A few titbits from Autosport and The Performance Car Show to whet your appetite for the weekend...
Coming to Autosport and the Performance Car Show over the weekend? We thought we'd share a few quick things you might want to check out, once you've popped across to the PistonHeads supercar paddock and admired our fabulous selection of cars. The sofas are rather comfy too!
The show's already busy and that's before the weekend rush so there's a great buzz about the NEC and plenty of cool stuff, from stickers to full-blown race cars to spend your cash on. Even if you're just tyre kicking there's still plenty to enjoy and here are a few things that caught the attention of the PH camera as we paced the show yesterday.
The excitement over last year's Senna film doesn't seem have died down one bit and the great man's presence looms large over the show. In some unexpected places.
Like this Metro 6R4 on the Coy's stand for instance. Metro 6R4? Senna? Yup. The man himself drove this car back in 1986, having admitted he knew nothing about rallying other than watching it a few times on TV. "I deliberately haven't listened to anyone about rally driving. I want to find out for myself." So said Senna before his drive in the 6R4 for a feature in Cars and Car Conversions.
More conventional Senna machinery can be found in the special display containing everything from a kart he raced to the iconic Marlboro McLarens, including the MP4/8 he drove in his legendary win at Donington in 1993. Pay your respects...
There are plenty of new racing cars to appreciate too.
This GT3 spec Ginetta G55 looks the business though the bonnet aero features might not do it any favours.
It'll face some stiff competition, not least from the very mean looking
Mercedes SLS AMGGT3. Moody, even in white.
The McLaren MP4-12C GT3 is another stunner - GT racing is certainly looking good for 2012 with grids full of cars like this.
And there's a glimpse of the future too with the first UK appearance for the hybrid Porsche 918 RSR.
Road cars aren't forgotten though - if you've not had a chance to look at the
new 991Porsche 911 there's one here at Autosport to check out.
And BMW have a chrome-wrapped M3 that pushes the boundaries of decency a little.
Classics aren't a huge thing at Autosport but there are some lovely ones about, including this ex-Hawthorn 'long-nose' D-Type valued at £6m.
The Coy's area has some great stuff ready for the auction on Saturday too, including the original (really!) Chip Foose Eleanor Mustang used in the filming of Gone In 60 Seconds.
Back in the Autosport heartland we were rather taken with this 600hp Impreza Time Attack car driven to class victory by Crossroads Subaru dealer principal Jon Mathers. We'll be driving the road car this has inspired next week and Jon somewhat unwisely said we could have a go with this too. Watch this space!
There's plenty more to see too of course and feel free to share your personal highlights here. And if you're at the show be sure to drop by and say hello!
