Tin-tops, touring cars – whatever you know them by, this is a class of cars in motorsport that perhaps goes the furthest in crafting the extraordinary out of the ordinary, turning handsome everyday hacks into circuit-bashing Bahnstormers.
JUN 27th 2017
Five tin‑tops you shouldn't miss at FOS!
Alfa Romeo 155 DTM
The motorsport machine that was Alfa Romeo has in recent years gone quite quiet. The odd road car with a bit of poke and be-chromed inlet manifolds was at one point the last clue to the casual observer that Alfa Romeo was anything more than a svelte Italian alternative to the German executive monotony. Recently, Alfa properly got its performance mojo back with the Giulia QV, but it still doesn’t command the majesty that the monstrous 155 touring cars of the ‘90s once did, nor indeed does it in any way revive the racing titan that was Alfa Romeo.
If you’re at the Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard this weekend, make sure you catch the 155 DTM in action on the Hill. It’s a recent snapshot of just how much of motorsport star Alfa has been over the years.
Zakspeed Capri
Is this the ultimate Frankenstein’s monster of dad-mobiles? We love to celebrate these ‘80s icons in their competition specifications at the Members’ Meeting with the Gerry Marshall Trophy – exclusively for Group 1 touring cars. Capris in a much tamer specification are often the stars of the show. This thing, however, is a bit more serious. Group 5 spec’ means big power, bulging muscles, big aero, serious rubber on the ground and let's face it, little but the Capri’s most distinctive shapes and features to suggest the family connection. Let’s not forget the hilariously tiny uber-turbocharged 460bhp monster that sits between those fantastic arches. Don’t miss it in action at FOS…
Group 2 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28
Speaking of mutant siblings of Gerry Marshall Trophy regulars… the Group 2 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. The Faberge Racing Group 1 car is a fan favourite at MM, but unlike in the case of the Capri where you have to establish that it is in fact still a Capri, you need to get a little closer to the Group 2 Camaro to clock the upgrades. Before long a massive air dam, bulging arches, gaping intakes and, once it starts, 500bhp+ of flame-spitting fury, make this car the distinguishably more steroidal big brother. It’ll be stretching its legs properly at FOS…
Bernd Schneider C-Class DTM
The first of two epic driver-motor combos in this list, the 2005 Mercedes-Benz C-Class DTM dealt hefty blows in the now-defunct touring car discipline with top-level Merc motorsport man Bernd Schneider at the wheel. He’ll be reuniting with the 460bhp tin-top silhouette at FOS for some Hillclimb shenanigans.
M3 Group A
Group A M3 and Roberto Ravaglia are a staple touring car-combo that by the end of 2017 we will have seen together twice. Once, at 75MM, for the spectacular Group A high speed demo, and now at FOS for a good old-fashioned crack at the Hill. What can we expect? If 75MM is anything to go by, spectacular scenes of high-tech Group A gloriousness bobbing around on its camber, with perhaps one of the greatest BMW M-Performance engines being rung out for all to enjoy. Miss this at risk of eternal regret, Group A and tin-top fans…
Photography courtesy of LAT Images
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