PSA coming to channel 4 soon, this Youtube video popped up today.
Short synopsis:
Guy Martin, transit van, engine in the back, Nurburgring lap record attempt.
Could be interesting......
And presumably terrahawk as ballast swinging out on the corners? 🙂
Trying to beat that German woman who embarrassed Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear?
I’ll watch it chief.
🤦♂️
Trying to beat that German woman who embarrassed Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear?
I think that was a production Trannie with a bit of ballast thrown out. This is going to be a mite quicker .
Anyone remember this Espace?
I think that was a production Trannie with a bit of ballast thrown out. This is going to be a mite quicker .
Yeah, IIRC they stripped out everything that wasn’t structurally important then taped over all the panel joins to improve streamlining (It’s a breezeblock on wheels!), then let her thrash the hell out of it.
Dunno what motor they’re planning on using, but the 3.5ltr V6 Ecoboost that they put in the US Transit would be a good start, it’s possible to get upwards of 400bhp* out of it, with less weight than a V8.
* I have a vague recollection of more than 500bhp, but I’d have to search online.
edit - yeah, 600bhp is considered a ‘safe’ build, it can go higher, but with doubts about the ability of the transmission to cope...
I think that was a production Trannie with a bit of ballast thrown out.
Which, coincidentally, was beaten last month by Rob Austin (BTCC) in a similarly modified 'rental' VW Transporter.
Dunno what motor they’re planning on using, but the 3.5ltr V6 Ecoboost that they put in the US Transit would be a good start, it’s possible to get upwards of 400bhp* out of it, with less weight than a V8.
Looks like a mid engine, V, twin turbo, twin charge cooler
Hmmm its a silhouette racer, appears to have nothing except the body shape in common with the original van.
Looks like fun though.
The Espace F1 was demonstrated at Silverstone in 199-something, cool as but didn't handle too clever, porpoised like a beeyatch. Best of the supervan things, for my money. 🙂
But how will he get his bike in there? 🙂
Van looks a lot more "normal" than when he used ut for the NORC challenge.....
Well from the outside anyway 😁
So it’s a race car with transit body bolted on top
He did say its not production class. Cue STW losing their shit because its not a production van. I dunno...
This one is a bit more subtle, till you fire it up, obvs...
I read his new book recently where he talks about the van - it's the same one that Krazy Horse built for him to race in the states, however he's obviously moved the engine to the back. It's not a silhouette but it has obviously been space-framed. All done by him in his shed which is pretty awesome. Originally he'd planned to do TimeAttack in it but for some reason didn't and ended up going to the Ring to break the record.
His new book does make him out to be a bit awkward and not a little angry, however he's making money from racing bikes, driving cars, trucks and tractors and building stuff in his shed - I'd say he's winning...
losing their shit
Always with the faecal matter on STW.
The XJ220 powered Transit was actually the test mule for XJ220's drivetrain. That thing was driving around regular roads.
The Ford GT and it's race car equivalent uses a 3.5 V6 ecoboost too.
Will be interested to see. I think the main difficulty will be learning the track.
But how will he get his bike in there?
Ha! That was exactly my first thought. A vehicle you can't put a tonne bag of gravel in isn't a van IMHO.
I think the main difficulty will be learning the track.
pretty sure he's learned the track.
Apparently a Mr K Block has put an ecoboost in his hoonigan truck. 914BHP....
Hmmm its a silhouette racer, appears to have nothing except the body shape in common with the original van.
As flange says, if you actually look closely at the interior shot of the van, you can clearly see the shell is a stock Trannie with a steel space-frame for structural rigidity. Which is exactly the same as pretty much any saloon car used for circuit racing or rallying.
I read his new book recently where he talks about the van – it’s the same one that Krazy Horse built for him to race in the states, however he’s obviously moved the engine to the back.
Is the one he did the "drive really fast in a straight line" thing in? I might be wrong (I regularly am) but I thought that WAS mid-engined.
Apparently a Mr K Block has put an ecoboost in his hoonigan truck. 914BHP….
And 702lb ft of torques.
Nice.
I saw Guy in a pub on Sat night and asked him about the van. He’s put a Ford V6 twin turbo in it. A company from Norfolk who usually do Landrovers have done the suspension. He’s ok with the track but they have had lots of problems with the set up. In other news, Nigel the dog is doing ok. He’s got another one called Steve now too.
I saw one of his old vids on YT the other day when he visited Judd where they were rebuilding that Ford / Cosworth F1 engine. When he said in the trailer 500Bhp (same as the Cosworth) I crossed everything they’d use one for this, probably a daft idea in real life, but it would have been so, very, very cool.
EcoBoost makes sense, I liked the EcoBoost Pantera F n’ L made.
All very interesting chaps, but when is it on?
This Sunday 9pm Ch4 istr
I thank you.
Don't forget : 9pm Ch4...
“Right, chief”
”Tea”
Thanks for the reminder. Enjoyed that, especially the bit where [no spoilers] .... [/no spoilers]
You could just about hear that beast of an engine barking away behind the conversation in the cab, but why didn't they get the soundman to let us hear it properly!
Like the previous record holder said, it's one of the loudest vehicles he's been in yet you can only get a hint of what it sounds like when it changes gear!
Did he do it then?
I got bored, had it on in the background...
pretty sure he’s learned the track.
> spoilers <
Anyway, lots of interesting stuff in the driver prep for this one. Enjoyed it.
Enjoyed that. I've met Andy Carlile a few times and I was pleased to see him on the telly.
Andy C was cool as a cucumber “more power, more power....and a bit more...”. Lol I’d have been crying to get out at this point...
Having Andy C in the van with him was a big help as he knew how the track felt at different speeds: "bit of a jump there, it's 30m further back if you go quicker" sort of thing that you only get by knowing the place intimately. Of course a bike being so much lighter than the van is going to affect things like that as well. I did like the "have a roll over the kerb" "Whoa! I don't think we'll do that again!"
Where was Sabine when we really needed her?
Oh well, we're doing spoilers then… fine. He needed that help with the course.
What is his new job that he mentioned, does he no longer work as a lorry mechanic???
His “shed” and my shed are just a tad different.
I want his bike cave too
I enjoyed that, and I know it's all meant to be amateur hour, but I do feel like we miss out a bit.
i wish the production team would just try to help make it *a little* more competent, and I think we'd see a lot more of the potential of the vehicles, and a lot more of Guy being a legend of driving things fast.
like turning up at the salt, with tyres they *know* are unsuitable... Turns out [bombshell!] that they're unsuitable tyres. Fine do that bit, but for a few thousand dollars have another set in the support van to use. The trip to the salt seemed wasted. Another set of wheels wouldn't have robbed us of anything, we'd have seen a whole lot more performance, driving, and a good comparison as to what difference the right kit made.
same with the heroic overnighting of parts/sourcing bits. Seeing the bits being switched is nice - you can still have that in the show, but without the compromised performance on the track. We'd see more great driving too if the basics worked better.
I don’t get it. Since when was a transit mid engined? That engineering had little in common with ford, the transit and I would argue if it even was a van anymore. That entire back end was re engineered.
I got much more pleasure out of the BTCC driver taking the north gate rental around the track.
I would love to see a shootout of standard vans with professional drivers at the wheel. This was basically an advert for Guy Martin and ford. Dull as
I got much more pleasure out of the BTCC driver taking the north gate rental around the track
I liked that too, only 30 secs slower than Guy but with 1/4 of the power, well it was meant to be a bog standard 150bhp but I'd put money on it having a remap.
Not taking anything away from Guy's van as it's an awesome creation, I reckon with more knowledge of the track he'd get it down into an 8 min something lap.
I would love to see a shootout of standard vans with professional drivers at the wheel. This was basically an advert for Guy Martin and ford. Dull as
Ok so you were expecting a 'shootout' of standard vans to be exciting? Those Vivaros really get the pulse racing, don't they? How about them being full of tools with some ladders on the roof?
The LittlestHobo
...and I would argue if it even was a van anymore
You can still get a few bikes in the back though.... 🙂
Terra hawk did you see the btcc driver take the standard T6 around, only 30s slower. I would love to see a Renault Traffic ragged around trying to beat it. Ok cut them a bit of slack and tape up seams, improve standard engine, take out unwanted seats etc.
The transit didn’t even have matching wheels as they had put whatever bastardised back end in it. If you want to watch guy martini drive the Nurburgring then put him in something exotic. If you want to see him in something special, put him in a proper racing truck. Otherwise for me at least, don’t just make a big advert for guy martini and ford
Epicyclo there wasn’t much room around the spaceframe rear end
<p>I don’t get it. Since when was a transit mid engined? That engineering had little in common with ford, the transit and I would argue if it even was a van anymore. That entire back end was re engineered.</p>
<p>I don't get it. Since when did a Civic have a central steering position. That engineering had little in common with Honda, the Civic and I would argue if it even was a car anymore. That entire front end was re engineered.</p><p>BTCC</p><p>Nobody, ever.</p>
Squirrelking when did I say it should be run as per btcc. If that’s what btcc allows writhing the rules then I dare say if it’s an advantage, all the teams will do so.
If general tv tells me Guy Martin is going to beat the track record in a ford transit, I expect him to be in essentially a ford transit. It was an advert. Plain and simple. His fanboys get to see him driving fast in something he couldn’t really not break the record in. Hell he even had a co driver in the passenger seat nursing him around. My guess is either that guy who held the bike record or the bloke who drove him around in the jaguar could have wiped the floor with his time. Actually that jaguar was a relevant a record holder for fastest van as the transit was
although I enjoyed the programme I sort of agree. Or if making it mid engined then make it as compact as possible & put a bulkhead in the back so there is still some usable van space!
Not really sure why they changed it so drastically from before though as opposed to just making the existing setup better. Also what happened to all the aerodynamic stuff they'd done, the massive front chin thing/side skirts & especially the rear wing that they'd spent all that effort developing via the simulator and supposedly added loads of downforce? And yeah the different rear wheels annoyed me as a layman especially, as they just looked crap! The original modified van looked a lot cooler!!
Was all a bit time-crunched as well, which is fine on say a Top Gear challenge but not really when you're trying to do the best job possible. Especially where he basically just had one lap where it was the first time he'd ever driven the van around that circuit, and then the second lap the engine cut out & then caught fire. At least give him an extra week or so to fix the van, fit some better brakes/suspension or whatever they thought was needed & give him another crack at it!
Er… some of you were watching the wrong programme, obviously!
It was an advert. Plain and simple
An advert for what? If it was advertising Ford they'd have been better off working with Ford engineers to tune and tweak a standard one rather than the written off, mashed up, chopped up, odd-wheeled, logo-less 5 year old mongrel that they did use.
I saw an advert for Jaguar in there somewhere. And Cadwell Park track days.
This was just classic Guy Martin fodder for me. Him dicking around with engines coupled with a bit of ancillary stuff (in this case the sports science / eye coordation coach).
Yeah it obviously is not promoting Ford or even done with that in mind IMO. Blatant product placement for Jaguar though!!
Guy Martin is sponsored by ford. There is no way he was going to do it in anything other than a ford.
...and Suzuki and dogs and prams and tea. I think he may have also been breathing, so he was clearly being paid by whoever supplies air in both Germany and Lincolnshire.
Didn't see a traditional JMC bobble hat though. Is Budge not paying enough?
This forum would be loads better if it wasn't for all the sad 14 year olds.
Guy Martin is sponsored by ford
is he ****.
Not sure he is sponsored by Ford, that's why he is usually strolling around in 5-10s and Hope gear, even though he is making a motoring program? Surely if he was sponsored by Ford, he would of had a new van, Ford engineers and a lovely wide-brimmed Ford cap?
Take it for what it is, good entertainment, been lucky enough to meet him a few times, as he held court a the beginning of the End to End on IOM and at the tank museum near where i live in Norfolk, and he comes across as genuinely likable guy, at the end of the day if we had the chances (and the skills) to do have the TV he does and have the fun he often seems to have, we'd bite his hand off.
At the risk of sounding like a 'hater' or '14 year old'......what I really don't get with these programmes is why they're mainly driving challenges when it's quite clear that Guy is far from a top quality driver (I'm sure he's far better than me) If he were to be setting motorbike based records then surely they'd be far more credible?
Obviously he has a tie-in with Ford in that they sell a van branded with his logo etc. Don't know that I've seen any examples of him being endorsed or paid by him otherwise. There is no way he was going to do it in anything other than a transit as he (along with myself & a lot of other people!) really like transits as it is the quintessential British van!
Some moaning about these programs as usual. Why do people watch what they don't enjoy?
Yes other drivers could have been faster, yes ford could have made a better van. But that's not what this show was about. It was about Guy thinking, let's have a crack at driving this van fast around the nurburgring. The fact he did all that in his shed, mostly by himself, I think is amazing. And with all the things he manages to do, I'm not surprised a few details like matching wheels were missed out.
I guess I'd have liked to see more of the engineering side filmed, but that's never going to happen. You'd need a camera crew at his house every night.
This forum would be loads better if it wasn’t for all the sad 14 year olds.
Are 14yr olds sad? Or just misunderstood 🤔💻🐛
I’m chuffed at being referred to as a 14yr old. Thanks.
I have nearly double that in commerical motor trade 🙂
That’s just it lyrikal. I like that side of his stuff. If it hadn’t been a totally reengineered van that anyone with a bit of ability could beat the record I would have enjoyed his battle. As it stands the high speed lap he got felt too easy and nowhere near being any kind of achievement.
with regards to haters etc. Is no one allowed to express a different view without being called a 14yr old. Being disappointed can still make me a fan of Guy Martin
If it hadn’t been a totally reengineered van that anyone with a bit of ability could beat the record I would have enjoyed his battle.
I suppose it depends on whether you see it as a driving challenge or a back-yard engineering challenge. Guy's thing has always been his back-yard engineering (and a good dose of fearlessness), though he's obviously pretty handy with the driving too, so it seems unsurprising that it should be a transit-shaped special. Mis-sold though.
His van is more a transit than his streamlined bike was a tandem.
That's the thing, these challenges are more engineering challenges than the speed thing in my opinion. Guy likes building exciting projects, that's what makes him tick. I guess the production is the downside.
On the side of the producers, I know Guy is hard to get tied down and I'd imagine trying to coordinate filming of a program like that must be a total nightmare. Fair play to Guy though for having a lot of that filmed at his own pad.
Yeah, but that's mostly been the way they've tackled these records - by trying to find something that others may have missed to give them a bit of an advantage. Anyway terrahawk and Guy locked in a sweatbox pissing on-the-go was quality telly 🙂
The previous van record-holder didn't seem to mind (although it sounded like he had a plan up his sleeve in the final scene).
Oh no! Programme about Guy Martin building a monster van, and driving it fast around a race track, includes Guy building monster van content, and has Guy driving it fast around a race track. Why wasn't it a real van? Why didn't they get someone else to drive? Funny little men.
Anyway, found his driving prep pretty interesting. A bit surprised that he used a co-driver in the end, but I suspect it was the best way to keep him both alive and fast enough around the track… death doesn't make good TV, and he obviously didn't fancy failing either. Fair dos. They made it clear why they were using him, and didn't pretend he was just there for shits and giggles. He did add entertainment value as well as it happens. Should do something together again.
It's all a bit of fun.
Love Guy's shed engineering and the fact that he drove it in a pair of work boots lol.
I liked the fact we got an hour and a half reasonably packed with "stuff". Very little of the constant recap / preview padding that most of that kind of TV has before / after every ad break. Channel 5 could have dragged it out to a full series!
Would love to know the pay model used to pay him for this sort of programme. There is clearly months of work into getting the van made, then the cost of components and transporting, then the 'pay' for being the personality/presenter. I wonder if they pay for the whole project or just pay to make a documentary and other sponsors pay for the remainder, or he was just doing it anyway out of his own pocket and the programme money just covers some of the costs. The amount of work he put into that in the background to make just the one programme makes what Clarkson etc do look trivial.
In one of his books he says the original van cost "the tv lot" £120k. Maybe they were trying to get another show out of it on the cheap, which is why they got Guy to do all the work himself 😂