To most people living out there, the Saturday night occasion slot is a precious window of time which takes all week to arrive and vanquishes in only a few short hours. As such, everyone attempts to make the most of this cherished time. For your average Joe, this often translates to: going out to dinner with a loved one, partying at the club with friends, catching a movie with the family or simply reading a book alone at home. But for car enthusiasts, the good ol’ Saturday night meet is often the poison of choice when it comes to suggestions. Adelaide’s had a decline in Saturday night car meets as of late, so when an event is on, enthusiasts are swift to lock in their plans.
Horsepower Crew is one of the newer organisations to the Adelaide car scene, having been established in late 2016. With multiple events held this year, including a well planned screening of The Fast and the Furious 8 at the Mainline Drive-in complete with replica feature cars, I decided to spend my most recent Saturday night at their "Fathers & Generations" event (a convivial title, considering the following day was Father’s Day).
Rubens Sales’ "NICE" BNR34 GT-R is currently one of the hottest street cars in Adelaide. Despite being parked under the grungy lighting within the confines of the Marion shopping centre car-park, the immaculate chameleon paint job was flip-flopping between all spectrum of gold and purple. Coupled with a high-mount HKS T62R snail (HKS’s current flagship turbo, replacing the previous legendary T51R), "NICE" produces over 1000Nm of torque. Fittingly, the car has won a few trophies since it mid-year debut, including "Show & Shine Car of the Show" at the 2017 Motive DVD GT-R Festival in Sydney. On this particular Saturday night and deservedly, Rubens drove home with the "Car of the Show" trophy in-hand.
McLaren’s farewell bid to the P11 chassis came in the form of the 675LT. In total, 1000 cars were built (500 coupes and 500 convertible Spiders) with supposedly 22 examples calling Australia home. Coincidentally, there were only two Napier Green 675LT Spiders destined for Australia, with both cars residing in Adelaide. Alongside the jaw-dropping AUD $750,000+ price tag with mandatory options, it was quite the sight to see one of the Napier Green examples casually parked at the Shannons Insurance stand.
Sat along side the McLaren was an equally-as-rare Aston Martin Vantage GT8. With only 150 units produced, the owner of this example opted for the "Stirling Green with lime" paint scheme; a homage to the FIA World Endurance Championship winning Vantage GTE race-car. The Shannons Insurance stand also had a clean Group C styled SA22C RX-7 on display.
Bayside Blue (paint code TV2) has always been the R34 Skyline’s hero colour. Applied as a three-stage pearl, Bayside Blue is often a popular choice for those undergoing a complete full-body colour change. BNR34 and ER34 chassis were well represented at the event, with the owner of "SCR34MR"taking home the "Best Number Plate of Show" trophy.
Attendees arrived in all flavours of automobile: German, Italian, American, Australian, and of course, Japanese.
Trendy Adelaide Youtuber "Vynz Brah" arrived in his straight-piped Stagea.
The man behind this event and Horsepower Crew, James K.
Despite my fingers getting sore from being crossed, I didn’t win a single item in the raffle. But that’s all cool as I got to hang out with friends at a car event. I mean, as a car enthusiast, how else would you spend your Saturday night?
