What number of of you may have actually pushed a automotive to its restrict?
Be sincere; I imply actually pushing it till you are feeling the automobile transfer in methods you’re not inputting into the steering and pedals.
It may be terrifying, particularly should you’re out of shape or not sure about your self or the automotive. I’ve had a number of ‘moments’ driving at 10/10ths, and from expertise, it’s far much less nerve-wracking in a automotive with 200hp than one with 500.
Right this moment, the ‘scene’ is obsessive about bragging rights and horsepower figures. As a substitute of constructing vehicles they will genuinely deal with, many homeowners are hell-bent on creating “The one ‘X’ with over ‘Y’ horsepower in existence” or “The one Stage 75.8 ‘Z’ within the recreation…”
It’s tedious and truthfully a bit boring to see on social media.
With massive energy changing into more and more accessible, it’s alarming that drivers who shouldn’t be close to a quick automotive are getting behind the wheels of short-wheelbase, 2.0L turbocharged point-and-shoot monsters.
With 0-60mph occasions akin to a Group-B rally automotive and lightning-fast automated transmissions, it’s too straightforward for an inexperienced driver to create chaos on public roads.
Anyway, rant over. That’s my take, however it brings us again to the purpose. Regardless of the takeover crowd, there are nonetheless individuals conserving the spirit of old skool tuning alive in 2024.
Folks like Joe Ward and his pleasant Fiat Panda – one in all my favorite vehicles to have featured this 12 months.
The Panda debuted in 1980 as a easy, boxy, no-frills automotive, embodying Giorgetto Giugiaro’s imaginative and prescient of the proper individuals’s automobile. It’s an unlikely selection for a efficiency construct, however that’s a part of this little automotive’s attraction.
“I purchased this Panda as a result of I had one as my first automotive. It was a rot field…” Joe reminisces. “I wished to do [these modifications] to it till my dad made me see some sense.”
Given the situation of most traditional Italian vehicles on our wet island (often a pile of rust), Joe made positive to begin with a stable base. “This one popped up with 2,500 miles from new; it was the proper automotive to begin with,” he says.
Gone is the unique 1.0L engine, changed with a mighty 1.2L, 16-valve unit from a 2002 Fiat Punto. This swap has upped the Panda’s output from a paltry 47hp (in 1980) to an outrageous 79hp. And that was earlier than Joe began to fettle with it…
Neglect plug-in tunes; Joe has tweaked this engine the old style approach. A ported and polished cylinder head improves airflow to the 0.4mm over-bored cylinders fitted with Mahle pistons, whereas valve timing is managed by Piper efficiency camshafts.
The consumption options particular person throttle our bodies with 3D-printed upswept trumpets fed by a ram-air consumption on the bonnet. A skimmed head and block improve the compression whereas the entire setup is managed by a standalone MicroSquirt ECU.
A Supersprint manifold and {custom} exhaust produce nice noise, whereas a 5-speed gearbox from a later Panda makes essentially the most out of the powerband. And the way a lot energy? Don’t let the badges idiot you – this little beast packs 115 horses in its little steady.
Exterior, as a lot because it betrays its roots, Joe’s Panda seems each bit the half. Up entrance, a practical chassis-mounted splitter and air dam designed by Joe are complemented by aspect skirts and a wing atop the tailgate. Don’t underestimate home made aero components; you’d be stunned at what they will obtain…
Beneath the rolled and pulled wheel arches are 14-inch Oscam break up rims wrapped in Nankang NS2-R tyres for the highway, with a separate set of ATIWE Borbets for observe days. Different distinctive touches embody 3D-printed blanks changing the unique door mirrors, now swapped for a single ‘overtaking’ mirror.
For design symmetry, a left-hand drive taillight has changed the reverse mild, and in an try and shed weight, Joe crafted {custom} polycarbonate home windows, full with a slider for the driving force’s door.
Behind the wheels is a ‘massive’ brake package that includes later mannequin 240mm discs paired with Wilwood callipers and a brake bias valve. Because of bespoke LEDA coilovers with Mk1 Ford Fiesta high mounts, Joe has achieved a 180mm drop.
Inside, regardless of being stripped out, the Panda is surprisingly nice. In spite of everything, it was designed to be minimal, so it was virtually made to be uncovered.
A full FIA-spec roll cage safeguards the occupants, custom-fabricated by ARC Autosport, who additionally crafted the mounts for the Recaro Pole Place driver’s seat and Cobra traditional passenger bucket. TAKATA Racing harnesses safe either side.
As with the outside, the main points make the Panda’s inside stand out. A full respray in pastel gray elevates the cabin, courtesy of Jack Smith, aka Solid From Flake. I’ve no disgrace in shouting Jack out – his work is phenomenal.
My favorite particulars embody the uncommon Abarth steering wheel, which rivals the leather-based bar tape on the door bars for quirkiness, and the 3D-printed gauge binnacle designed to connect to the roll bar – area is at a premium on this little automotive.
A pedal field conversion and tower quick shifter full the inside, completed off with a custom-turned picket shift knob.
However why undergo such effort constructing an Italian econobox like this? In Joe’s phrases: “I constructed it the way in which I did as a result of I’ve had observe vehicles prior to now and love the driving as a lot because the constructing. I didn’t wish to construct a present automotive and get overly protecting over it.”
“I additionally thought it will be humorous to chase individuals down in somewhat white field on a observe day. Think about the Panda in your mirrors; you’d have a proper giggle!” And therein lies the innocence of Joe’s Fiat, one thing lacking from so many modified vehicles these days.
The Panda straddles the road between not taking itself too severely and taking the execution of the construct as severely as attainable.
What a unbelievable little automotive – the quickest washer this aspect of a laundromat.
Mario Christou
Instagram: mcwpn, mariochristou.world
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