Teh Car Blogz

Spend some time on any automotive web forum and you’re bound to run across the ultimate hypothetical question: “what is your ultimate dream garage?” Sometimes 5 car, sometimes 10, sometimes more. Many people like to fill their fantasy garage up with dream exotica, many people like classics. If you’ve been reading my site, by now you know my choices are somewhat odd. So here, friends, is my 15-car dream garage.

1) 2001 Audi (B5) S4
Nogaro Blue, six-speed manual, converted to RS4 engine spec (forged internals, lower compression, K04/20 turbochargers, etc etc.) 450-500whp would be sufficient for a daily driver. I’ve always admired the B5 S4 for a lot of reasons. Primarily, it’s a spectacular mechanical package: 2.7L 30 valve V6 with twin turbochargers, a six-speed manual and Torsen AWD make for an extremely rapidly accelerating automobile…

Of course the stock K03 turbos suck, so replace them with the RS4 turbos and suitable upgrades. The stock suspension is also kinda weak, but a Koni cup kit would take care of that. Slap a pair of OZ Superleggara’s on there (18″) and you’ve got a ridiculously fast but also luxurious and capable daily driver - that’s good in snow as a bonus. Plus Nogaro Blue is just hot.

2) Saab 9-3 Viggen 5-door

This might seem like a somewhat odd choice. After all, pretty much every review of the Viggen was negative. “Too much power, too much torque steer, too little grip,” they said. Bullocks, I say. The Viggen was an awesome car. Supremely comfortable seats, tons and tons of midrange torque (once you’re past the the torque steer speeds), killer acceleration, and it’s a hatchback with tons of space. Plus they only made a handful so it’s guaranteed to be rare. 2.3L I4 Turbo with a Mitsu TD04 turbo, 225bhp and 258(!) lb-ft of torque. Well, stock anyway. A Maptun ECU reflash, downpipe and 3″ exhaust with Hirsch suspension, the Viggen Rescue Kit for the steering, and you’re good to go. I’d probably keep it in a bubble. Or just save it for road trips.

3) Datsun 510, BRE Livery, Nissan SR20DET

This one is thrown in there just for fun. I’ve always had a soft spot for Datsun 510’s looks but the 70’s style engine isn’t my bag - even if the straight six from an old GT-R would sound magnificent breathing through carbs. No, what the 510 needs to compliment it’s stunning simplistic looks - it really needs a modern, turbocharged motor. And with the Nissan SR20DET, not only to you get a magnificent engine, you also get a swap that is more retromod and less sacriledge. The twin-cam 16v turbocharged SR can easily put down 250whp on the stock hairdryer, but introduce it to some “Disco Potato” Action- a GT28RS - and 350+whp isn’t a problem. And in a car that’s less than a ton stripped out, that should be sufficient. No?

4) BMW Z3 M Coupe with BMW E39 M5 Motor, Vortec Blower

If it’s a dream garage, why not make it completely off-the-wall? The Z3 M Coupe is perhaps the closest ze Germans have ever gotten to a true musclecar. A tiny car, huge engine, more power than the chassis is really capable of handling. It’s perfect! But what it really needs, is MORE engine. So shove an M5 V8 from the E39 in there, good for 394bhp out of the box. But of course that’s not really enough - you really need a supercharger on top. A Vortec blower - or perhaps a twin Rotex setup - should be good for 650-700whp. And pure, unbridled insanity.

5) GMC Syclone

No matter how old I (or the Syclone) gets, it will always have a permanent place in my heart and my dream garage. The Syclone is, to me, the peak of American badassedness. It’s the ultimate muscle car (truck, whatever) and I think one of the epic all-time sleepers. The formula was simple: huge powerful engine, smallest chassis it will fit in. But there was a twist: tons of grip from an electronic all-wheel drive set up, massive brake-torquing potential from the automatic trans, and inside of a big dumb V8, a massively turbocharged V6. Oh, yeah, and it was all shoved into a somewhat ricey-looking GMC Sonoma, the same thing as… a Chevy S10. Yup. Power output from the factory was 28 horsepower and 360 lb-ft, which was good for a violent 4.6-second 0-60 mile per hour sprint. Of course, why not make something good even better? The 4.3L turbo pushrod V6 is begging for more boost… LOTS more boost. A hot cam, some headers, pulleys, huge injectors and MAF, and a Garrett T67 with a built trans and a mildly tubbed rear end for more rubber would do the trick. oh and completely unmuffled exhaust… people will hear the turbo from miles away. Oh, and black wheels please.

Next five tomorrow! Comments?

This entry was posted on Friday, March 7th, 2008 at 1:17 am and is filed under Dream Cars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.