Road Rocket Revealed
Factory Five is a company well known for its replica supercar machines like the Cobra look-alike '65 MKII roadster and Type '65 Coupe that wave the Ford flag. Factory Five sells a high-quality chassis and body kit that you can complete using a drivetrain of your choice. The cars have always had a distinctive Ford flavor, but now Factory Five has branched out into the exotic supercar market with the GTM Mulsanne coupe.
The GTM is an all-new body design perched on a round-tube chassis intended for use with a complete C5 Corvette independent suspension, and Corvette LS1/LS6 power feeding through an easy-to-find Audi, or ZF transaxle. This is the prototype body mold that will be used to create the first versions. According to Factory Five, the first cars will be sent to beta site builders who will report back with suggestions or revisions before the first customer cars are sold. The current estimate on a rolling chassis is between $20,000 and $25,000 that the company claims should weigh somewhere around 2,200 pounds. Even at 2,600 pounds, this car would be a rocket with C5 running gear and monster 18-inch tires. While the first prototype has yet to be built, expect to see the GTM sometime in 2004. If you want to learn more about this car, log onto www.factoryfive.com or call 508/291-3443.
In One Visos And Out The Other
It seems that at every international auto show, Ford displays some concept car that's supposed to forecast its new design themes into the future. Remember the Forty-Nine? Yeah, we liked that one too.
At September's Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany, Ford once again recombined its design DNA to conjure up the Visos, a concept car that according to Vice President, Product Development, Ford of Europe Derrick Kuzak, "whispers passion in every curve, every seam, every angle."
The theory here is that the Visos is a fusion of sports car and luxury touring car. To that end, it's a four-seat coupe with two conventional doors with deep cuts in the roof for better access, thick shoulder fenders, B-pillars hidden behind the side glass and dramatically curved C-pillars. And if future Fords do look like this, will they look like this on both sides of the Atlantic?
Maybe even more intriguing than how the Visos looks is that it's powered by a transversely mounted, twin-turbo, 3.0L inline-six sending nearly 400 hp out through a six-speed gearbox to an all-wheel-drive system. If that means future Fords will be fast, so much the better.
Toolbox Cool
There are two things that most well-equipped home shops and garages have: a toolbox and a refrigerator. Both offer convenience and utility and do a great job of storing those valuable items. But frankly, a fridge in the shop just looks a little out of place. So we were intrigued by this idea from Too Cool Refrigerator Kits, which offers "conversion" kits to make that fridge look like a toolbox or a '60s gas pump. The kits come in several different colors or flame jobs. The do-it-yourself kits are either adhesive decals or roll-on paint jobs complete with everything you need to convert your refrigerator into a piece of automotive art that will look like it belongs in your shop! Hey, it's all in fun.
In: A set of 4.10:1 gears for your track car
Out: Commuting to work in a car with 4.10:1 gears
In: Finally getting to work on the 4-4-2 that's been sitting in your yard for two years
Out: Opening the hood on the 4-4-2 that's been sitting in your yard for two years and being greeted by angry hornets
In: Working on your car in a warm garage during a cold winter
Out: It's so cold out you have put on a coat, mittens, hat, and ski mask just to walk between your garage and your house
In: Giving your kid the perfect Christmas gift
Out: Buying your kid that perfect Christmas gift means you can't afford new wheels for your car
In: Snowmobiling
Out: Skateboarding
In: Starting the new year with a fresh resolve to make the world a better place
Out: The damned car won't start and you don't know why