What a day!

Got picked up by one of the drivers in his 2002 BMW M3 at 7:30am (too early for me!). Arrived in the pissing down rain at 9am and ran to the show hall. Now for the pictures.

Roush engineering. The driver Gareth apparently knew someone who works for their subsidary, so we hung around abit, here is the engine out of the Ford GT:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0067.JPG

Moving on to the F1 grid:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0062.JPG

The new TVR Sagaris. Looks alot neater and less wild than it did in the photos i saw beforehand:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0060.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0061.JPG

The baby brother of the quickest car at the ring 24hour this year. Unfortunately being quick is no use if you cant get to the finish line:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0059.JPG

Beautiful:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0058.JPG

The HKS R33 Drag spec GT-R. I also saw Mario from exvitermini on this stand:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0055.JPG
i wish i had a hairdryer like that :D:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0053.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0052.JPG

The car that came home 1st in this years LeMans, complete with tyre shards and shit all over it:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0050.JPG

The new Impreza STi WR1. No specs released yet, i can only guess that it'll be in competition to the Evo VIII FQ-330:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0049.JPG

The car Petter Solberg brought home to win in this years WRC:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0048.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0044.JPG

Radical SR3 Turbo. New Nurburgring road car lap record holder:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0047.JPG

The Prodrive stand was damn cool:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0045.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0043.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0042.JPG

Somehow i cant see myself spending £6000 for a carbon lip spoiler:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0039.JPG
Even if it does look nice:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00401.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00411.JPG

Lets hope it fairs a little better than 2002:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0038.JPG

Interesting welding on the exhaust assembly of the Jaguar's Ford Cosworth F1 engine:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00201.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00191.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00181.JPG

X-Trac box, the best IMO, and that of most people from what i can gather:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0017.JPG

WRC cars:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00211.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00161.JPG
This looks mean, although i never knew WRC cars had drum brakes :D
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00151.JPG

Some old cars:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00141.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00131.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00071.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00061.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00051.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00041.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00031.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00021.JPG

This is a work of art, you really cant appreciate it in photographs (especially blurred ones :D):
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00101.JPG
You dont get that kind of detail anywhere else, leather straps to fasten the bodywork down. Thats why this car costs so much:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00111.JPG

The best shot of the 911 GT3RS i could get:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00081.JPG

Gallardo:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00121.JPG

M3 engined Mini in the Britcar Championship. 375bhp if i remember rightly in a MINI!!! (I believe this was at Abbey Motorsport the other week?) Our driver knew the owner somehow:
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0001.JPG

And to save the best until last:

Galleria Ferrari
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0022.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0024.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0025.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00271.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00231.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00261.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0028.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0032.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0033.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0036.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0035.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0034.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00291.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0030.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG0031.JPG
http://www.photohost.org/gallery/data/500/328RIMG00371.JPG

The Ferrari exhibition alone made the whole thing worth it. Every Ferrari worth seeing was there.

Other highlights included seeing Mario from exvitermini.com on the HKS stand, and various celebrities dotted around.

Definitely worth going again, probably the best car show ive been too. And i still cant get over how nice the E46 M3 is in every respect. As a 4 seater sports car i dont think much can touch it.

PHEW. I just clicked submit and internet explorer locked up. Id have been SO pissed off if id lost all that.

daaaaamn, awesome pictures!

can't wait to go to my first auto show :(

more here:

http://www.photohost.org/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=328

Awesome pics man!! :rock:

Seeing the Bentley LeMans in real life is pretty amazing and that goes for pretty much any race car, excluding NASCAR. AND OH MY those Ferraris... :smileysex

could you fix the link for the Radical SR3-Turbo? you've got a repeat there.

Next week I will have plenty of pics. Put it this way, there will be over 700 cars there. Detroit rules! HAHA