Reply With QuoteI think it's purty
I believe they were heavy into Porsche in the 70's, but then got actively into Lancias in the 80's. My first real R/C car when I was a kid was a Martini 936. It looked like this one:Originally Posted by altiain
I think it's purty
09 Lexus RX350
.... no Miata
While I like the paint job, I'm not a fan of running livery that you're not actually connected to. If Keith isn't being sponsored by Martini, why run their logo? He said he likes it. Fine. Put the stripes on, but make a custom logo at a minimum.
I like the paint job. It's a unique Miata.
Hi guys! Thanks for the kind words.
A few comments.
The car is being built to run in the Targa Newfoundland. Class rules keep me naturally aspirated, and I've been a fan of naturally aspirated motors for years so this is an excuse to build a big one :) At our track day last weekend, the car did outrun every turbo Miata that wasn't driven by a coworker, and I was less than a second behind the fastest turbo car despite a suspension setup that prevented me from putting down power on corner exits. You didn't know about the 2050 lb wet weight...
There's no Miata racing livery. The only Mazda racing liveries are the hideous argyle from the 787B and a fairly bland blue/white design used on the GTX. I tried to come up with a new design but couldn't work up anything really compelling. Since the Targa is a historic event, I figured it would be cool to show up with an homage to one of the most famous liveries out there. Besides, people are more likely to take pictures and talk about the car with the Martini paint than if it was Just Another Miata, and my sponsors like that. You lot have proved it!
Why not a custom logo? Because that's like one of those knock-off t-shirts with a molested version of a logo. It's part of the look. If I'd done the Gulf colors, I'd have put Gulf logos on it. I played with various corrupted versions, but it moved it away from being an homage to being a cheat. Instead, I modified the Flyin' Miata logo to use the Martini font and put the name where the LANCIA or MARTINI RACING would go on the other cars.
There's a whole gallery of the car from different angles. I spent a lot of hours playing with tape to get the right shape. The nose was the most challenging part, and nobody who's seen the car in person has had anything bad to say about it - it works pretty well and really jumps out of the crowd. A few people have asked where I got the widebody kit thanks to the way the stripes play on the contours of the car :) The Martini paint jobs were indeed designed for individual cars, and the amount of white vs stripes varied over the years. There's a book on Martini racing that discusses this, including marker sketches of proposed layouts on various cars - a great resource. I even managed to get the original paint colors from the Italian paint shop by way of a Finnish restoration company. If it makes you feel better, I'll try to get some money out of Martini!
The car's nowhere near finished. I still have a lot of development to do before the Targa in 2008. But the basic look is in place now. Hopefully it'll be the fastest Miata on the track at next year's Open House!
Last edited by Keith; 08-23-2007 at 04:47 PM.
Glad to see you still lurk around here from time to time.Any idea how much TV coverage the race usually gets in the states?
Speed usually shows a special on it, it's about an hour or so. Not huge coverage, but more than your typical WRC event
Tivo then put it on FM TV!
I think it's awesome -- nice job Keith! Is this naturally aspirated engine really pushing 200hp? Excellent. Where do I get one (for $500.00 or less of course...
"That which does not kill us, just makes us madder"
Cletus Nietzsche (Friedrich's half-brother on his sister's side)
It is really pretty easy... you just take that $500 of yours to Vegas and let it all ride at the roulette table. After you pay the taxes on your big winnings, you should have just enough left to buy the engine (Hint... start with the stroker kit and 11:1 forged pistons. Then just keep on clicking check boxes until your clicker finger hurts). Unfortunately, you probably wont have enough left over to cover the ECU you need to control it all.I think it's awesome -- nice job Keith! Is this naturally aspirated engine really pushing 200hp? Excellent. Where do I get one (for $500.00 or less of course...
Thanks for the information, Keith! Best of luck in the Targa next year!
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
For $500 or less, you want to search a junkyard for a wrecked Chevy van with a V8...I think it's awesome -- nice job Keith! Is this naturally aspirated engine really pushing 200hp? Excellent. Where do I get one (for $500.00 or less of course...
The engine hasn't hit the dyno yet, although that should happen next week. It's not to full power yet as I'm still pretty early in the development process. But during the Open House, I was taking someone for a test drive and Brandon was doing the same in his turbo Miata. And you know what? I wasn't getting away, but he wasn't really gaining on me. I figure our power/weight ratios are pretty close.
The fact that the car did so well on the track is a good indication. I couldn't believe the speeds it was hitting on the straights when I was able to put down full power - much quicker than expected this early. The 200 rwhp estimate comes from my 148 rwhp 1.6 - this engine has the better 1999 head and a Hydra along with more headwork, so I'm hoping for slightly better specific output.
I'll see if I can find a copy of last year's Speed presentation to share. Sorry, no TiVO here :) But if you search YouTube, you'll find a bunch of in-car video from the Targa.
Thanks for the kind words, guys.
Nice... thanks for the link. It was fun clicking all those check boxes.
Yeah, I figured it'd cost a little more than $500, but I was willing to go $550.Kidding aside, those are some pretty impressive numbers and sounds like a blast to drive. Good luck!
"That which does not kill us, just makes us madder"
Cletus Nietzsche (Friedrich's half-brother on his sister's side)
It needs navy blue wheels and an r-pack air dam. Good try though.
White wheels are by far the most common for Martini-sponsored cars. Lancia always used them, as did Alfa Romeo and Ford. A few of the endurance racing Porsches used red wheels or gold. Porsche ran a 917 with a silver base color instead of white and that car used black wheels. I've never seen a Martini car with navy wheels.
The air dam would be good for a circuit car, but we need more approach angle than that allows. So it's not an appropriate modification.
Well, good luck at NOPI without the spoilers...lol.
Looks good though. If you do up a car in Martini regalia, does Martini and Rossi send you a few complimentary bottles of Vermouth?
Posting Permissions
