All three Street Tuner Challenge cars have been built and they rolled them out Monday to a few media folks, myself included. Turns out that not only was I media, but also a judge!
All three cars were very cool in their own way. Each team took a different approach to the build, and you could tell in the way they came out. There was the street car (Ford Focus), the Racer (Mitsubishi Evo) and the Show Car (MINI Cooper R56).
Fireball Tim, Hubie Fuh, Brian White and Andy Limon from Fireballed! did a great job on the MINI! It is unlike anything you have ever seen before. The inspiration was an ode to our nations first responders. A car they would use for tracking down bad guys and stopping them in their tracks. Complete with huge nitrous bottle, trick body work, custom paint and a 1/4 scale remote controlled Sony stereo system that rode on brushed aluminum rails in the back.
The Focus, built by Focus Sport was based on the new ‘08 2 door and it looked fantastic. From the orange paint to the Sony stereo system, this car looked like it could have rolled off the assembly line. If Ford were to build a performance version of the Focus, it would look like this.
The Evo was all business. The guys from Skunk 2 Racing are veterans of the show and you could tell they knew their stuff. Suspension, lots of engine mods, body kit and wheels and tires that are ready for the track. On the interior, Alacantara covered the steering wheel, headliner and door panels. Sparco seats, front and rear and full roll cage.
Which did I like best? Well, for that you will have to watch Street Tuner Challenge. At the end of the day they interviewed all of us in front of the camera, so there is a good chance you might catch a glmpse of me toward the end of the season!
And, if you just can’t get enough, after each new episode you can catch a behind the scenes view over at Myride.com. You can check out Episode 1 now!
What? Are you kidding me? db attended another MINI event? 2 in the same weekend? I know, crazy as it may sound, it actually happened!
Today was Crevier MINIs Motortober Event; Running of the Bullies. It was kinda like a poker rally, with a minor twist.
First the route. By far the longest urban run I have ever been on. Leaving Crevier in Santa Ana we looped through most of Orange County, going from the mountains to the ocean and back. Close to 70 miles in total, almost entirely driven on city streets and highways. It was actually quite fun.
There were 5 stops total, each one producing a card with a bulldog that was available for adoption instead of a playing card. Those cards were then used later as raffle tickets for some very cool swag. A navigation system, a couple of K&N Intakes, some pedal kits from MINI Mania, MINI luggage and a whole bunch of other MINI swag. Plus lunch. Great way to kill a morning. Even had a pretty good turn out too, with close to 100 MINI in attendance.
Including…
Your eyes do not deceive you. You are seeing in that photograph 2 Velvet Red MINI Coopers. Gotta love the holeys. What a great look! Of course, there are more pictures…
The ‘Mirror’ Shot
Taken on Balboa Island
There are a few more pictures you can check out on Flickr.
Next up? Yes, even MORE MINI stuff to follow. Tomorrow is the official Street Tuner Challenge Media Day and I will be there with my camera and recorder. Check back tomorrow for that.
You know, in case you missed it in the flickr.
Actually had a comment about the miles at the SCMM event I attended Saturday.
“I didn’t think one of those would last that long”
Ha!
I actually attended a club event today. Heck, I even took pictures! I know, crazy. But it was close to the house.
Craig actually put together a terrific run for us today as well. You can check the route out on google maps.. Reminded me that I do have some pretty good roads near my house that do not include Ortega Highway!
Chili was consumed, MINIs were driven on great roads and it was a beatiful day. Even snapped a few pics.
You can see all of the pictures over here
Again, big thanks to Craig for the great run (even if the mileage on the maps might have been a little off ;) ), Dick and Pat Weaver for hosting us and all the regs that remembered me and said hi. It was great to see you all again!
Oh yea, new look. Whaddya think?
Ever wonder how I’ve managed to put 169K+ miles on my MINI in a little over 4 years? Here is a sample of my driving from the last 7 days.
Wednesday: Work and back, 110 miles.
Thursday: Southbay MINI and back, 160 miles.
Friday: Work and back, 110 miles (bonus is the 3.5 hour commute home!)
Saturday: Running around and whatnot. Maybe 30 miles.
Sunday: Drive to Las Vegas, 250 miles.
Monday: Drive from Las Vegas to Lake Mohave, 70 miles
Tuesday: Drive home from Lake Mohave, 250 miles.
My goal is to hit 200K during AMVIV. Wouldn’t that be cool! I’ll be well over 170K miles by the end of this week so that’s only 30K by the end of March. As I’ve got another Vegas trip this month as well as a possible trip out to Streets of Willow Springs (no, I’m not tracking her), I think it’s doable.
While out at Lake Mohave, I snapped a few pics.
You can see more pictures from my trip on my Flickr.
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