Autosport International or “The Racing Car” show as it is known to the regulars always has an interesting collection of cars to please the eye. The variety ranges from Karts to modified street cars and everything up to the latest Formula One machine. Many vehicle manufactures show their latest track weapon all in time for the forthcoming race season but the “tuner” cars stole the show this year. Taking top honers for the biggest “buzz” was the Forge Motorsport Mk1 VW Golf “Berg Cup “ build. The car and the build up have been all the rage in numerous forums and international magazines and rightly so. The build quality of this vintage Golf was superb.
Forge Mk1 Berg Cup
Interior: Forge Golf Mk1 Berg Cup
Forge Berg Cup interior features a full suite of motorsport options, notice the extended shifter, dash, and pedal box set up.
Forge Berg Cup Engine : 1.8 Turbo
The car is powered by a 1.8L Turbo built using all the best parts and components with the engine compartment filled with many of the Forge Motorsport products.
Forge Golf Mk1 Berg Cup
Roger Clark Motorsport debuted their Gobstopper II Subaru STI Time Attack car. Their previos effort was based on the earlier “GC” chassis Subaru Impreza and was virtually unstoppable on the UK circuits. Everyone has been anticipating their new car and judging by the specification and build quality everyone should be pleased. We’ll have a full write up on this car in the future.
Roger Clark Motorsport Gobbstopper II
Gob Stopper II
No UK Motorsport show would be complete without at least a few Ford Escorts. The Ford Escort first hit the track in 1968 and has been dominating ever since. Make no mistake, the market for these cars is hot. Parts sales are booming and just try and find a decent example to build into a race car. Historically significant classic cars can command over $100,000.00 and even the rusted out base models go for thousands. Sadly Ford never imported the car to the USA so we have to live vicariously through our UK brothers.
Alan Mann MK1 Escort
This Alan Mann Escort represents the teams effort that dominated UK and European Touring car racing in the late 1960’s. The “forest arches” look so right on this car.
Escort MK2 RS1800
The MK2 RS1800 was a true homologation special and was powered by a 1840cc BDA engine. The MK2 Escort, manufactured from 1975-1980, gave Ford numerous rally wins through the 70’s.
Mk2 Escort
The special Richard Burns rally car display was really interesting featuring many of his rides used in anger over the years. Burns was primarily known for his Subaru efforts but also spent some time with Peugeot and Mitsubishi.
Richard Burns Subaru Legacy
Richard Burns Peugeot 206 WRC
Richard Burns Subaru GC WRC
Lotus was proud to show the new Exige S and judging by the great reviews the press is giving the car, it will be popular. The Exige S is powered by a 3.5L, Supercharged Toyota V6 and weighs only 2380 lbs. This means 0-60mph in only 3.8 seconds…Yes please.
Exige S
Lotus Exige S
Caterham seems to be on fire recently. They are preparing to launch a new car jointly produced with Renault and the classically styles Seven remains popular. Caterham has also launched an engineering arm of the company targeting vehicle manufacturers and others parties seeking high level development resources.
Caterham
Caterham F1
The Jackie Stewart display was a real treat this year and the massive Elf Team Tyrrell Transporter was on center stage . Included in the display were few of the prominent race cars Sir Jackie drove throughout the years.
Elf Tyrrell Transporter
Jackie Stewart Tyrrell 003
Stewart Matra
BRM – Jackie Stewart
Classic Team Lotus, a regular at Autosport International displayed a few of their recently restored cars. Classic Team Lotus offers a wide selection of merchandise and just launched an incredibly detailed 1/8 Scale model Type 38 Indy Car. Also on display was a freshly recommissioned Lotus 23B chassis. Having a chance to see the car minus body work was a treat with all of the details and interesting components exposed to the eye.
Classic Team Lotus
John Player Special
Classic Team Lotus 23B Chassis
Lotus Type 38 : 1/8 Scale
UK tuner Iain Litchfield launched his Subaru BRZ Supercharger conversion at the show and the response was massive. The Subaru BRZ and Toyota GT 86 are the current sensation of the tuning industry and have stimulated the market with upgrades of all types available to those willing to open their wallets. Litchfield’s conversion for the BRZ bumps the power to 280 bhp and includes a raft of other upgrades to help cope with the power increase. Litchfield is also known for their Nissan GT-R upgrades offering power upgrades exceeding 750 bhp.
Litchfield BRZ Supercharger
Litchfield BRZ
Litchfield GT-R
Of course there were many Porsches to gaze upon. Porsche has that certain attraction that seems to appeal to just about everyone. The body lines provide the perfect canvas for the various liveries that are applied to the timeless shape. If you want to race and have a solid budget, there really aren’t too many other options that beat the Porsche Cup series.
2013 Porsche Carrera Cup
Autosport International 2013 was one of the better Autosport shows in recent years. The industry seems to be rebounding from the economic difficulties that plagued businesses for some time. The attendees were very positive about the future of racing and the range of new products indicates investment is being made to support growth. The 2013 race season is off to an exciting start and I’m already looking forward to the 2014 Autosport show. You can read my previous posts, part 1 and part 2 located at the links below.
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