fairly seismic heat generation. The custom CSF air-to-water system keeps intake temperatures in check by positioning a three-gallon water tank in the front boot, way away from the engine, and the CSF heat exchangers (which provide the cold water demanded by the intercoolers) are also hidden away in the nose. The intercoolers sit out back, the pipework all secured by G&J Aircraft hoses and connectors, and its this cunning system that enables the frankly colossal power figures on tap. This is a far more intelligent build than merely bolting on a couple of turbos and crossing fingers, this is a holistic and scientific approach to ensure massive power with flawless reliability and usability.…

Collaborations are always a bit of a mixed bag. When Kirsty MacColl randomly decided to team up with lovable toothless drunks The Pogues, they somehow created the best Christmas song ever. New Order roping in John Barnes for ‘World in Motion’ was a bizarre masterstroke too. Apple teaming up with Bono to force everyone who bought an iPod to have the new U2 album – not quite such a great idea. But it’s safe to say that when such legendary names as mountune and fifteen52 partner up, the results can only be brilliant. Mountune was founded in Essex by David Mountain back in 1980. Mountain had won the Junior Autocross Championship at the age of 15 back in 1973, behind the wheel of a 105E Anglia, and has had petrol…

Then: £15,995 Now: £3,000 The Corsa D VXR (that’s the one made from 2007-14) is looking like a bit of a bargain right now. As you’d expect of a hot hatch with a VXR badge, it’s a proper little firecracker, with the standard spec including a 1.6-litre turbo motor which serves up a meaty 189bhp and 192lb.ft, genuine 140mph potential and a 0-62mph time of 6.8-seconds. You also get some very cool Recaros, swanky climate control and a pretty decent audio system. It’s a really tuneable thing too – Vauxhall themselves got in on the action with the factory 888 tuning pack, which provided AP Racing brakes and a few suspension tweaks, and if you’re lucky enough to find a VXR Nürburgring Edition, you also get a Drexler LSD, Bilstein…

That’s why we call them that. Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the nature of online forums, they have a very clear place in the world of cars and car modding. We’ve had these things for about fifteen years or so now and they’ve become really handy hubs for like-minded people to get together and discuss their shared interests. Loads of shows stem from forum groups pulling together to create meets of their own (although to be fair it’s more likely to be Facebook groups organising stuff like that these days), and it’s always useful if you’ve got a question about your car to be able to jump online and pick the brains of people who know. Jesus though, there are some right bastards on forums aren’t there? Some…

There was a time, round about the turn of the century, when the Mk2 Clio was where it was at for young enthusiasts. Yes, Citroën were offering insane finance deals with free insurance on the Saxo VTR and VTS, and countless teenage gearheads took advantage, but Renault’s alternative was the more considered option. To a great many car fans today, the Mk2 Clio will always be a dreamy and aspirational thing; no matter how affordable they may have become in recent years, they’ll always be on a pedestal, always filed on our mental watchlist under ‘I want one of those, one day…’ You see, if you turned seventeen in the late-1990s or early-2000s, you and your mates most probably found yourselves driving about in a Vauxhall Nova or a Renault…

It’s no exaggeration to say that what we’ve got here is an audio world game changer, and that’s exactly why it’s bagged the most prestigious spot in the whole of the Fresh Kit section. So, what’s the score then? Well, although audio giant Pioneer has always been right on the cutting edge with their new launches, they’ve properly outdone themselves with this one. It’s not a simple case of all the features they’ve managed to cram into this new headunit either. All the modern-day essentials like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, and built-in Spotify and Waze. No, this rather clever piece of hardware has an even bigger touch of genius up its sleeve – it simply allows you to fit a double-DIN in cars where it was previously impossible.…

Porsche 911 RSR, £139.99 The guys and girls at LEGO sent us the press release of their latest Porsche LEGO Technic set and said it would be a perfect Father’s Day gift. But let’s be honest, if we bought this for our dads, we’d end up keeping it for ourselves! The 1580-piece set was developed in partnership with Porsche, and is a replica of the Porsche 911 RSR. We might not all be able to afford the real thing, but most of us could afford to add this to our garage, and there is the added bonus that we get to build it too. www.shop.lego.com Douchebags limited edition hugger 30l, £155 Want something new to carry your gear around this show season? Well, look no further than this monster 30-litre…

Call us old fuddy-duddys if you must, but you’ll hear the phrase ‘They don’t make cars like they used to’ bandied about at least a few times a day here in FC towers. After all, it’s a widely regarded notion that the majority of our tastes, interests and beliefs usually stem from a close connection spawned in our early years – setting the scene for nostalgic memories you look back on in an increasingly rose-tinted manner the older you get. It’s exactly this reason which explains why you’ll find a lot of us spending our weekends avoiding dreaded tip runs and instead lying under rusty old bangers we’re so passionate about getting back on the road one day. And you know what? We wouldn’t have it any other way… Bangkok-based…

He owns a trio of Lamborghinis, is the star of his own TV show and his clientele would rival the guest list of the Oscars, but Yianni Charalambous has come from humble beginnings and is as enthusiastic today as he was when he started Yiannimize over a decade ago. We decided to sit down with the car customiser of the stars, rewind the clock and see how he became one of the biggest names in the aftermarket industry. Q) So Yianni, have you always been a vehicle customiser? No, my first job was in Do It All, remember them? Then I was on the night shift at Marks and Sparks, I’ve also worked in a hairdressers and opened a milkshake shop. Then I spent two and a half years as…

Name: Tom Clarke Job Role: Marketer who oversees the UK marketing office, advert placement and key account marketing fulfilment. So the good news is that the R5 is finally painted, the bad news is Players Classic is less than three weeks away, and I’ve got absolutely loads to do, which basically includes, erm, everything! The next 21 days will certainly be interesting: I can foresee lots of late nights, an energy drink overdose and more swearing than a season of Hell’s Kitchen. But I can guarantee that the R5 will make the deadline and be unveiled at Goodwood on the 22nd of June! So what colour did I go for? Well, you’ll just have to wait and see, but my intention from the outset was to build a modern day…

That’s right folks, after nearly five years of ownership the E92 has been sold. Of course, I was gutted to see it go as it’s been an amazing car, but the truth was I just didn’t use it enough to warrant the road tax and insurance each year. In fact, in the last two years I covered less than 1000 miles, so it was time to let someone else enjoy the fruits of my labour. At this point I’d like to say a massive thanks to Paul at MStyle for looking after the car, Luke at Plush Automotive for the air install, and the countless other guys and girls who helped out on the build. But what’s going to fill the car-shaped hole left on my drive and in my…

Nürburgring records can be a bit confusing. Every manufacturer wants to claim that their car is the fastest [something] around the ’Ring – there’s a record time for the fastest FWD car, the fastest coupé, the fastest SUV, the fastest hybrid… more records than you can comfortably name, until it all gets a bit meaningless. What’s more helpful is to benchmark a car’s time against another car’s so you can realistically compare – so try this one on for size: Renault’s recently unveiled Mégane RS Trophy-R has posted a bridge-to-gantry time of 7:40.1, which is identical to the time set by the Lamborghini Murciélago LP640. Alright, that’s not a current-model Lambo, but it’s still a flippin’ V12-engined supercar. Hot hatches shouldn’t be this quick. How have Renault achieved this miraculous…

One of the most heartbreaking things in the world is to come out of the supermarket and find someone’s banged their door into your car and left a little ding. Obviously it’s never a ‘little’ ding, as you stand there distraught, groceries tumbling around you, contemplating a bleak new future living with what looks to be the biggest bloody dent you’ve ever seen. Some recent research by online parking portal YourParkingSpace.co.uk has highlighted what the British public reckon are the biggest parking crimes: people wrongly using disabled bays and parent-and-child spaces rank very highly. Parking on the pavement gets a lot of folk really rankled too. And worst of all are those wallies who park needlessly close, meaning you have to get in the passenger side and impale yourself on…

Nope, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, and your ears won’t be either if you are lucky enough to scoop this awesome prize courtesy of JL Audio! That’s right, the lovely guys and girls from the American audio giant want to celebrate their latest product releases by giving one very lucky Fast Car reader an ACP108LG-W3v3 amplified subwoofer and a pair of C1-650x (6.5-inch) coaxial speakers. That’s over £700 worth of audio kit. JL are renowned for making some of the best speakers and amplifiers on the market, so if your audio system needs an injection of pure oral pleasure (ohh, that sounds rude – Jules) then you best get entering this competition. We’re not even going to ask you a question, tell you to download an app or send a…

HSD DUALTECH MK7 FIESTA COILOVERS, FROM £524 The little Fezza hatch isn’t a car that you’d normally associate with the sideways hooligans at Driftworks, but they stock all sorts of performance products nowadays, including these new (and rather top-notch) entry-level coilovers. But why are they so good? Well, the chassis gods at HSD are known in professional circles for their high-end MonoPro suspension, but they’ve just crammed a whole load of the same engineering into these new Dualtech items for the baby Ford. And just have a look at the price of ‘em – pretty unbelievable, eh? There’s clearly a lot of bang for your buck with these best-in-class TwinTube coilies. You get 14-stage adjustable damping, fully synthetic racing shock fluid, spherical bearings and even ready-to-rumble alloy top mounts. The…

There’s a shed load of reasons why you might want to install an aftermarket headunit. You may be looking for Bluetooth music streaming, hands-free calling or seamless integration with your smartphone using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. It could be built-in navigation you’re after, or loads of extra music processing features, or you may be looking to whack in a whole aftermarket speaker and subwoofer system at a later date. Then again, it could be the simple reason that your standard headunit is a bit rubbish. That doesn’t just go for old skool cars either, many modern offerings aren’t up to scratch when it comes to features or sheer speaker-driving power. I guess the reason why doesn’t make any difference, the point is that installing a spanky new headunit is…

Ever since car enthusiasts first started tinkering with their rides, the prospect of dropping a big engine in a small ride has always appealed. Rather than faff around trying to squeeze more power from the existing setup, it’s often easier – and cheaper – to fit something with more grunt as standard. Even manufacturers have recognised the potential, with Renault bunging a V6 in the back of a humble Clio to create one of the maddest hot hatches of all time. For Keil Critten, owner of this stunning Mk3 Golf, he knew right from the off it had to be V6 power. “I’ve always liked the sound of the R32 engine, so when I started my Mk3 project, that was what I wanted,” he explains. Having already built a multi-show…

Name: Dale Masterman Job Role: Sales and marketing executive, events coordinator and resident paint nerd. Paint for me is a big deal, I spend a lot of my time correcting it in the bay and it goes without saying that working for Meguiar’s requires a passion for a fine finish. So I tasked Kustom Kolors with the job of giving the Merc a 70s show car vibe… This included classic styles like metal flake, lacing and, of course, a killer deep body colour. The roof has been hit with a heavy flake then laced. What is lacing? It’s an old skool technique you see on hot rods, where you literally lay a piece of lace (yeah, the stuff your nan’s curtains are made from) onto your designated panel, in my…

After we’d set a time for each other, we got to work on making the cars a bit more suitable for the strip. And, what with the rules stating that we can’t swap the engines (and not having the time anyway), we both opted for the lightweight approach, stripping interiors and such to make the most of the very limited grunt. Have I mentioned the Sirion has a mere 54bhp? And that’s when it was new two decades ago! Now, at this point, I will admit I went a little too far. Before I knew it, I found myself removing the bonnet, tailgate and the doors, not to mention the roof lining and carpet. I did, however, add some modifications in the form of a set of harnesses so I…

The notion of a ‘baby Lambo’ has always been a bit of a misnomer. Look at the Gallardo; the archetypal bull calf, it’s really only an infant in the eyes of those who associate pint-sized humans with Chucky, Ivy the Terrible and the little ’un from The Incredibles. It’s the car that really pushed Lamborghini into the volume-selling mainstream; production ran from 2003-2013 and they shifted over 14,000 units – stellar numbers for a company that always made cars which were deliberately obstinate, and had to make their peace with the fact that they probably wouldn’t be unit-shifters. The Gallardo paid a lot of bills. It helped greatly that it had an awesome 5.0-litre V10 producing a nice round 500bhp; it would run 0-62mph in 4.2-seconds straight out of the…

GAZ BROOKES’ SUPRA TWIN TURBO FC says: We’ve got a massive soft spot for the Mk4 Supra and Gaz Brookes certainly shares our enthusiasm: “When I was 11 years old I remember watching The Fast and the Furious and instantly fell in love with the Toyota Supra,” Gaz reminisces. Ever since that fateful day, he made a promise to himself that he’d own a Mk4 Twin Turbo. Eighteen years on, and it very much looks like he’s stuck to his word, as the stunning example before you is the fruits of his labour. “This is my dream car, and over the past 15 months I’ve modified it with no expense spared, and it’s not done by far. I still have a full custom audio build to go in which…