Wednesday 4th April 2012

Chris Harris video: Tuthill 911 rally car

Harris on safe ground in a retro rally-spec 911 but just watch him go...

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Look away now if you don't like 911s. Especially old ones.

'Making progress' the Harris way

I happen to like these cars - a fact that regularly lands me in trouble. The one featured in this video is a 3.5-litre monster used in the Belgian rally championship. Richard Tuthill was testing at Prodrive's track near Warwick, so I went along to annoy him and blag a go in this extraordinary car.

It appears that there are very few technical rules in this series, because what started out as an innocent little 70s 911 has been transformed into one of the most brutal cars I've driven in a while. Excusing the continuity mistake in the vid - the car has more like 365hp - and taking the weight as around 1,000kg, this car is monstrously fast. Then look at the gearing - it'll just hit 120mph in 5th gear - and you'll understand how potent it is.

Harris on home turf.

The transmission is a new design - effectively a 915 'box converted to dog-rings and you can flat shift up and down, giving genuine two-pedal driving should you want it. The engine is taken out to 3.5 litres and runs slide injection. It's a flipping masterpiece: so torquey you don't really need to go beyond 7,000rpm. The noise is - well, I suppose the beauty of video is I don't have to describe the thing to you. Just listen.

It's a car that loves to be hustled - it responds to light provocation, but take liberties and it'll make you look an idiot. You quickly learn to use that mass behind the rear axle to make a change of direction or set it up for a corner.
The car is driven by Glenn Janssens in the Belgian Rally Championship. He's a lucky blighter.

Enjoy the vid!

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[Nikolai]

Wow, is there anything finer than the sound of going up through a straight cut gear box! Reminds me of in car footage of BTCC cars from years back.

[grenpayne]

Brilliant video, keep up the good work Chris

[Foodfocus]

Like how you try just justify hooning about in a rally spec 911 with the diesel passat bit, either way entertaining video. That 911 really does look a beast, cant blame a man for wanting a play in that.

[anonymous-user]

Amazing car.

Historic rallying is so much better than modern WRC.

[Evoman]

...a rather immensely entertaining looking machine. The sounds are rather good too

[Mastodon2]

Great video, I love the car. The production of the video is great too, the audio quality in particular - the sound of the gears engaging with that thunk is a sound I would never get sick of. You can pretty much hear what the gearstick would feel like in your hand!

[Crook]

That looks like fun.

Anyone have a link to the Rally series?

[snotrag]

Great vid, great car.


BUT - Tire walls made entirely of BRAND NEW Pirelli P6000's!? WTF?

[ACW]

Very entertaining. Any chance of a wallpaper still of the cornering shot lifting a front?

[_Batty_]

I'll pay your next tank of derv if you continue to make videos like this.
Very much enjoying this Chris. Better than DR.

[The Pits]

Do you like any other rear engined cars? Or just 911s?

[thinfourth2]

Only 365bhp

no satnav

no electric memory seats

what a terrible car

[Stu R]

Superb video, and what a monster of a car that thing is (the Passat, obviously)

Seriously impressed with the whole 'Drive' thing. Bags of great content - spent most of Sunday afternoon going through it all and can't wait for more.

[Dave Hedgehog]

awesome, simply awesome

and the passat is st

[kentmotorcompany]

Another nice vid.

I like the way these videos are appearing in the evening. Something new and nice to look at.

[gary71]

snotrag said:

BUT - Tire walls made entirely of BRAND NEW Pirelli P6000's!? WTF?

They were a load of rejects from Pirelli with a variety of manufacturing defects.

[Rouleur]

I'm very hard to please, but that was excellent

[V8 FOU]

Truly, truly, wonderfull! Especially the shots of the car on three wheels....

Damn fine video again. Keep doing this stuff, please!

[HAB]

Great video, classic aircooled 911 3 wheel stance!

The Pits said:

Do you like any other rear engined cars? Or just 911s?

Why, yes.

In fact from the brief (fabulous) drive I had in a 150bhp Alpine A110, I possibly liked it more than the 911

Edited by HAB on Wednesday 4th April 21:47

[ravon]

Great video, it's getting on for 22:00 hrs, I'm not far off sixty years old, and when i've finished this post I'm going down to my garage, and going out for a drive, sadly not in what Chris was driving but a "poor man's" version, a 964RS. That's what a great video does for me. Thanks.

PS to "The Pits" yes it's got the the engine in the "wrong bloody place" but they've won more races and rally's than your favorite mid-engined brand could ever dream of, and people who like driving love them !