Drive Cult Features

Feature: Drive Cult at the 2012 N24

James Wolfcale — 2012-05-18T20:31:24+00:00

Reporting from the first day's action at the 2012 Nürburgring 24H.

The Drive Cult team has made it back to the Nürburgring for the 2012 N24. We've drank plenty of beer, eaten several steaks and watched loads of racing. Alastair Preacher is currently struggling to beat my Gran Turismo 5 'Ring time at the Fuchsroehre Hotel and failing miserably. To be fair, he seems to be a little drunk.

Qualifying wrapped up a few hours ago and ended with the number 19 Schubert BMW Z4 GT3 on the pole. The Z4s seem to have found quite a bit of pace over last year, but the Mercedes SLS AMG...

Published in: Blogging

Feature: 10 Questions With Alessandro Cremascoli and Massimo Colnago of Fim Rennsport

James Wolfcale — 2012-05-04T04:13:14+00:00

We're headed back to Germany for the N24 soon, and this time we'll be bringing you the story of scrappy SP10 class team in a Porsche 911 GT3!

It’s that time of year again. In a matter of days the Drive Cult convoy will be headed to Germany for the 40th running of the Nürburgring 24 hour race. The memories from last year are still fresh in our minds and we’ve been looking forward to coming back since the checkered flag dropped for the Manthey GT3 RSR last June.

Last year we attended more as observers, both of the race and of the culture that surrounds it. Of course what I really mean by “culture” is the 300,000 psychotic, drunk Germans that line...

Published in: Blogging

Feature: Know Your Ferraris 1958 - 1964

Matthew Lange — 2012-04-08T15:39:39+00:00

The latest installment in Drive Cult's history of classic Ferraris.

With the recent launch of the new Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, it's high time for another in Drive Cult's occasional series running through the history of Ferrari's older models. The previous two instalments have focused on the 365 series and the 275 and 330 series road cars which together ran from 1963 to 1975 in one form or another. For this latest instalment we'll take a slight detour to focus on models we've not previously covered, that were introduced between 1958 and 1964. The period includes the later...

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Feature: Introducing Mission Motorsport

Chris Ratcliff — 2012-03-20T22:41:32+00:00

To help those injured in the Armed Forces, Mission Motorsport launched at Thruxton. We went to meet them and find out more about what they do.

For most of us at Drive Cult, cars are a hobby and a passion. They are the thing that we go to work to pay for, and our little escape from the normal world into one of tyres, mild spannering and dreams of oversteer. For others though, it’s a very real path of recovery to hopefully improve their quality of life.

You may have seen Top Gear when they featured the Race2Recovery rally raid team featuring those members of the Armed Forces wounded in service, and helping them to achieve and develop through the...

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Feature: How to upgrade your driving skills

Alastair Preacher — 2012-01-11T22:52:06+00:00

What is your car's limit? Or rather, where are your car's limits? Alastair Preacher attends a high performance driver training day and realises he has a lot to learn about driving technique.

If you're like me you'll have a history of tweaking and fettling your pride and joy in the eternal search of enhancing its performance. Uprated exhaust, more powerful brakes, new coilovers, the list goes on. How about a new head, cams, intake and ECU? Don't mind if I do! But what about the driver; how about upgrading you?

This is something I've long wondered about but have always found excuses not to follow up on. If I'm honest, the major reason holding me back has been the cost/benefit question: how much...

Published in: Feature

Feature: Driven: Ferrari 330GTS

Matthew Lange — 2012-01-02T10:36:22+00:00

Drive Cult samples a rare sixties open V12 Ferrari.

The Ferrari 599 SA Aperta, introduced as the finale to the 599 series, also represents an overdue continuation in the long line of open front-engined V12 Ferraris. The Aperta will only be made in a series of eighty examples, and while this short run has caused some surprise and disappointment for perspective buyers who missed out, it does keep with the tradition of these open V12s only being made in small numbers.

Ferrari made 122 examples of the 365GTS/4 rather better known as the Daytona Spyder, while...

Published in: Blogging

Feature: Inside the Secret World of a Formula 1 Factory

Chris Ratcliff — 2011-10-20T21:19:07+00:00

Few get to see the inner workings of a Formula 1 factory, so when Chris Ratcliff was invited to visit Lotus Renault Grand Prix, he leapt at the opportunity.

I've often heard people say that Britain has no manufacturing any more, and that everything is now outsourced. While that may be true for some sectors, there's still one industry that British manufacturing is very much at the forefront of: Formula 1.

In a nondescript factory in the middle of nowhere is Lotus Renault Grand Prix. I was lucky enough to be given a tour of the facility, and it gives an incredible insight into the technology at the heart of modern F1.

The tour started in LRGP's new...

Published in: F1, Feature

Feature: A Thousand Words: Petit Le Mans edition

James Wolfcale — 2011-09-30T14:44:45+00:00

The Flying Lizard Porsches negotiate turns 10a and 10b at Road Atlanta.

It's Petit Le Mans week at Road Atlanta and if you're nearby I strongly suggest you get up to Braselton, Georgia on Saturday to see one of the best endurance races you'll see anywhere in the world. The picture above was taken at the 2008 event, in which the Flying Lizards would go on to finish second and sixth in the GT2 class behind the Risi Ferrari F430 GT. The Audi R10 TDI of Emanuele Pirro, Rinaldo Capello and Allan McNish would go on to win overall.

This year 60 cars are competing for 53 starting...

Published in: Blogging

Feature: Video: N24 part 1 - Roadtrip to Germany

Martin Spain — 2011-09-20T07:41:37+00:00

Drive Cult takes a roadtrip to the Nürburgring 24H 2011.

As the summer comes to a close, it's time to remember what made it great. It certainly wasn't the weather - at least for those of us in the UK! - but the grey skies and perpetual rain didn't stop the Drive Cult team from having a memorable week in Germany in June, at the 2011 Nürburgring 24H race.

It's taken us quite a while to wade through the hundreds of gigabytes of video footage we shot, but finally we've cut it down to bring you our experiences at the toughest 24H race in the world. Taking a cue from...

Published in: Blogging

Feature: Sibling Rivalry: Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona versus Ferrari 365GTC/4

Matthew Lange — 2011-08-13T16:50:32+00:00

The Daytona faces off against its cheaper brother.

The Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona is one of the most iconic classic Ferraris. The combination of a powerful V12 engine, great looks and huge performance even by today's standards has meant the popularity of this model has endured. The downside to this is that the Daytona has always been an expensive car and remains so today. As I recently discussed, even a Daytona in need of some TLC is likely to set you back at least £150,000.

Within the classic Ferrari world there is a perception that its lesser-known...

Published in: Feature, Daytona, Ferrari