Tag: Evergreen

  • Ken Block compares 1997 versus 2021 Subaru WRX STI rally cars

    Ken Block has ended his exclusive Ford partnership, and is now back in a Subaru. After debuting a Subaru WRX STI rally car, Block decided to compare the brand-new Subaru WRX STI VT20R race car to one of its ancestors, a 1997 Subaru Impreza GC8 STI rally car.

    Subaru started rallying with the Legacy, but the first-generation Impreza built the company’s reputation, achieving World Rally Championship (WRC) success in the hands of drivers such as Colin McCrae, and laying the foundation for the first WRX road cars.

    While it wears the iconic blue-and-yellow 555 livery, the 1997 Impreza featured here isn’t one of the original WRC cars. It’s a lower-class Group N car, but it was built by ProDrive, the United Kingdom-based company that built all of Subaru’s factory rally cars back in the day.

    Ken Block's Subaru WRX STI rally car

    Ken Block’s Subaru WRX STI rally car

    Group N cars were also closer to stock than the top-level WRC cars, with modifications limited to safety items and some suspension bits. The turbocharged 2.0-liter boxer-4 engine produces about 200 hp, routed to all four wheels through a dog-box 5-speed manual transmission.

    In comparison, Block’s STI rally car is far from stock. Builder Vermont SportsCar starts with a bare body shell, adding a full cage and changing most of the body panels. This car still uses a 2.0-liter boxer-4 engine, which produces about 330 hp with the mandatory air restrictor. A 6-speed sequential gearbox replaces the stock 6-speed manual.

    Block then drives both cars on the rally course at DirtFish Rally School in Snoqualmie, Washington. If first, is the 2021 WRX STI, which posts an average lap time of 1:45.7 over four laps. The 1997 Impreza GC8 is next, and while its straight pipes make plenty of noise, it’s average lap time is 1:57.8 That’s what modern technology and an extra 130 hp will do.

    Watch the full video to see Block hooning both rally cars in the dirt.

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  • Tim Allen reveals his current car collection

    Any list of celebrity car fans has to include Tim Allen. The actor has an eclectic collection of muscle cars, supercars, and assorted classics stashed away in a former print shop in Southern California, and recently gave the Petersen Automotive Museum the grand tour.

    The two-part video series showcases a wide variety of cars, but it’s clear Allen has a thing for Fords. The collection includes a 1972 Bronco that Allen gave to his wife and which he doesn’t enjoy driving because of the short wheelbase. Allen also has a rare RS200 Group B rally homologation special, a Shelby Cobra, vintage and modern Mustang GT350s, and a modern Ford GT. He said he sold a Porsche Carrera GT to get the Ford, because he felt the Porsche was dangerous.

    Switching over to General Motors, another standout is the 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS with the LT5 V-8 from a C4 Corvette ZR-1. The sedan ran a 12.9-second quarter mile its first time at the drag strip, Allen said. He’s also got a 1968 Camaro restomod, and a modified Nova. 

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    European sports cars include a Jaguar E-Type, Volvo P1800, and a Ferrari 330 GTC, which Allen said needs to be driven often to keep it in top form (take heed, Ferrari owners) as well as several early Porsches, which Allen says are really just Volkswagens.

    Allen also has a Tesla Model 3 that he says he has a “love/hate relationship” with, and takes several jabs at throughout both videos. He said he isn’t against electric cars, but doesn’t seem to have many positive things to say about the Model 3.

    These are just some of the highlights. Watch both videos (they’re about 20 minutes each) for the full tour of Tim Allen’s car collection.

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  • Edd China starts work on a 1962 Alvis in “Workshop Diaries” episode 4

    “Edd China’s Workshop Diaries” has already seen the former “Wheeler Dealers” host tackle a Volkswagen T5 van and a Land Rover Range Rover, but for the fourth episode he’s starting a new project: a 1962 Alvis TD21.

    With the Range Rover giving him some issues, China decided to put it aside temporarily and shift focus to the Alvis. One of many defunct British automakers, Alvis dates back to 1919 and has since built a cult following with its sports cars and race cars. The company stopped making cars in 1967, but a continuation-car program was announced in 2019.

    This TD21 was originally owned by a Royal Navy rear admiral (typical of the Alvis owner demographic, according to China), but now has a long list of issues. China decided to start with the headlights, which randomly refused to work.

    Edd China works on a 1962 Alvis TD21

    Edd China works on a 1962 Alvis TD21

    Figuring out the problem required removing the headlight switch from the dashboard, and to do that, China first looked at a brand-new replacement switch for clues. There weren’t any useful clues to be found, unfortunately, so China ended up popping off the dashboard’s walnut fascia and digging around in the nest of wires behind it.

    Replacing the headlight switch solved the problem, but China also noted that one of the secondary lights was having some issues. He’s saving that for a future episode.

    China also continued telling the story of setting a Guinness World Record for world’s fastest electric ice cream van, begun in the previous episode. This time, he covers removing the diesel engine from a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in preparation for the electric conversion, as well as sourcing the motor. He wanted to use that motor with the stock Mercedes transmission, so he scanned the two parts in order to design a custom adapter. Watch the full video to see how he did it.

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