Tag Archives: Volkswagen

Eurofest 2012

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DSC_0008The second running of the Eurofest show at the Birdwood Mill took place last Sunday 2nd December. A fresh idea from the BMW Driver’s Club of SA, Eurofest aims to bring together as many European cars as possible in one place.

DSC_0252Whilst the aim of the show is to encompass all European cars, at this stage early in its life Eurofest still has a very heavy German influence. There were examples from Fiat, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Renault, Vauxhall and Ford, but BMW and Mercedes Benz definitely made up the bulk of the show.

DSC_0162The other cool thing about Eurofest is that it’s predominantly a ‘young’ show, put on and organised by younger people. I don’t mean to comment on age, but just to say that a persons age has a lot to do with the way they modify their cars, and there was a lot of stuff at happening at Eurofest that you wouldn’t otherwise see – proper stance, airbags, big power upgrades  and insane levels of detailing.

DSC_0221You’d never see something like a ‘bagged E28 at an event like Climb to the Eagle. Not better or worse, just different. Variety is the spice of life, right? We’re lucky that we can see this diversity at the different events we have.

DSC_0316Having said that, the car of show was awarded to this pristine 1953 Mercedes Benz 300S. Continue reading →

Sightings – The Hawaii edition

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The cool thing about being into cars is that no matter where in the world you travel, you’re just as likely to run into people that share the same passion. Sure, they might be into different cars or styles than what you’re used to, but the passion still runs the same and you’ve got common ground.

We decided to spend a few weeks in Hawaii for entirely non car related reasons – sun, sand, surf, hiking and escaping the cold Adelaide winter being the primary motivations. But with this common ground in mind I decided to keep an eye out and my camera ready for whatever new automotive discoveries I would make during our trip. This is a short chronicle of what I found.

Supercars were very thin on the ground. I heard rumours of a few Ferrari’s getting around, but this Aventador was all I saw. But that figures I guess – the islands are small, the speed limits are low and the roads are most definitely not suited to 700hp monsters. No, idle bliss is king here.

I like the fact that this GT3 actually did have a disabled parking permit. It must have been sneakily obtained – Porsche is probably one of the least disabled-friendly manufactures, and the GT3 is probably the single worst car for a disabled person.

No sports cars here – Hawaiian transportation is all about working out how to get your surfboard to the beach. Be it on your bike…

… on your Chevrolet woody coupe…

… in the back of your VW… Continue reading →

Driven – 2012 Volkswagen Scirocco R

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Volkswagen Scirocco’s have always been very pretty cars. Based on the Golf chassis, in its three generations since 1974 the Scirocco has always taken the sportiest mechanical components from the Golf lineup and repackaged them in an attractive three door body. Except this time for the Scirocco R, Volkswagen has taken it one step further. The 2.0-litre turbo is the same as you’ll find in the much more expensive Audi S3, and the car we drove was fitted with Volkswagens excellent DSG semi automatic dual clutch transmission. With 261hp being delivered through the front wheels you’d expect it would be an entertaining drive, so a trip into the Adelaide Hills was the only true way to answer this question. Although Scirocco’s have only just landed in Australia and this car is one of the very first in Adelaide, it’s actually not a new design. Volkswagen first teased the world with its IROC concept car back in 2006. The IROC (which was actually badged scIROCco) featured a slightly different grille and the trademark oversized concept car wheels, but it was essentially the production version in thin disguise. Not a lot else was said until early 2008 when Volkswagen entered the Nurburgring 24hr with a pair of unreleased but production ready Scirocco GT24′s driven by, amongst others, Hans Stuck and Carlos Sainz. The Scirocco officially went on sale in 2008 in Europe, and despite a few grey imports we are only just getting the Scirocco R now, some 4 years later. Continue reading →

Volksfest 2011

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I’m a bit of a closet Volkswagen fan, so I was pretty keen to attend Volksfest at Port Adelaide this year. I actually temporarily owned a Meyers Manx dune buggy for a few months about a year or so ago. It came up through a friend of my brother in law, it was completely disassembled and being sold at the right price. I knew it was a bad move, but I was dreaming of cruising around in it on hot summer nights, so I caved in and bought it. I still live at home and I knew my parents would kill me (a Fiat already under restoration in my Dads shed), so I convinced my sister and brother in law to let me keep it in their carport so I could keep it a secret from the folks during it’s rebuilt. The idea was that once I had secretly rebuilt it, I’d one day just turn up home in it – Mum and Dad could never turn it away then! After a few months once the romance had worn off I started to get the idea of just how much work and money would be involved, so with remorse I sold it on one sunny afternoon. It left in the back of a tip truck. I wonder if the guy has finished it by now?

Either way, back to Volksfest!

Continue reading →