MECCANICO MAGAZINE #01
C O M P E L L I N G
P E O P L E
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I N T E R E S T I N G
V E H I C L E S
WELCOME #01
Meccanico Magazine is a free publication telling stories of compelling people and interesting vehicles. We strive to bridge the gap between communities in the automotive world and bring people together through our fascination with all things automotive. Our pages showcase classic, modern, bespoke and modified vehicles from around the world in features, films, events and reviews using beautiful media to illustrate. Innovation forged by history, guided by passion and brought alive by people provides the stories for our publication. Join us in exploring the automotive world and see for yourself something new, Thank you.
Sam Shrimpton Editor-in-Chief PUBLISHER: Meccanico Media EDITOR / DESIGNER: Sam Shrimpton CONTRIBUTORS: Sam Shrimpton Jamie Cook READ ONLINE: http://issuu/meccanicomagazine FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/meccanicomagazine YOUTUBE: http://tinyurl.com/meccanicofilms ADVERTISE: Interested in advertising with Meccanico Magazine? Please contact: sam shrimpton@meccanicomedia.com
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COVER: Photo: Sam Shrimpton - Luke Mortlock’s Vauxhall VXR - Pg 58 CONTACT:
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sam shrimpton@meccanicomedia.com
Our publication gives its thanks to the Meccanico Members. Without them our stories couldn’t be shared. Every issue celebrates car culture and the people responsible for providing us with beautiful vehicles to share with you. Please meet our members for this issue.
Gavin Hurst
Steven Gilbert
Paul Quantrill
Mini Club K Series Custom Head to Head
F2 Ford Stock Car Feature
Austin Mini Cooper S MkII Head to Head
Phillip Large
Jamie Cook
Luke Mortlock
Mazda RX-8, Pinarello Head to Head
Seat Ibiza Feature
Vauxhall VXR, VW Golf Mk1 Head to Head
CONTENTS
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WELCOME Introduction to the publication
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MECCANICO MEMBERS Meccanico introduces you to the people that make this publication possible
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SIMPLE SANCTUARY Vs SUPERMINI REDEFINED Head to Head feature & film with Paul Quantrill’s 1968 Mini Cooper S MkII and Gavin Hurst’s Mini Clubman K-Series Custom
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STEVEN GILBERT RACING Reportage feature on Steven Gilbert, young Cornish stock car racer storming the 2014 championship, aged only 16.
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SWEET LAMB STAGE Reportage photo feature on the Sweet Lamb Stage of the WRC Wales Rally GB 2013
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FAST AND AFFORDABLE Head to Head feature with Phillip Large’s RX8 Vs Luke Mortlock’s Vauxhall VXR
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CONSTANT CONTENT Where to find films and daily content from Meccanico Magazine
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SHARE YOUR STORY Meccanico invites you to be a member of its growing family
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Everyone has their own form of a sanctuary. Some have gardening, build models or cook. Paul’s sanctuary is a 1963 Mini Cooper S MkII. Paul is a delightfully humble man who could speak for hours about classic cars. Paul lives and works on a farm estate in Norfolk, UK with his wife Em. The farm is in a beautiful location. If you are reading this from abroad and stereotypically picturing in your head a beautiful farm and manor house in the English countryside, that is the correct image, because Paul gets to drive his Cooper S around it all the time. The beautiful landscape, simple mechanics and a small growling engine provides the perfect calming experience after a tough day at work. What Paul has created with this car is timeless. The Mini lives on all over the world offering young drivers a raw experience, if they can afford it. Obviously Paul’s car is a very clean example but with a much smaller budget you could get the same basic thrills that Paul’s car offers in the form of small, frugal and sporty motoring. It doesn’t matter who you are, a Mini can solve all your problems.
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My friends and I had them growing up and you couldn’t have a better first car. It’s a noisy, bouncy little rally car. It’s like a puppy excitedly playing fetch. Over 60mph the wing mirrors start to flap around like a dogs chops out of the window. The Mini brings joy and puts a smile on your face whatever the weather. The car looks like a standard Cooper S and the engine bay is very original with 1960’s champion ignition leads. Paul has had the engine rebuilt, ported and fitted with a stage 3 head. He has also had a race camshaft installed.
The sound of the car is perfect and unobtrusive. It growls as you zoom along due to the 3 pipe manifold and centre exit rally exhaust. This car oozes taste and class and could be driven by anyone without judgement. Paul can often be seen bombing around British B-roads with a smile on his face, even when it’s broken down. When we met with Paul we went for an ‘enthusiastic’ drive and the clutch master cylinder died.
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Paul Quantrill’s Austin Mini Cooper S MkII pictured at the Wicken Farm, Castle Acre, Norfolk, UK
We thought that maybe we should call for a tow when the clutch broke but with a big smile on his face Paul proceeded to speed match the gears and get the car home. Paul describes his experience with the Mini as “simply driving” and not just owning a “shelf queen”. Paul is a humble man with a unpretentious outlook on his passion. The Mini teaches us to let go and not be pretentious with our pleasures. Paul with his relaxed approach to motoring is a lovely reminder of how we all got into the car community. Basically what I am saying is take a trip back to the 60’s and buy a small sporty hatchback, go drive it hard on some fun roads and then when it breaks its relatively inexpensive to fix and you are off again in a jiffy! Obviously this is a head to head feature and whilst Paul’s Mini is brilliant, there are other ways to have fun with a small sporty car. For those of you that like to be a tad more flamboyant, Gavin Hurst has presented Meccanico with another option.
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Meet Gavin Hurst, one of the most honest and straight up guys I have ever met. Gavin lives in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK. We spent a few times hanging out and talking about his Mini, once whilst shooting these photos late at night on a cliff top! Gavin is truly dedicated to the preservation and development of his Mini. It has been a labour of love for him and his family but as we took these photos Gavin realised the project had started to finalise and he good enjoy the benefits of driving the ultimate Super-Mini, not just building it. No more late nights in the workshop, just the pleasure of seeing the car finished outside on the drive. It has been three years in the making and you can instantly see that Gavin is a paint and body guy. The attention to detail is extraordinary and unlike Paul’s Mini this car is not subtle. With a 5-inch wheel extensions either side plus a Rover K-Series engine with close ratio box this little car is affectively a rally car for the road.
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SUPER MINI REDEFINED
Its fully FIA safety approved and has immense amounts of grip. Gavin adapted power steering from a Corsa B that makes it very easy to drive with that extended track width. It is perfect for carving up the twisty roads on the Cornish coast.
This head to head has been great to create. We have a short film for you to enjoy as well to help us decide which is the best. Frankly I think both are brilliant in their own way and bring joy to lots of people which is the most important thing with any car.
I asked Gavin what the Mini means to him, he just said, “It is a toy, but also something good to look at in the sunshine”. Everybody likes something exciting to look at on the roads and this is it! Gavin says he will never sell the Mini. The car symbolises Gavin’s personality and every time someone sees it they smile.
So remember the simple pleasures that your car can bring to others and start that project that you always wanted to do because it will bring joy to others as well as yourself. Check out the short film at the end of this article and let us know your thoughts in the comments on our YouTube Channel.
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Gavin Hurst’s K-Series CLubman Mini pictured here at Pendennis Point, Falmouth, Cornwall, UK
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FEATURE FILM
WATCH HERE S U B S C R I B E
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Words & Photographs - Sam Shrimpton
Meet Steven Gilbert, the 16 year old F2 Stock Car driver from Liskeard, Cornwall, UK. Steven is a brilliant driver and the essence of this story is simple, Steven is storming the championship. Pictured here after a successful weekend racing in Birmingham, UK he is a debut White Top ready for the Superstar class. Powered by a freshly built, 2.0 Ford powered stock car Steven is at the beginning of a promising season.
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Steven Gilbert’s Ford powered F2 Stock Car pictured here near Liskeard, Cornwall, UK
“Practice, Practice, Racing then Victory�
Steven has an incredible drive to perform to the highest standard. Before racing in the F2 championship Steven was racing in Motocross. He moved to stock cars at the end of 2012 and spent
the year of 2013 building, perfecting and practicing with his new car. Steven says its all about “practice, practice, racing then victory�. The community is very friendly and competitors will help each other out in the pits repairing cars and socialising with their families, including Steven’s dog Diesel who is very calm amongst the chaos of the pits.
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“LOCAL SPORT, COMPE TITIVE PEOPLE, THE IDEAL PROVING GROUND FOR MY DEBUT SEASON IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP” - Steven Gilbert -
The array of competitors at an F2 Stock Car Race at United Downs Raceway, Cornwall, UK
Whilst the community is incredibly friendly that stops as soon as you are on the tarmac. Steven is an ace race starter. At United Downs Raceway Steven broke away from the pack from 7th to 2nd in two corners. Being quick, rock steady and calm on the track give you the best chance of keeping a position whilst being battered and bumped by opponents. Steven is a clear talent in this sport and has illustrated this by already moving out of the rookie White Top class and into the Red Top Super Star class sporting amber flashing lights on his car as a reward. We will be following Steven’s progress throughout the season and keeping you updated on his progress. This sport is welcoming to all and with a large following. Its relatively in-expensive start up costs and cheap entry compared to track days its a great option to really build up your ability in the drivers seat in a highly competitive sport. Rules and regulations mean that all cars are pretty equal and for the spectators it provides brilliant entertainment. So head down to your local circuit, drive or spectate and witness some wheel to wheel racing with a tasty burger.
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SWEET LAMB STAGE
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHS - SAM SHRIMPTON & JAMIE COOK
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Wales Rally GB is the largest and most high profile motor rally in the United Kingdom. It is a round of the FIA World Rally Championship, and Wales Rally GB was once again the final round of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship.
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Located immediately after the Hafren stage, the Sweet Lamb stage offers some of the most extensive and best viewing of the event from the hillsides around the natural Sweet Lamb Bowl, following the same route as 2012. From these hillsides the cars are visible for nearly two miles as they traverse the tracks, water splashes, jumps, and hairpin bends before crossing the River Wye and climbing up the other side of the valley. Here at Meccanico we are big fans of most motor sport. Rallying , along with Formula 1, are the two hardest forms of motor sport in our opinion. The amount of raw talent needed to exceed in these disciplines is remarkable and clearly demonstrated when a driver in a bought seat tumbles across the course and wrecks his ride. Most importantly the safety boffins and race managers have done their best to make most events on the motor sports calender safe for driver and spectator. This is great but it does make some events more boring and less competitive. Motor sport should not be dangerous for the driver we agree but like to see sport that reminds us how incredibly exhilarating it is to be in that seat.
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Motor sport has always inspired and demanded admiration due to the sheer terror associated with immense speed. Motor sport like this is becoming rarer for the spectator and the essence of this experience only remains in a few sectors like Formula 1 and Rallying. The Sweet Lamb Stage is a particular favourite of many drivers and a proving ground for the best in the sport. Spectators get close to the action, soaked in water and deafened by the anti-lag hatchbacks of the WRC. The incredible landscapes in Wales add to the theatre of the event and for us it is a definite addition to our motor sport calendar. We have tried to take you there with these photographs but get out there yourself and enjoy more visceral events like the Wales Rally GB, it will certainly be an amazing experience.
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300 BHP
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Welcome to the second head to head feature of the issue. This one includes a tad more power than a Mini. OK when we say a tad more, we mean like 200bhp more.
The fast and affordable feature is for all of you that want fun on a daily basis but just don’t want to spend huge amounts of money. So we thought that we would share some cars with you from young guys that want thrills everyday but also get to work in comfort. The first car in this feature is Luke Mortlocks Vauxhall VXR 2.0 Turbo. This car has had a full engine rebuild with a high flow exhaust system, ported and polished header and performance con rods. It now puts out around 300bhp and around the same torque. We spent a few days with Luke and this thing seems like a brilliant option for a
Words & Photographs - Sam Shrimpton
person looking for fun everyday with the bonus of a massive amount of power under your boot for the Friday drive home. Luke was going to feature a VW Golf Mk1 1.8 Turbo in Meccanico, then he told us he had this, so basically everything Luke drives has a massive turbo and torque steer! Despite having big wheels the ride is surprisingly comfortable in the VXR
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PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Luke is a chilled out guy with a passion for the automotive industry. He is studying at Oxford Brookes in Automotive Engineering and everything that he does there informs the modifications on his car.
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Luke builds and works on his own cars. This is refreshing when everybody is buying bolt-ons from Ebay and everything looks and sounds the same. We love this car mainly because its bat s*** crazy. You aren’t prepared for “I love working on cars, I study automotive the violence that the engineering and what I learn I try to perfect on turbo brings and roar my cars” of back pressure in the exhaust. It is a truly scary experience and annoy everybody. Luke is actually as the torque kicks when you power a training engineer and has done his through a corner and whilst being mods for performance but the onlooker incredibly exciting, on a rainy day isn’t going to realise this and brand him ending up in a bush on your journey a boy racer. back from work isn’t fun. This is where our opposing option To sum this car up we think that you comes in with our challenger, Phillip have to focus on the comparison to Large. His stigma free option and what else you could be driving. For obsession with speed brings us another £7,000 on the used car market this choice for a fast and affordable daily amount of power is pretty impressive. driver. Also being able to fit all your shopping in, and keep up with £30,000 new V arrivals you can’t go wrong. E R Our main problem with the VXR is S the stigma. Two many Vauxhall Astra U owners strap a paint pot to the exhaust S
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Meet Phillip Larg His passion for c us with an oppos daily driver, exce though this is a f and also have eno
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ge, well his backside. He is a friend of Meccanico and a massive speed demon. cycling and motors is rooted in a childhood surrounded by car parts. He presents sing option to the blistering VXR, the Mazda RX8. The Japanese solution to the ept they overlooked the fact that petrol actually costs money. If we forget that fast front engined, rear drive sports car that you can own for less than £5,000 ough money left to fund your hobby, which in Phil’s case is cycling.
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Phillip Large’s Mazda RX-8 pictured here in Great Massingham, Norfolk, UK
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A L L FORMS Phil is a massive cycling fan and his need for speed is based on a childhood love for Motor Sport. Much like other people of a young age, affording fast cars is hard when your charged inordinate amounts of money by the professional gamblers that are car insurers. Phil has found the solution with his RX8, or so he thought.
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// Phil is a trooper when it comes to pursuing speed. Cycling is his passion and whenever he can he is training and racing. His competitive personality drives him in all aspects of life to be the most successful, but also happy person he can be.
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The RX8 is s great car. The interior is a good place to be day to day. Its funky suicide doors open up reasonable seating for four people and its refined enough to switch off in. Its performance comes from a 1.3L wankle engine. This is a clever rotary power unit that guzzles oil but produces incredibly high rpm’s allowing you to get 230bhp stock. This is brilliant but being party poopers UK Transport claim this is to good to be true and charge you road tax as a 2.6L engine making it rather expensive.
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I get that right now your thinking, are there any positives, so here they all are in one go. It is very fast and perfectly balanced. Its chassis is brilliant and it drives superbly. It’s a true drivers car. All the power is in the high end of the rev range and you feel like a racing driver as you hit the limiter and the car beeps telling you to change gear. Comparing these two cars has been hard because they oppose each other with brute power and torque against handling. We love both cars, lets make that absolutely clear. For us though, there is a clear winner. The RX8. Its handling and sporty profile with a more refined interior, all for less money than the VXR presents an overall better deal. But what do you think? Check out the statistic comparison for more information on these cars in depth, with a short Hot Seat video to give you a feel for each car and let us know in the comments on our YouTube Channel which you prefer. We would like to thank Phil and Luke for sharing their cars with us and invite you to get in contact to share your pride and joy too.
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Phillip Large in his garage pictured here in Narborough, Norfolk, UK
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Vs M E C C A N I C O
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IN THE HOT SEAT
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VXR
RX8
TOP SPEED -
TOP SPEED -
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0-60 MPH -
155 MPH 5.5 SECONDS
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300BHP £6,900
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0-60 MPH -
146 MPH 6.4 SECONDS
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220BHP
PRICE -
£4,900
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6/10
HANDLING -
9/10
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8/10
RELIABILITY -
7/10
PRACTICALITY -
8/10
PRACTICALITY -
6/10
OWNER ENJOYMENT - 9/10
OWNER ENJOYMENT - 8/10
With a limited top speed of 155mph the VXR never runs out of power, although the power is utilised in the engines low and mid range. Lukes tuned VXR makes it 0.4 of a second quicker to 60 mph due to its forged and ported engine added a little more flow to the engine providing more lucrative torque curves.
Having a limited top speed of 146mph the RX8 matches most sports cars on the road. Phils RX8 has a reasonable 0-60 time but due to the high revving, low torque rotary engine it isn’t as fast as other sports cars in this class to 60 mph. The RX8 has an unbeatable amount of power for the money and that’s a pursueding factor when buying in this market.
Lukes VXR has a incredible amount of power for a FWD vehicle, hence the torque steer often ensues. For this amount of horsepower, practicality and fun, the price is pretty good value amongst this class. The VXR handles great in a straight line, but getting on the power and dealing with the torque steer out of corners restricts the driving experience with genuine fear overpowering the fun factor. With all that torque coming from the large turbo the car pootles along when needed whilst returning reasonable MPG. Vauxhall parts are not incredibly expensive and without super high tech underpinnings labour costs are not extortionate. A big boot, four usable, comfortable and spacious seats along with decent ride quality the VXR does pretty well as a daily driver. All day with the VXR had us smiling, Luke loves it for daily driving and hooning around on the weekend. Overall we were very impressed with Luke’s enthusiasm during ownership so we give it a deserving score of 9/10
For this price with four good sized seats, five doors, and an considerable power this car can’t be beaten at value for money. The chassis on the RX8 is brilliant. Front engine, rear drive with a near perfect 50/50 weight distribution means this car is a joy to throw through the corners with the high revving wankle engine. Mazda are generally a great choice for reliability. The RX8 confirms this with cheap servicing until you get to about 60,000 miles and have to rebuild the oil guzzling wankle engine. Be careful when purchasing to get a vehicle with a history to be sure the powertrain is reliable and well serviced as lack of regular oil top ups results in a crummy powertrain. RX8s have a reasonable sized boot, 4 usable seats and great power but low mpg and high tax means its not the best choice for a fun daily driver. Phil is always smiling when driving this car. Its a true drivers car with a great chassis, but room to bring your mates along for a great experience, this car scores an 8/10 for owner enjoyment.
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S H A R E
We thank you for reading our debut issue and are grateful for your time. If you enjoyed the stories produced by Meccanico Magazine please look out for the next issue being released on the 16th of June. To tide you over between issues a small look book of photographs will be released on the 1st of June. We welcome anybody to share their story with us and become a Meccanico Member to join the publication and share their story with fellow car lovers. Please contact the Editor-in-Chief at the following address: sam.shrimpton@meccanicomedia.com For daily content follow the links to our Facebook, Twitter and Editors Blog showcasing fellow story tellers work and stories from the automotive world.