There is a mini I’ve seen here at a car show (in upstate NY) with a plaque claiming provenance from the original Italian Job. I’m guessing it was just made up car show BS then?

Yes, and the want is strong. I mean, I’d prefer a similar car from a make that’s a little less.... fiat.... but I’ll take what I can get

Are videos of sliding FWD hatchbacks becoming the new “imported from japan drifting dvd” now that we don’t really get small manual hatches?

This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I like it!

I’m pretty sure that’s Mike Ballaban’s Yugo that’s been written about on this site a lot. And yes, as far as Yugos go, I think it is pretty good looking. Rally lights make everything look better in my opinion 

“Semi-professional VW mechanic” - I remember starting to feel that way by the end of my time with the MK4. Now I’m pretty well versed in Subaru, but despite my love of them and AWD I really want something FWD for rallycrossing. The reason being the one you just mentioned: left foot braking.

I can honestly say I might not be a Jalop if it wasn’t for my dad peeling out for fun in our Ford Taurus wagon or doing reverse donuts in icy parking lots in our Plymouth Voyager minivan. The excitement of realizing a car can be more than just a way to get from point A to point B sticks with you.

Well despite owning an MK4 1.8T I’m not sure if I’m the best one to answer that as I’ve never driven any of the other GTIs. From what I’ve heard it was the heavy and slow member of the GTI family. Other than going through a bunch of coil packs and solving some vacuum hose boost leaks it always ran strong for me. Turbo…

I’d say it’s funny how you posted this right after I was on craigslist thinking about cheap fwd cars for rallycross... but then I’m always on craigslist looking for cheap fun cars anyways so it’s really no surprise.

I’ve been riding for the last 5 years without so much as a speedometer

As seen from the county fair near me a couple years ago, this same idea is how they fit monster trucks into their container trucks. It’s pretty funny to see them like this, and I kind of wish they’d actually do some real driving when they’re on

While I do a lot of my mechanical work myself, this is why for anything I can’t do I’m glad I found a mechanic who also crew chiefs for a rally team. I don’t generally need a transmission swapped in 30 minutes or to rebuild something that caught fire at some point, and I don’t ask that the work be done outside in a…

Woah, on third look you are right. It’s hard to see, but it’s technically possible he did route a pipe under the perch where you can’t see it in the photos back into the intake... and this could actually be functional after all.

Yeah, same. I remember 2009 because I was a year away from graduating and wondering if I’d be able to get a job. It doesn’t feel that long ago.

Ooh that would be good too. It’s like another day, another rally replica obsession with me. Volvos, Opels, Nissans, old Subarus...

There is a youtube video where someone goes through a vintage drag kz750 they found. Bored, stroked, ported head, big carbs on welded intakes running either methanol or nitro, I don’t remember. I bet it could hit those numbers but at that point it’s barely the same bike

You’ve just made me start wanting an Opel Ascona 400... thanks

Lol it’s all good man... I had to double check myself and make sure I didn’t actually say that because yeah... totally not capable of twice the power without some serious work!

Reading comprehension much? Where did I saw twice the power... I just said it was about the same power... and a kz750 twin is an boat anchor of a lump on the best of days