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• The One That Started It All: Gabor Mester’s BMW M3 E30 Love Affair [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 12 June 2013

  

  Most of us car freaks seem to become car freaks at an early age. However, some people get bitten by the bug later in life. Such was the case with a then-high-school-aged Gabor Mester, when a striking shape – specifically, a first generation (E30) BMW M3 – parked in his friend’s parents’ garage caught his eye and would not let go.

  Today, Gabor is into his seventh lap of the sun as a caretaker of BMW’s classic touring car weapon. The very same weapon, in fact, that he fell in love with all those years ago, though he has personalized it with some custom touches and Euro-spec parts. How many of us can truthfully say we would up with our first crush?

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• One Owner Wonder: Flying under the Radar in a First-Gen BMW M5 [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 7 June 2013

  

  When BMW unveiled the original E28-based M5 in 1984, it forced the world to rethink the concept of a super sedan. The subtle exterior modifications, the thoroughly reworked chassis, and the howling 3.5L straight-six borrowed from the M1 supercar all conspired to create a genuine four-door sports car. And aside from a few Uncle-Sam-mandated warts like fatter bumpers and emissions equipment that ate about 25 horsepower, the 1988 U.S. specification E28 M5 delivered most of the same outrageously entertaining driving experience.

  And it is this driving experience that San Diegan Randy Balingit-Hartmann has been enjoying since he (with some help from his dad) bought this example of BMW’s O.G. midsize missile brand new. That’s right, this man-machine marriage has been going strong for almost a quarter-century and about 400,000 miles. But when your four-wheeled partner still looks (and sounds!) this great after all these years, what’s the upside to being unfaithful? Trick question; there isn’t one.

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• Golden Giro: Highlights of Lamborghini’s 50th Anniversary Rally through Italy [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 29 May 2013

  

  Lamborghini has been building sports cars for a half-century now and, naturally, the company is making a pretty big deal about it. At the Geneva Motor Show in March, it revealed the very-limited-production (as in three altogether) Veneno. And not long after that, it revealed the exponentially less-rare Aventador 50° Anniversario.

  But what if you’re a Lamborghini buff who doesn’t necessarily want to buy another one to mark the marque’s momentous birthday? Well, in that case, you would have made darn sure you (and your vintage or late-model Lambo) were able to take part in the Grande Giro, which is Italian for “Grand Tour.” MotorTrend’s Michael Shaffer was able to tag along on this around-Italy parade of bulls both old and new, and together with the magazine’s video crew, compiled this video highlighting the tour. It’s nowhere near as good as being there in person, but it’s still pretty sweet.

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• Art inside Art: Putting a Ferrari 512 BBi in Your Living Room [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 23 May 2013

  

  You’ve probably seen Los Angeles-based architect Holger Schubert’s home before. We even included it in our “Top 25 Coolest Garages” feature just over one year ago. It’s just that amazing.

  But what’s up with the old gray exotic that always seems to be parked in the garage/living room? That would be Schubert’s personal Ferrari 512 BBi. Ferrari never actually sent and iterations of the Berlinetta Boxer family to North America, but plenty of dealers and individuals have imported these flat-twelve-powered beauties over the years. And Schubert certainly knows a thing or three about beautiful objects.

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• USDM Tyte, Yo: Japanese Tuner Cultivates American Style J-Tin [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 16 May 2013

  

  Car geeks are intimately familiar with the well-worn saying “The grass is always greener on the other side.” No matter what country on this big wet marble you call home, there’s always some car or car part that was never available in your homeland that you will absolutely covet. How else do you think the JDM scene got to be so popular here in the U.S.?

  Conversely, there seems to be a growing demand for USDM cars and components in Japan. One man at the forefront of this movement is Masayoshi Nagano, propreietor of Nagano Koubou. One of his specialties is mating American S13-chassis Nissan 240SX noses with home market Silvia bodies to create what Japanese Nissan buffs call “Onevias” (The “one” in the name is derived from 180SX, the JDM version of the S13 hatchback that shared its front sheetmetal with all three American S13 body styles.). We quite like this two-way cultural exchange, and hope it continues for years to come.

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• Feeling Board: Downhill Skateboarder Kevin Reimer and His Nissan Skyline GT-R [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 13 May 2013

  

  It is often assumed that because athletes are able to get their adrenaline fixes when in competition, their lives off the field or course are pretty chill. For example: Downhill skateboarder Kevin Reimer probably drives some milquetoast, beige (in spirit, if not color) transportation appliance when he’s not using gravity to get around/risk severe bodily harm, right? Well, not quite: Mr. Reimer’s motorized vehicle of choice is actually an R32-chassis Nissan Skyline GT-R.

  But lest you assume this Canadian (Hence why he was able to import it, thanks to the Great White North’s far more sensible laws regarding four-wheeled forbidden fruit.) extreme sports star hitched his wagon to the ur-Godzilla by accident, know that Kevin and this classic Nissan super coupe have both won races on Australia’s Mount Panorama, home to the Bathurst 1000. Some things are just meant to be.

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• Enter “Project Nasty”: Roughing It in BBi Autosport’s Bantamweight ’85 Porsche 911 [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 8 May 2013

  

  When shopping for a tuning shop in the Western United States to make your water-cooled Porsche 911 (i.e. 996 and 997) even more of a thrill ride (particularly if it’s a factory-boosted Turbo or GT2), you can’t do a whole lot better than BBi Autosport in Huntington Beach, California. However, having said that, the company hadn’t popped it’s air-cooled 911 (993 and earlier) cherry until recently. But boy oh boy, was BBi’s first time one for the ages.

  The owner of this heavily modified 1985 Porsche 911 Carrera – BBi Autosport co-owner Joey Seely – essentially wanted the antithesis of the majority of the cars he and the team put together for customers: Spartan, simple, light-on-its-feet and naturally aspirated, in addition to the aforementioned air-cooled powerplant. And after watching it in action in the latest episode of Tuned, the Matt Farah-hosted show on the YouTube-only Drive network, we’re convinced this Whale-tailed temptress – provocatively nicknamed “Project Nasty” – meets all those objectives and more.

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• Classified Moto Honda CB750F Superstrada Engages in Four-play

  In Motorcycles / By Tom Anderson / 7 May 2013

  

  The Honda CB750 is widely credited with being the motorcycle for which the term “superbike” was coined. Prior to the model family’s 1969 debut, engines like the CB750’s muscular overhead cam (DOHC starting in 1979), transversely-mounted four-stroke inline-four was strictly the domain of high-priced exotics and racing motorcycles. But because American Honda dealers told Soichiro himself that their customers wanted bigger and badder bikes, the company brought this four-pot powerhouse to market for the highly-competitive starting price of $1,495 ($9,233.71 in 2012 money).

  As a result of all these significant achievements, part of us is inclined to believe cutting up a CB750 is straight-up blasphemous. But the other part of us, upon seeing this highly-customized 1980 CB750F from Classified Moto called “Superstrada,” wants to place a piece of duct tape over the first part’s mouth. Why is that?

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• Toledo Dangerous: Roadkill’s Freiburger and Finnegan Tempt Fate in a Hot Rod Jeep [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 6 May 2013

  

  One of the hottest shows on MotorTrend’s YouTube channel is Roadkill. Correction: One of the hottest automotive shows on all of YouTube is Roadkill. Every episode is an unscripted, low-budget buddy comedy/road movie, with Hot Rod editors David Freibuger and Mike Finnegan serving as the latter-day, mechanically-inclined Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. You don’t have to love American V8s – or even cars period – to enjoy their shenanigans.

  Case-in-point: This newest episode, which chronicles the guys’ most ambitious/harebrained quest yet. It involves driving a genuine World War II era military Jeep that a previous owner had turned into a Chevy-powered, airbag-suspended street rod from Hot Rod’s suburban L.A. H.Q. to a bar out in the desert near Parker, Arizona. Oh, and most of the Jeep’s vital systems – i.e. brakes, suspension, transmission, etc. – are suspect at best. How can that not lead to great television, er, internet?

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• Speed of Sunshine: Cruising in a Slow-but-Cute Fiat 500D [Video]

  In Fast Forward / By Tom Anderson / 3 May 2013

  

  There’s just something about a Fiat 500 – be it an old one or the current one – that forces you to smile. Perhaps it’s the miniscule size. Maybe it’s the impossibly playful styling. Or the intangible-yet-baked-in Italian lust for life. Whatever it is, Fiat’s effervescent Cinquecento is a highly effective treatment for a case of the Mondays.

  Californian Annetta Calisi is quite familiar with the mood-altering abilities of these tiny Italian transportation devices. After all, she owns this very clean, very yellow 1964 Fiat 500D. Mrs. C. concedes that it’s not the best car for tasks like long freeway jaunts or runs to the grocery store. But for the task she uses it – making people happy – it excels. And isn’t it better to do one thing well than a bunch of things half-assed?

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