by rmad
29. July 2009 18:02
For the second week in a row I headed to Brands Hatch on a Wednesday night (yes, that's right a weekday), camera in hand, ready to keep you guys updated on all things good in the world of cool cars. A lack of research meant I'd got the start time wrong meaning I was there before anyone else. After watching the BMW M3/single seater track experience drivers follow each other around for a while I settled back into the car and checked the Prept email (those lovely chaps sent out a handy email circular prior to the event) on my phone which confirmed things were kicking off at 19:00. I had half-an-hour to wait....twenty minutes later I decided that I'd waited long enough (I'm not usually that impatient, honest) and thought I'd score some 'family points' and head home....
I can live without a few tastefully modified 'Dubs surely? As I thanked the boys manning the gate I was thinking of the smile on my Wife's face as I arrived home earlier than she expected - and then I found myself in a predicament: A few tastefully modded 'Dubs? Not quite. Outside the circuit was a queue of high-end show cars that I just couldn't miss, it wasn't time for the show yet and things were looking stupid busy. I turned round and joined the queue.
The Toyota doesn't quite fit the 'German Only' criteria so I parked up just inside the gate and got the camera gear out of the car before strolling down to the show area as a steady stream of cars passed. Then it rained, and I use the term lightly. It flippin' chucked it down - you couldn't get any wetter if you jumped in a swimming pool. Most sensible people headed for the Kentagon for a burger and chips but I took up residence in front of the shutters and marvelled at pinkness.
Eventually the rained died down enough to start checking out the rides again. I don't get to that many water-cooled VW shows so I'm still astounded by the quality of cars these guys turn out. My own car was sitting back by the gate with a sheen of rain sitting on it's body whereas all of these cars were shrugging off the downpour with lovingly applied layers of wax. In the world of business they say competition makes you stronger and the same applies in the world of show cars too, it's easy to have one of the best Cressidas in the UK when bolting on a set of rims and cutting the springs makes it so, but faced with real competition things get serious...
Are your rims polished to perfection? Is that stance just right? In these circles the wrong offset or a few mm too high costs you trophies. Of course once you get used to building to this level, it's hard to stop...even when there's no need. What would it take to build the best Orion ever for instance? Not a lot really...but hanging with the Veedub crowd means this guy passed 'win' and just kept going. The retro scene needs cars like this:
Full on VIP-style in the UK. Infinity out of ten.
Downsides to the evening? There was no smile when I got home, I realised just how low-quality my own car is and I was quite wet.
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