For the last 10 years there have been those of you that demanded I either start a new Publication or Blog daily to get your fill of automotive enthusiasm. Well, I think that you will agree P3 answers all of our automotive needs all in one place. Here you will find the Profile for every car you have ever dreamed of owning, or maybe even one you currently own and Love. All the performance Parts you need. Some of which we are first to bring to the market here in the US, some you have here-to-fore never been able to find, and some we are creating ourselves. Passion, pure and simple we will feed the passion that we all share for these wonderful (if sometimes flawed) machines. Welcome!
When I set out to think about what my first article would be, it wasn’t too hard. At the core for those of us that can find no better expense of time and money but to find the perfect corner on the penultimate afternoon during the crispest of autumnal days. The first time you thread the KEYHOLE just right at Mid-Ohio, or at 16 when you find yourself gazing through the side window of your parents car in a snow-filled abandoned parking lot. At the core, the freedom and the thrill that is driving has been wired so totally in our brain that, at times, we long for little else.
Back in the Fall of 2006 I found myself taking delivery of a brand new Candy White GTI. I had driven it at launch and test drove several and could scarcely believe that this kind of performance was available for under $25,000. The car had the build quality of the RS6 I had at the time (and if you haven’t been in one and at this point this surely I have lost the plot… go drive one), felt EASILY up to exceeding the stock performance predictions (later proved out by a stunning STOCK dyno run that yielded 207 hp and 221tq at the wheels after being properly run in !!), had one of the best esp systems on any car PERIOD, and would even get it’s tail involved in the action. WOW. I was able to take the car to track days, many memorable road trips and even see what the cars potential was with a brace of performance mods. This little GTI had really moved things on. With it’s lively neutral chassis tuning, ample thrust from it’s standard setting 2.0fsi motor and it’s all things to all people interior I wondered what else anyone really needed. It accomplished so many tasks so well, Easily besting E36 M3’s on the track and providing more back road fun than it had any right to. After 20k miles it was still rattle free and proved to be a real driving machine. Still the question always begs answering , “what if I spent a bit more money…”
Not too long ago a Lamborghini Gallardo 6 speed found itself in my care for quite an extended period. Within the first few miles I realized, they had finally gotten things right. The car was all of a piece (something which no Diablo could ever claim) it was composed, fast and competent and yet somehow as wieldy as a 2.0fsi GTI. Within a few hundred miles I was seriously enamored. Lamborghini had done it (albeit with quiet a bit of help from our friends at Audi) and I came to enjoy some of the best drives of my life. One of the most memorable trips in that car was a long 400 mile highway run across several states. The glistening Orange Gallardo was easily as comfortable as an E class Mercedes. Turned so many heads I stopped counting. Further it provided the kind of mile crushing in gear acceleration that would see state troopers seriously questioning if they should even give chase. Fitted with an exhaust that was well mannered and tasteful at idle and while cruising , but containing the kind of bark that, at one point, literally made the soccer mom and he brace of bemused children collectively; drop their jaws, jump and cheer and literally flinch for cover when the throttle was blipped under an underpass. A car of cars that not only brought me great pleasure but an enumerable amount of fellow drivers as well. It was truly worth the price of admission. To my point every time I drive a truly high end piece of kit, be it an SLR or the newest offering from Ferrari I can’t help but here that little voice in the back of my head say, “you will never be able to drive and enjoy a 100 hp car ever again!” I have to say that with the advent of ever more capable cars being released this point has been underlined over and over again. With the cars we are being sold today things really and totally are being moved forward at a blistering pace. Are we to crush our E30 M3’s, Miata’s, Lotus Europas and the like?
Having the good fortune of having access to a stream of cars certainly has it’s privileges. A few short months ago a fairly unique and rare car was offered to me that I simply couldn’t pass up. A venetian Blue Porsche 928 S4 with a manual gear box and a Limited Slip rear end isn’t something you see everyday. I couldn’t pass it up. I have to confess with all this new machinery passing threw my hands it took a few days to really draw the interest in choosing it to be my stead for an afternoon of back road passion pursuit. At first my worst fears seemed to be close to reality. The seating position was less perfect than that of a Cayman S. The interior was quiet a bit noisier than I had remembered, and while powerful all the controls seemed to be a step or two more disconnected than the S8 I have been driving earlier that day. Out on the road that quickly faded. We have truly lost the plot with modern airbag A pillar design. While structural integrity is important to you and me (and certainly my kids), the PANORAMA afforded by the slim pillars in this car was SHOCKING. Then there was the throttle response …. OH, that is what a throttle cable was used for. Not 4 corners in and heavy on the power a hair before the apex (keep in mind I had been driving an Audi a few hours previous) and the ensuing slide was easily ridden out with the perfect amount of opposite lock prescribed to me THROUGH that thin rimmed airbag-less wheel. Wait a second, stop the presses. I was in a 100k mile, sub 15k dollar car and enjoying my socks off. Never mind that the A/C was struggling to cool my 6 foot 2 inch frame as adequately as a new honda civic would . I was rediscovering automotive Nirvana.
Upon returning back to P3 head quarters I snagged the keys to the newly acquired C230k coupe. Here was an even less expensive car that , to be honest, wasn’t exactly heralded by the automotive press as a whole. To my complete satisfaction , though flawed, I was able to find and extract the joy from caining this car as well. I had stumbled on to what I had suspected, neah , KNEW all along. It is the DRIVING we love. Certainly having the right car can help, but as I have found from years of modifying cars … the engineers have PUT the right car … IN most cars. It is up to us to extract that Rightness. This is not to say every car has latent potential (ask anyone who owns a Chevy Malibu), however it is the drive and our ability to connect with the world that is key to this passion we all share.
I look forward to sharing my passion with you. Here at P3 our goal is to help you FIND the potential in your car. Make it available at a one stop location. Then fuel that fire with the content that currently just doesn’t exist. Here we go, buckle up… put that helmet on if you have it. We are going for one Hell of a ride.