Unabashed Gearhead Gnarlyness

WWTD? (what would Travis do?)

Oh my.

Block = Doughnut Master

When it's yellow, it's better

UGG Ferrari Friday

Here, let me crank it up...

I just stumbled upon this footage of Yojiro Terada demoing the Mazda 787B on a talk show.  Kind of unexpected to hear a race car on a talk show, eh?  But, I must admit, my general experience of Japanese society has been that it is very accepting of, and curious about, gnarlyness.  I mean, can you imagine a race car being cranked up on a talk show in the United States?  The lawyers would have a field day... "Oooo, you hurt my ears!" 

And to do this with a 787B... total lunacy, total gnarlyness!  Have you ever heard a 787B in the flesh?  I'll never forget the first time I heard one running at Fuji in 1991; it's the only car outside of a nitro drag racer whose exhaust made my entrails do triple backflips.  That stacked rotary motor isn't just loud -- any race car can be loud -- it's penetrating.  If you ever get the chance to experience one at full bark, I quite recommend the experience.

Here's another video of Terada at the wheel of the same car. The picture quality is awful, but the sound is good, and it gives a good sense of the staccato pulse of a rotary racing motor:

And here's some high-quality footage of the car at speed:

I'm really geeking out here. Don't you just love this stuff?

By the way, if any of the engineers I met at Nissan while working in Atsugi in 1991 happen to read this, please send me an email!

How to drive a 911, part XLVII

How to drive a 911, part XLVI

How to drive a 911, part XLV

UGG Ferrari Friday

Ferrari F450 testing at Fiorano. Gotta love the "prova" plates!