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13/12/2024

Lost (stolen) Porker!

Our editor, Peter Grunert, recently faced the heartbreak of having his cherished Porsche 911 stolen – a tough reminder of the challenges facing collectible car owners in the UK. Obviously, the poor chap is heartbroken. In support of Peter and in hopes of bringing his 911 back home, we’re offering a special Road Rat VIP experience as a reward for information leading to its safe return. If you can help, let us know.

Please share this post and let's see if we can find it, and introduce the people responsible to the authorities. Thanks for your help.

1985 Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera, reg. C874CTR, White

Peter said: "Absolutely gutted to say I discovered recently that my beautiful 911 has been stolen. I loved that car as much as anything because it was such a survivor - mostly first paint, perfect interior, drove with a wonderful tautness - so it’s sad to think it may already have been broken for parts. Still, please keep an eye out, just in case it’s still alive.

"Here are the essentials: Stolen from a secure (!) car park near Wandsworth Bridge at some point between the 17th and 20th November. Last picked up by TFL cameras at 17:45 on the 20th being driven by some toerag on Gliddon Road, London W14. An ex-Italy 1985 3.2 Carrera coupe, a little unusual here in being left-hand drive, no rear spoiler (but a front one and 16” Fuchs), aircon but no sunroof or rear wiper, mixed cloth/leather blue interior, Grand Prix White exterior, 150k km, period Blaupunkt Bremen, green rear Bilsteins. 😥"

12/12/2024

Fellow Rats, please welcome into the world the £300,000 Ford Es**rt. We mean it; in a year where so much of automotive narrative has been hijacked by rebel operations we really do welcome this very late contender for restomod of the year with wide open arms.

The Es**rt Mk1 RS actually sits somewhere between a restomod and a tool room replica. That’s why Boreham Motorworks has coined ‘Continumod’ as a name for this genus.

The neologism has some merit given the run of 150 cars will have continuation chassis numbers and that Boreham Motorworks has a complex and extensive licence with Ford itself for this project and others — GT40-owning (and racing) Ford CEO Jim Farley reportedly behind the innovative approach to monetising the car maker’s archive.

Buyers — and applications are now open — have a choice of an updated, enlarged and fuel-injected classic Lotus Twin Cam producing 183bhp with a four speed box. More exotic — and more expensive still — is Boreham Motorworks own 2.1-litre four cylinder, distantly related to LMP2 engineering which revs to 10,000 rpm and produces 296bhp and drives thru a five-speed dogleg box.

The ‘new/not new’ RS has a very updated chassis with a whole new aluminium and titanium floating rear axle for example, but does not feature PAS, ABS, TCS or even a brake servo. The design/redesign has been led by Wayne Burgess, former exterior lead designer at Jaguar. He’s responsible for finessing exterior updates like the lamps and for the extensive interior makeover which, to these eyes at least and in photographs, appears to successfully walk the line somewhere between £300,000 and Mk1 Ford Es**rt.

I dunno, maybe it’s just because I am a Brit of a certain age but Boreham Motorworks has my attention and this first project especially. Keep your restomod Ferraris and Lambos and most of your Porsches, I reckon this one could make a Road Rat cover.

**rt **rtmk1rs

09/12/2024

Crafting the cover of The Road Rat is no small feat; it’s a process that involves care, precision, and given Lando Norris' win at the Abu Dhabi GP last weekend, impeccable timing. For Edition 19, the team absolutely nailed it. Covers passed through the printing press using a custom-mixed ‘McLaren papaya’ ink, chosen to reflect the evocative shade of orange associated with the brand.

The 'How McLaren won its cool back’ cover uses an uncoated paper stock for an archival vibe, creating something that is hugely desirable. Five days of printing later, this edition is a prime example of the production values that define The World’s Most Beautiful Car Magazine.

Edition 19 is available to order now (via the link in bio) at an unchanged £17.50 or just £14.00 as part of a four-edition subscription. Shipping extra. Distribution — in the UK at least — will start before the holidays. Overseas editions will take a little longer, landing early in the new year.⁠ https://theroadrat.com/collections/buy-magazines

08/12/2024

After a disorientating decade caught in F1’s death spiral, McLaren is back in front of mind, on road and on track.

In these images photographer Jack Wilson is captured behind the scenes during the production of Edition 19's McLaren cover story. Jack is familiarising himself with landmark machines including the MP4 12C and new W1 at the McLaren Technical Centre.

Enjoy the photography and full story 'Oranges and lemons' by Angus Mckenzie in The Road Rat Edition 19, which is available to pre-order now.

Also in the latest edition... The original Alfa Giulia, WRC Impreza, Citroën CX, and Jags XK120 and Type 00.⁠https://theroadrat.com/collections/buy-magazines

04/12/2024

Prepping each edition of The Road Rat to print is quite the labour of love, as you’d expect for The World’s Most Beautiful Car Magazine. Over the past week, our latest – Edition 19 – has been steadily emerging from the Heidelberg Speedmaster presses at our partner in Bristol.

Here you see final checks being made by editor Peter Grunert and art director Sam Walton to hard proofs for each section of the edition. These are used to make adjustments to images, words and layouts in readiness to clear them to print. Quality control is off the scale.

Edition 19 is looking gorgeous. There’s just time to secure delivery by Christmas if you’re in the UK or soon after if you’re outside. Subscribers also get theirs in the first batch distributed – the edition is yours for an unchanged £17.50 (for a single copy order) or a bargain £14 as part of a four-edition subscription. Shipping is extra. https://theroadrat.com/

Highlights of Edition 19 include ‘How McLaren won its cool back’, the original Alfa Giulia, WRC Impreza, Citroën CX, and Jags XK120 and Type 00.

03/12/2024

Edited.📝 Yesterday the embargo lifted on the Jaguar Type 00 (pronounced Zero Zero), and since then 115 of you have commented on this post. As you can imagine, the Road Rat's authors – experienced automotive writers, commentators and designers all – have also been discussing the dramatic concept. Here's their thoughts...

Jason Barlow
As a concept it definitely delivers. It has extreme proportions, extraordinary surfacing, and arresting graphics. In the flesh, it’s a serious statement. But then I love concept cars and still regularly ponder the likes of the Pininfarina Modulo when I’m thinking about contemporary car design and its lack of bravery. I want something that stays with you. As a precursor to Jaguar’s upmarket electric future, well, I’m not so sure. Do HNWs really want electric cars? All the intel we have suggests that it’s a seriously niche proposition. Maybe it’ll be different in five years’ time.

Paul Horrell
What are the obligations of a big coupe? First, to be lavish. Well it’s certainly obeys that, being extremely extravagant, or if you will wasteful, of size and mass in relation to the space for people. Especially the comically long bonnet. Second to be beautiful, or at least attractive. I don’t think it is, but it’s not my kind of car. A Spectre or Wraith aren’t beautiful (and as an aside I think this is too close to them). Optionally a big coupe might be sporty and that’d help for a Jaguar even if sportiness is an increasingly degraded and irrelevant idea. Which leads me to my biggest problem with this car. It looks as if there’s a hedge: if the Jaguar rebrand project were to fail, they could easily slap Range Rover Coupe badges on it.

Matt Master
I was thinking in the dead of night, presumably about the time of the unveil, that for the first time in living memory I actually give a s**t about Jaguar. And want it to succeed. I can't imagine the concept realised, nor the new brand identity appealing to enough of its new target audience to make commercial sense, but I would dearly love it to. The Type 00 has won my heart if not my head. It's beautiful, or jolie laide at least, and there's hope and ambition now where before it felt like there was none.

01/12/2024

"Often described as diesel-punk, or perhaps desert-punk, Mad Max took some of its cues from the original Star Wars film insofar as it posited a world that relied on and fetishised technology and machinery. Everything looked used and abused yet it was well maintained and usually ingeniously modified. It also begs the question why Max Rockatansky doesn’t drive something more fuel effcient than a cosmically and comically thirsty Ford. But c’mon, there’s little room for logical thought in the Mad Max universe, and none of the protagonists would have got far – literally or metaphorically – in a Toyota Corolla."

A Main Force Patrol (MFP) car gets trashed.

George Miller and crew on set.

Extract taken from 'George Miller is mad as hell' by Jason Barlow in The Road Rat Edition 18.

https://theroadrat.com/products/edition-no-18

30/11/2024

Bicester Heritage. 30/11/24. We’re proud today to share the cover of Edition 19 of The Road Rat.

It’s available to order now (via the link below) at an unchanged £17.50 or just £14.00 as part of a four-edition subscription. Shipping extra. Distribution — in the UK at least — will start before the holidays. Overseas editions will take a little longer, landing early in the new year.

The cover story is a deep dive in to a turbulent last decade for McLaren, on road and on track; an increasingly furious Fernando Alonso repeatedly failing to get a sponsor-less McLaren out of Q1 in 2015, or a near-death experience for McLaren Automotive in 2020? It’s some comeback to be again challenging for a world title while simultaneously launching your second-gen hypercar just a handful of years later.

More than that, McLaren has done so with a degree of panache which tells us it has a better understanding than most of new-gen Drive to Survive F1 fans. Just look for the kids in McLaren gear thanks to collabs with brands like Hollister and Levi’s.

It’s why we believe McLaren is the coolest racing brand right now. Which of course gave us the excuse to put a picture of the team’s coolest ever player — James Hunt — sucking on an ice lolly on our nineteenth cover. We hope you approve of the reference and indeed the throwback.

We’ll go in to more detail over the coming weeks about 19’s contents — and look out for very special social post in the early hours of next Tuesday morning when Jaguar presents the car behind all the re-branding brouhaha.

Road Rat co-founder and Editorial Director, Mikey Harvey.

🔗https://theroadrat.com/products/edition-no-19

28/11/2024

"Everybody knows the T.50 is light. But quite how light takes some processing. Because GMA has somehow built a 3.9-litre, 660bhp hypercar that weighs the same as a VW Up. And at a stroke, every competitor appears to have wilfully ignored Miss Piggy’s resonant diet tip: ‘Never eat more than you can lift.’
Compare and contrast the T.50’s 997kg dry weight with an alternative, state-of-the-art hypercar. That Mercedes-AMG One, for example. Carbon
tub. F1-style carbon racing clutch. No shortage of lightweight fundamentalism here. It’s Mercedes’ F1 car for the road, after all. And it weighs 1700kg."

Photography by Benedict Redgrove and Sam Walton
Post production by INK

Snippet taken from author Jon Claydon's GMA T.50 cover feature in The Road Rat Edition 18.

https://theroadrat.com/products/edition-no-18

.50 .50

26/11/2024

Ferdinand Piëch’s idiosyncratic vision for an approachable, luxurious hypercar gave us the Bugatti Veyron. Now it’s more coveted than ever.

2014 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse ‘Rembrandt’. Shot on location at The Palazzo by Khoshbin, Costa Mesa, California.

Photography by Brad Torchia.

Read 'Making it look easy' by Paul Horrell in The Road Rat Edition 18. Buy your copy today via the link: https://theroadrat.com/products/edition-no-18

25/11/2024

"In early 1978, Stuttgart-based designer Eberhard Schulz presented Buchmann with drawings of a personal project, a gull-winged supercar clearly in debt to the Mercedes C-111. Buchmann recruited Schulz on the spot and set about realising it. In the tiny Main-Bornheim workshop, pearlescent white fibreglass bodywork was bonded to a spaceframe chassis, hung together with a mishmash of componentry from Porsche and Mercedes, including an AMG-built 6.3-litre V8 making 369bhp against a final weight of just 1150kg. Claims were made of 60mph in under five seconds and an unimaginable top speed of 198mph."

1978 gullwing bb Mercedes CW113.

The ‘Magic Top’ Mercedes S-Class, 1984.

Read 'Instant exposure' for the full story on Rainer Buchmann's bb by Matt Master, The Road Rat Edition 18 - out now.

https://theroadrat.com/products/edition-no-18

24/11/2024

Here's our take on the recent Jaguar kerfuffle. You will not have missed said kerfuffle. It even got the attention of self-styled ‘first buddy’ to the President-elect of the USA, our old chum Elon. And absentee-member of the British Parliament for Clacton, Nigel Farage. And Uncle Tom Cobley, and all the thousands of people who have never realistically considered buying a Jaguar but certainly won’t ever do so now.

‘Now’ that Jaguar has changed its logotype and some other elements of its branding. Oh and put together a short and extremely colourful film that was intended to signal an exuberant and unchained break with the past. (‘Exuberance’ is, by the way, very much part of this new Jaguar feel — and why not; there’s not a lot else to lift spirits right now…).

The ‘mistake’ in Elon, Nigel and Tom Cobley’s eyes was to use in the film models, some with an androgynous look. You know, of the kind David Bowie used to present on Top of the Pops.

All hell kicked off. Much of it deeply unpleasant, which thankfully is a rarity in the automotive world. I mean, how personally offended and outraged can you be by a car?

In Edition 12 of The Road Rat, Richard Porter wrote about the XJ-S (a car that will most certainly have been in the design studio when Bowie sang Starman on ToTP). Richard called the XJ-S ‘the last progressive Jaguar’. And he wasn’t wrong. Jaguar has built some good cars since but almost all have been looking back over their metaphorical shoulders, or sideways at someone else’s car, or staring at an impossibly tight project budget.

As a consequence the energy and colour have drained from the brand (and there writes a man who would fill his dream garage not with Ferraris and Porsches but Jaguars). Time for some exuberance, time for that unchained break with the past. The Road Rat knows what Jaguar will show the world in Miami in early December and we’re reassured. And given that this project hails from the same group of people who have recently delivered the fifth-gen Range Rover and the new Defender, maybe you might be too.

Road Rat co-founder and Editorial Director, Mikey Harvey.

20/11/2024

Europe's head of Fiat and Abarth, Gaetano Thorel recently stated that all future Abarth models will feature electric power due to prohibitive costs for the maker and the consumer.

As the sun sets on the brand's glorious back catalogue of combustion-engined models, the Road Rat authors share their favourites.

Paul Horrell - Abarth 124 Spider
This is a bit personal since I once restored and drove a Fiat 124 Spider. The Abarth version gave me the hots. Big sucky Webers on the twin-cam, an entirely different independent rear suspension, matt-black bonnet, bucket seats. I drove one once and it made me smile big-time.

Matt Master - Simca-Abarth 2000
Simca-Abarth 2000 – so beautiful while still being a pretty raw little race car. The 1000 SP is also a strong contender for most beautiful car of all time IMO. The Osella prototype is also super-cool.

Peter Stevens - Abarth 1000 SP and 2000 Periscopio
The later 1000 SP is even more beautiful, the early one sat a bit low at the rear. You are conferring with a serial Abarth owner here. I always loved them all. A long story is available. The 2000 Periscopio is so fine, too!

Images by Stellantis, Bonhams|Cars, RM Sothebys and Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 4.0.

19/11/2024

"As a print journalist of a certain age, it would be all too easy to hijack TRR’s first-ever informal survey of automotive influencers and take it deep into the land of negativity. But it would be wrong to dwell any further on a snappily dressed potted plant from a launch long ago. Or to critique any of the thousands of bigger, more opinionated and often better informed YouTube stars, TikTok luminaries and Insta-famous types that have entered our lives since, often to exit soon after. For better or worse, influencers are today the world’s primary, go-to source for news and opinion, information and disinformation about cars. Which, we have begun to suspect, is exactly the way automotive marketers, long suspicious of not only journalists but also their colleagues and frenemies in their employer’s nearby press office, are glad to have it."

Snippet taken from 'Exhibition road' (The Road Rat Edition 18) in which Jamie Kitman charts the supercar fuelled rise of the automotive influencer. For an accompanying photo essay, Sophie Green meets the influenced, the supercar spotters of London.

Purchase your copy today from The Road Rat store.

https://theroadrat.com/products/edition-no-18

18/11/2024

In 'Roger Penske: smart mover' Dutch Mandel describes how ‘The Captain’ built a motorsports empire.

Penske, in a Pontiac Catalina, wins the NASCAR Pacific Coast Series stock car race, Riverside, CA, 1963 (Getty).

An 86-year-old Roger Penske among the Porsche 963s at the World Endurance Championship, 6 Hours of Fuji, 2023. His team would achieve a 3rd place (Porsche AG).

Read the full story in The Road Rat Edition 18 – buy your copy today.

https://theroadrat.com/products/edition-no-18

17/11/2024

Representing the 1990s in Edition 18’s photographic portfolio of ‘Seven decades of the greatest cars of all time’ by , the McLaren F1 isn't just a car, it's a masterpiece of hypercar engineering. With its distinctive central driving position and the first-ever carbon-fibre monocoque chassis, it set new standards for automotive design and performance, and to this day is still the world’s fastest naturally aspirated road car. Every element was meticulously crafted by Gordon Murray and his team to be lightweight, high performance and timeless.

Enjoy the full portfolio of images and plenty more besides in The Road Rat Edition 18 – available to purchase now.

https://theroadrat.com/products/edition-no-18

14/11/2024

In 'Proportion is everything' (The Road Rat Edition 18), Ferrari’s Design Director Flavio Manzoni muses to Jason Barlow on the stylistic differences between tradition and nostalgia, and the sculptural influences that went into creating the Daytona SP3.

Images: Ferrari

Purchase your copy of Edition 18, as well as previous Editions, from The Road Rat store.

https://theroadrat.com/products/edition-no-18

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The first copies of Edition 19 of The Road Rat have landed at our Bicester Heritage HQ – 'Fresh and hot off the press', according to @mikeyharvey. Featuring ‘How McLaren won its cool back’, the beautiful Alfa Giulia, WRC Impreza, Citroën CX, and Jags XK120 and Type 00, Edition 19 is as diverse as it is vibrant. Have you ordered yours yet? Place an order today and receive your copy in time for Christmas – UK only. Deliveries to Europe and further afield will take place in the new year. https://theroadrat.com/collections/buy-magazines #TheRoadRat #AThingForCars #Print #Design #Cars #Automotive #McLaren #AlfaRomeo #Subaru #Citroen #Jaguar

Behind the beautiful scenes of the latest edition with Alfa Romeo’s head of design @alejandro.mesonero and his highly original 1969 Alfa Romeo Giulia GT 1300 Junior, shot on location by @eddhorder in Pino Torinese, Italy. Check out Edd's equally glorious photos of the Giulia, paired with words by @angus_mack, in 'Family Dynamic' from Edition 19 of The Road Rat – available to order now. Link in bio. #TheRoadRat #AThingForCars #Cars #Italy #AlfaRomeo #AlfaGiulia #Giulia #Design #Print

From manual proofing to mesmerising automated printing. Here is the latest edition of The Road Rat, Edition 19, being printed on the Heidelberg Speedmaster presses at our partner Hampton Printing in Bristol. With Edition 19 now almost ready for shipping, there’s just time to secure delivery by Christmas if you’re in the UK or soon after if you’re further afield. Subscribers will receive theirs as part of the first batch distributed. For a single order the edition is yours for an unchanged £17.50 or a bargain £14 as part of a four-edition subscription. Shipping is extra. https://theroadrat.com/collections/buy-magazines Highlights of Edition 19 include ‘How McLaren won its cool back’, the beautiful Alfa Giulia, WRC Impreza, Citroën CX, and Jags XK120 and Type 00. #TheRoadRat #AThingForCars #Print #Design #Cars #Automotive #McLaren #AlfaRomeo #Subaru #Citroen #Jaguar

As Road Rat co-founder and Editorial Director @mikeyharvey mentions, the Ferrari 250 GTO has for generations been the pinnacle car. In the latest edition of The Road Rat, author Stephen Bayley suggests the money to buy one may be migrating elsewhere. Read ‘Hyperart’ in The Road Rat Edition 18 to find out more – available to purchase from the Road Rat store. Link in bio.

Road Rat co-founder and Editorial Director @mikeyharvey offers a warm welcome to the channel's newest followers and a brief introduction to the latest hypercar-themed iteration of the magazine, Edition 18. To purchase your copy of Edition 18, or any of our available back editions, visit The Road Rat store today. https://theroadrat.com/products/edition-no-18 #TheRoadRat #edition18 #ferrari #automotive #scuderiaferrari #hypercar #gordonmurrayautomotive #T50 #print #AThingForCars

Road Rat co-founder and Editorial Director @mikeyharvey offers a warm welcome to the channel’s newest followers and a brief introduction to the latest hypercar-themed iteration of the magazine, Edition 18. To purchase your copy of Edition 18, or any of our available back editions, visit The Road Rat store today. Link in bio.

A few words of thanks from Road Rat co-founder and Editorial Director @mikeyharvey following a brilliant turn out at the recent Scramble. To purchase your copy of Edition 18, featuring the GMA T.50 cover star, visit The Road Rat store today. Link in bio.

Reflecting on a truly unforgettable (and dry) Scramble at the weekend. On behalf of the entire Road Rat team, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello or picked up a magazine at the Parachute Store on Sunday. A special mention also goes out to the six GMA T.50 owners who brought their cars along to help celebrate the launch of The Road Rat Edition 18 – thank you for sharing these incredible machines with us. You created quite the spectacle. See you at the next Scramble at Bicester Heritage in January.

Take a tour of The Road Rat HQ at Bicester Heritage, a building known as the Parachute Store. If you’re at the Scramble today, come inside and meet the team. Purchase back editions to complete your collection, box sets, value collection boxes and of course, the all-new Edition 18, featuring the GMA T.50 cover star.

Turn up your volume to experience the sound of the GMA T.50’s state-of-the-art 3.9-litre, 660bhp, naturally aspirated V12 - Edition 18’s cover star. If you’re attending today’s Scramble, visit the Road Rat HQ to purchase your copy and take a closer look at THE hypercar of the moment.

In Episode 1, part 1 of The Writer's Room by The Road Rat, Jamie Kitman looks back on the making of his essay on Elon Musk. Jamie spent hundreds of hours researching, conducted 25 interviews, and wrote 15,000 words for an in-depth feature on Musk in Edition #8 of The Road Rat. He aimed for a balanced, nuanced portrayal of Musk as a world historical figure and to reveal Tesla's impact on the auto industry. Take a listen, and follow for more Writer's Room episodes from The Road Rat team. #ElonMusk #Elon #Tesla #TeslaModelS #TeslaModel3 #TeslaRoadster #Starlink #TheBoringCompany #SpaceX #Twitter #X #Gigafactory #TheRoadRat #AThingForCars #Editon8 #TheWritersRoom

In Episode 1, part 1 of The Writer’s Room by The Road Rat, Jamie Kitman looks back on the making of his essay on Elon Musk. Jamie spent hundreds of hours researching, conducted 25 interviews, and wrote 15,000 words for an in-depth feature on Musk in Edition #8 of The Road Rat. He aimed for a balanced, nuanced portrayal of Musk as a world historical figure and to reveal Tesla’s impact on the auto industry. Take a listen, and follow for more Writer’s Room episodes from The Road Rat team. @commodorehornblow tesla #theroadrat #elonmusk #tesla #writersroom

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