Showing posts with label a. Show all posts
Showing posts with label a. Show all posts

Sunday, October 23, 2011

HDT Commodore VL/VE Group A (1980's)




The 1987 HDT Commodore VL SS Group A prepped by Australian racing legend Peter Brock. So before we get into the details on the new VL/VE Group A package, allow us to fill you in on a bit of the history.



Up until the late 1980s, Peter Brock was running HDT, or Holden Dealer Team, but GM's Australian division subsequently cut ties with him after he began publicly supporting and fitting all HDT models with the a device called the "Energy Polariser".


It seems that Brock was undergoing a weird phase in his life then and had somehow been convinced that the "Energy Polariser", which was a box containing crystals and magnets, mysteriously gathered all the lost energy from the car and put it back, bettering performance and handling through "aligning the molecules". Weird stuff indeed…


More than two decades after and following Brock's death in a racing accident in 2006, the "Energy Polariser" is making a comeback as a tribute to the Australian legend in HDT's new VL/VE Group A Plus Pack based on the latest Commodore.


Along with the magical box, HDT's proposal comes with all the styling hallmarks of its classic predecessor including 1980's type aero components, a huge bonnet scoop, large 20-inch alloy wheels, original Peppermint Red body finish, a Bilstein suspension package, performance brakes and a heritage interior with rectangular headrests.


Power comes courtesy of a modified 6.2-liter V8 LS engine delivering a healthy 350kW or 470-horses along with a peak torque of 610Nm (450 lb-ft), and if that ain't enough, HDT also offers an optional supercharger package.


Only 250 examples of the VL/VE Group A Plus Pack Commodore will be built, each with its build papers, Peter Brocks’ signature and individual build plate.













Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Porsche 906





The 906 was the last of Porsche’s street legal race cars, built to homologate the Group 4 racing category. Weighing in at a lithe 1,300 lb (580 kg), the 906 featured a body comprising a lightweight tubular space frame and unstressed fibreglass shell. Most were fitted with a 220 hp (164 kW) 2.0 L six that gave it a top speed of 170 mph (280 km/h).




And with its mid-engine enclosed by a Plexiglas cover and those oh-so-fashionable gullwing doors, the 906 looked like a prop out of a science fiction movie. A 1970s science fiction movie to be sure, but that’s neither here nor there.




Patrick Motorsports (PMC) of Phoenix, Arizona has recently completed an intensive restoration on one of these cars, of which only fifty were produced. The so-called, “Full Concourse Quality Restoration” of this 1966-built model included the chassis, sub frame, fibreglass body and exterior paint.