FIA GT1 Silverstone 2011

Free tickets to Silverstone to watch the fire spitting GT cars? Yes please. This was my first visit to 'The home of British Motor Racing' since the new track layout and pit complex was finished earlier in the year. I can safely say the owners have succeeded in dragging the old Silverstone into the 21st Century providing the UK with a truly world class venue to host the likes of Formula One and any other international event.

An under whelming number of spectators did make feel a little soul-less on the Sunday but the number of crashes on track made up for it.

The GT3, GT4 and Lamborghini Trofeo races all supported the GT1 main event.

CARMAXX Bugster 9.03 - The Boxster Beetle

I've always admired 'sleeper' creations, but what could be more fitting than a tuned Boxster masquerading as VW Beetle? We've all seen German look VWs powered by angry Type 4 or Porsche engines hanging out the back, but this creation retains almost all of the Boxster's renowned handling and balance.

CARMAXX Automobiles founder Siegfried Rudolf completed an apprenticeship as a motor mechanic at Porsche where he successfully passed the master examination. From 1989 to 1999 Rudolf then worked for VW.

In the early 70s VW, Porsche and Audi specialist Artz produced a one-off mid-engined Beetle with a 2.7RS engine and 914/6 underpinnings. Is that where Rudolf first saw it done? Modern engineering techniques and the Boxster platform combine to produce a more powerful and no doubt reliable version.

Under this humble 1970s Super Beetle body hides a full plate of Boxster S running gear including mid mounted 270PS 3.2-litre flat six engine and original six speed gearbox. Look up 'sleeper' in the German dictionary and you'd half expect to find details of the Bugster.

The idea came to Siegfried one day having parked his tuned Beetle Cabrio 1303 next to his wife's Porsche Boxster S. Looking at the dimensions and surveying the two vehicles it was clear to him that the idea was feasible.

With no fixed prices, the spec can be tailor made to suit buyer's requirements. Now that the logistics of such a creation has been mastered by CARMAXX, it is also possible to fit the 996 and even GT3 powerplants! Just imagine the look on a 911 driver's face..

Weighing just 1098kg the Bugster 9.03 promises performance in abundance and handling to match. Painted in Lamborghini Grigio Telesto Metallic and incorporating the trademark Boxster side air intakes the finished product looks truly wunderbar and is a credit to the company founder's  engineering talent.

For more technical specs and photos visit the Bugster.at site.

Porsche Commercial - Engineered for Magic. Every day

Clever Porsche advert from the US ticks all the quirky boxes as well as the anti-sexist and anti-racism ones. Well, how many Mums do you know who collect other people's kids from school in a canary yellow 911 Turbo? The truth is, Porsche build sports cars with genuine everyday practicality, a feat few other performance makers can match.

DTM in the 1980s: The Golden Era

Check out this uber-cool footage from the late 80s of the German DTM Championships or Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft. Slo-mo's, jumps, crashes- this video has the lot! Thanks for the heads up Lex!

German Touring and Road Car Hillclimbing

Featuring saloon, hatch back and road cars we all recognise, this feature length footage of a German hill climb event is proof the Germans do things properly.

EVO Drives Lancia Stratos Concept

Driving thrill seekers EVO Magazine have driven the one-off Lancia Stratos recreation and are happy to report that it possesses many of it's own personal traits despite sharing many parts with Ferrari's 'old' F430.

The short wheelbase, combined with a rev hungry V8 producing 532bhp should make for rather nimble if not slightly twitchy supercar performance. Styling wise, the privately funded project has hit the nail well and truly on the head. Visit EVO to find out more.

Watch the video below to see Ferrari boss Luca de Montezemolo drive the Lancia Stratos.

Luca di Montezemolo testing the New Stratos from New Stratos on Vimeo.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento for track use only

According to Autocar Lamborghini have confirmed that the 20 Sesto Elementos planned for construction will all be designed for track use only. Costing upwards of £1million, the all carbon fibre masterpiece will be a rare sight even at most racetracks. But, as a lasting memory of the existing Gallardo's V10 the 'Sixth Element' not only displays some stunning features but promises to scare almost anything on track.

Audi Quattro Concept

As part of a design competition held amongst Audi designers to create a model that celebrates 3o years since the introduction of the original Quattro, the winning concept shown at the 2010 Paris Motor Show is in my opinion, rather exciting. Based on a shortened and lightened Audi A5 platform, the Quattro Concept displays very purposeful looks highly reminiscent of the homologated SWB versions.

Located up front, under the bonnet the Quattro Concept uses a modified version of the 2.5-litre, five cylinder turbocharged engine normally found in the TT RS- an award winning powerplant with huge reserves of torque.

If the 4WD Quattro Concept ever made it into production my guess would be that it would be priced somewhere around the entry level Porsche 911 mark, ,the R8 maintaining flagshiop status.

Mayfair 911

A recent walk around Mayfair proved that even completing a fashion based errand for my girlfreind can present Mr Motor Tweeter with a blog opportunity. The streets are truly lined with gold - Bentleys, Ferraris and rather nice old 911s..

2010 Cholmondeley Castle Pageant of Power

These images were taken whilst at the recent 2010 Cholmondeley Castle Pageant of Power- basically a Goodwood Festival of Speed style event for those plucky Northerners.

As expected the food was crap and it rained.

This didn't detract from what was an enjoyable day, I was even persuaded to throw a leg over Honda's latest 750cc Shadow cruiser the Black Spirit.. Priced at £6,750 on the road, it's chuffin good value lad!

Pikes Peak Record Attempt

A high definition video of Rhys Millen's Red Bull Hyundai PM580 aiming to beat the 10 minute barrier up the world famous, multi surfaced hill climb.

Ravens Rock Rally

As one of the most popular events on the Carrick on Suir Motor Club calendar, The southern Ireland based Ravens Rock Rally took part in Kilkenny at the weekend and I was there to catch the action. The entry list included two E30 M3s, a raft of front and four wheel drive hatchbacks and plenty of the 'old favourite' Mk2 Escorts- it wouldn't be a real Irish rally without 'em.

Also, check out the entry of Dick Dalton and Tommy Murphy- a highly modified cossie engined MK2 Escort complete with MK3 body!