Man that Mike Garret guy is really fast!…. I'm just starting to write my Thursday report and he's already finished his…. well I have a good excuse, I was out at a film production meeting this evening.
We're pulling out all the stops with a big HD video production this weekend, and have brought out some big guns to shoot the drifting action in collaboration with the Need for Speed mothership…. More will be revealed in due course… All I can say is that drift film-making is about to be taken to a whole new level!
Arriving at a Formula D event is a bit like coming home to me… I really enjoy being part of this community; it's open, friendly and full of fantastic people… and that's not mentioning the cars! This was my first view of Calvin Wan's new drift S15. It's an absolutely stunning machine. He has done well to add to the lineage of this important chassis.
Next to emerge from the Falken trailer was the new Discount Tire Lexus IS350…. It certainly looks the part.
Check out the mesh rear side windows. Interesting solution….
And here's Tyler McQuarrie's new Z33 Convertible… I'm told this car is just as radical as any of the new cars debuting this weekend.
Speedhunters represent!!!
Tyler seems to be quite happy with the new car, although said there is still some development work to do on the suspension setup.
Chris Forsberg came by to have a look… No doubt he wanted to see the Speedhunters stickers too?
Meanwhile Ross Petty had a group of people around his new Garage Boso S15.
They all seemed to be admiring the engine.
I can see why they were so transfixed…. Look at that valve cover! Now that is pure art!
I was also well pleased to see that Ross and indeed all the cars on the grid are rocking NFS Shift logos… Very cool. Now I just need to sort him out with a Speedhunters logo too!
We'll do a full feature on Ross' new toy very soon…
In talking to Ross about the ideas behind the car, I think he's done a great job to infuse the true spirit of drift culture into its DNA… no joke….
I was surprised to see a second Garage Boso car… the S14 on the left… didn't know that they were building this car….
Ross tells me they plan to develop it into a crazy Time Attack machine.
Check out the powerplant….
Yup…. a Rotary…. For a second I thought I was in New Zealand again!
I also had a look at the new Gardella Racing Solstice.
Again we have another great example of refined racecar engineering.
I had a chat with Gary Gardella about the Solstice… he is feeling quite bullish about the potential of his team's new machine.
He wouldn't tell me how much power the car is running… but said it should be one of the highest powered cars on the grid. That's a serious claim… but I don't doubt him.
Perhaps this combo is a dark horse for the championship? Stay hungry Ryan! Perhaps 2009 is your year!
Here's another new car: Kyle Moham's new RX8…. interesting rear flip-ups. DTM Style?
JR's new Mustang is the business. I really like how it looks almost subtle, especially compared to a lot of the other new cars. However, under its carbon fiber skin is one of the most radical chassis builds on the grid.
There is classiness to this high tech pony car. I'm impressed.
A few of the Need for Speed game and marketing team members are at the event this weekend to soke up the atmosphere. I brought some of them by to look at John Russakoff's AE86 to explain a bit about the cult of the Hachi. He's doing well to represent this religious movement.
This picture warms my soul…… ahhhhh……. Just sooooo goooodddd….
I'm filled with anticipation as to how former D1GP Champion, Katsuhiro Ueo is going to do in the Driftspeed S15. He was absolutely incredible at the Red Bull event in this car… let's see if he can outperform all the big budget builds with his deep skills and experience.
Speaking of big budget builds, I was invited to take some pictures of Samuel Hubinette's new Challenger on the drift circuit…. The car looks pretty sharp out of the lights of SEMA and onto the race track. In terms of style, I think it would be more aesthetically pleasing as a pony car, without the wing… but you know, performance is beauty right?
It doe look quite unreal in broad daylight…. almost like a 3D rendered car…
Samuel Hubinette tells me that the car will debut in New Jersey…. He also mentioned the red wheels won't be used…. BTW I know a few of you didn't like this car when we first presented at
SEMA last year, but perhaps we should wait to see it running on track
before we give a full assessment. It looked pretty wild and aggressive today in the flesh.
My day ended with a quick run up to Shelby, to pick up the Need for Speed Terlingua aka: My Muse.… I am in love with this car!…. It's just sooo much fun to drive… I almost want to take it out for a spin around the block tonight….
Ok time for some sleep, it's an early start tomorrow.
:Rod