DODGE VIPER SRT-10

DODGE VIPER SRT-10

IF LOOKS COULD KILL

Text and photos: Reinis Babrovskis

We all have that one car we adored as kids, that “some day….. some day I will have one”. For me there were two – Dodge Viper and Honda S2000. I am lucky enough to have one of them now in my garage, but the Viper still remains a dream. Luckily for me though, I was able to meet my other hero in person and make my own poster photo as an automotive photographer just 29 years later after I saw my very first image of Dodge Viper.

1967 FORD MUSTANG

1967 FORD MUSTANG

WHEN HORSES RUN WILD

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis

Classic love story – Romeo and Juliet, Napoleon and Josephine, Bread and Butter, Rum and Coke, American Muscle and V8; these are things that can’t live without each other. Americans know how to build a proper, excuse my French, fu*&$ng naturally aspirated petrol-thirsty eight cylinder engine in the shape of a letter V. They also know(ew) how to design a beautiful, mean and just down right badass car, so there is no surprise the beautiful and iconic Ford Mustang became a motoring icon that is still idolised half a century later.

1959 CHEVY APACHE

1959 CHEVY APACHE

THE BEAUTIFUL WORKHORSE

Text and photos: Reinis Babrovskis

There are great cars, rare cars, beautiful cars and then there are cult cars. Cars that won’t ever get out of fashion, get dated or be abandoned, I can name a few - VW Camper van, Porsche 911, Ford Mustang, VW Beetle, Ferrari F40, Fiat 500, Mini and the list goes on. For one reason or another these cult cars are loved by everybody – whether it would be for its beautiful design, mind blowing performance, super reliability, enormous capability, but it has won hearts of us all. Among them is a very humble car that was designed for nothing else than  dirty and heavy work, yet there is its 65 years later sitting proudly at a car show between supercars and sports cars; I am talking about the humble yet beautiful Chevrolet Task Force of course.

WESTFIELD MEGABUSA

IF LEGO MADE KITS FOR ADULTS

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis

#WHATISACARTOYOU

Average Karen: “Car is an “object” that will transport a person from point A to B with modest amount of comfort and luxury as cheap as possible”;

Petrolhead: “Car will take me from point A to point B in the fastest, loudest and most fun way; comfort and luxury will be ditched for weight reduction, it will make me smile and want to do it over and over again”.

That ladies and gentlemen is what cars mean to different people. If you have to ask why anybody would want to own an open-top single/twin seater sports car with zero comforts, it clearly isn’t the car for you.

GTINI TITANIC DUBS 2020

NO IS NOT AN ANSWER

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis

2020…Yeah there is not much to say here; it has been a tough year for all of us. 

With the entire Planet having been shut down for months thanks to the “China virus”, I’d say it will take a while for the Planet to boot up again. We have all  fought our battles but we will get through this, be patient and above all - kind. The Covid-19 did grind any chances of any car event in 2020 to a halt; however, one club didn’t take “no” for an answer was GTINI, having lost already the biggest show of the country as well as the fan’s favourite – Castlewellan summer show. So with large amount of planning, hard work and luck as well as blessing from the council, Police force of Northern Ireland and others the Titanic Dubs was a go.

VW GOLF R

THE ONE THAT DOES IT ALL

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis

Whilst the new car sales market is dominated by the “R Driver warrior”, the mighty Fiesta (the most sold car in UK in 2019) as well as random SUVs for their all-important school/church, we - the big kids are only interested in one thing (*well there is another but I shall not mention that) - sports cars. Nothing screams more than a boy racer than a well pimped-out sports hatchback. It attracts more attention than a girl with striking curvy lines at the shop queue. And when we talk about sports hatchbacks, clearly we all agree the one that comes to our mind first is the mighty VW Golf. 

* The other thing us men are interested was Xbox if you wondered 

PETROLHEADS - THE UNTOLD STORY

WE ARE NOT THEM

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis

PETROLHEAD /ˈpɛtr(ə)lhɛd/ - A NOUN

"A young man who drives recklessly fast, especially one who participates in gatherings of car-culture enthusiasts and/or illegal street racing"

"One who is enthusiastic about cars"

So which one is it; two explanations given for the same noun in the same thesaurus book, yet they couldn't be further apart from each other. Two different things, two different views. Every man has a story, every story has 2 sides. I want you to tell mine. I want to tell you WE ARE NOT THEM...

GENEVA MOTOR SHOW 2019

GENEVA INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW 2019

FULLY CHARGED

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis

The 2019 International Motor Show of Geneva was, how do I put it, erm - electric; quite literally – around 70% of the models on the display brought along by the global automotive manufacturers were either powered by an all-electric/hydrogen or hybrid power. The future has been decided and the trend of the more efficient and eco-friendly power has been set: we are going electric folks!

LOTUS EVORA GT430

LOTUS EVORA GT430 

WHEN REST HAVE FAILED

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis

What makes a car classify a sports car? Is it the performace, is it the driving experience, or the looks maybe? When one would be asked to list a true sportscar's manufacturer, I do believe the answer for many would be the "prancing horse" or the "raging bull"; however,  I believe if there was one automotive manufacturer that truly deserves the sport car manufactuer title, it would be no other than Lotus. Lotus never released an SUV to appeal to the footballer's wives, or a 2+4+2 seat family edition or a “sensible road” model; they stuck to their ideology – lightweight, balanced sports car that focuses on one thing and one thing only - driving experience. GT430 was no different, but it certainly was more special!

VANILLA BLACK CARS AND COFFEE

VANILLA BLACK CARS AND COFFEE

END OF THE SEASON

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis

 

Today marks the end of the summer and sadly with it the end of the 2019 car show season. What better way to end it than a flashback of the Vanilla Black Cars and Coffee event that took place a few weekends ago. The Down Royal Cars and Coffee events are by far the best car related events on this shore and no car show will ever trump it if you ask me - no urgency to arrive in time, no prizes to worry about, no entry fee, and endless amount of top quality cars to see and owners to talk to. WIN!

NURBURGRING 24H

ADAC 24H RENNEN NÜRBURGRING

WELCOME TO HEAVEN PT.3

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis 

 

Humans have been racing cars since the second car rolled of the factory production line. We love the adrenaline rush, we love the danger; speed and racing is what makes the racing drivers feel alive. Racing has become more popular than ever before with thousands of motoring events taking place annually worldwide; however, there are a selected few events that will make you speechless. “ADAC 24H Rennen Nürburgring” is one of them.
Welcome to Heaven (Part 4).

FERRARI 488 GTB

FERRARI 488 GTB

LONG LIVE THE TURBO

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis

Italy – the country that has brought us the finest art and architecture, Lucianno Pavarotti, Pizza, Vespa scooters, ridiculous hand gestures and the most beautiful cars on the Planet; the finest of them all the prancing horse of Maranello. Ferrari unveiled its 458 model’s replacement - the Ferrari 488 GTB in 2015 and shocked the world with its all-new turbo charged engine, leaving a lot of Ferrari fans astounded. What everybody didn’t realise at first was that this car could potentially be one of the best modern Ferraris to leave the Italian supercar factory floor. Masterpiece is the only word that comes to my mind when describing the 488GBT.

JCC 2019

JCC 2019

GOOD VIBES ONLY

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis

JDM Car Culture 2019 - the largest indoor and outdoor Japanese car show in Ireland returned for the fourth time, and as expected bigger and better than before; a sign of of a well-planned, executed and progressing car event. The event hosted at the Eikon Exhibition centre in Lisburn, Northern Ireland on July 7 featured 2 main indoor show halls as well as an outdoor display area and trade stands; furthermore, it also hosted round 3 of the 2019 Link ECU Drift Games Nationals. There's no denying in terms of value for money JCC had a lot to offer. If anything (costs aside), I do believe the event may have benefited from an extra day, for seeing everything in a single day became mission impossible.

THE BIG MACMILLAN CAR SHOW

THE BIG MACMILLAN CAR SHOW

TOGETHER WE ARE STRONG

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis 

 

On Thursday June 6th, the Big MacMillan car show was held at the headquarters of “Turkington Windows and Conservatories” in Portadown, Northern Ireland; which is the family business of Northern Irish BTCC racing car driver - Colin Turkington. In just five short hours, more than £11,500 was raised at the charity event in aid of MacMillan Cancer Support.

BMW M3

BMW M3

THE POLITE HOOLIGAN

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis 

The BMW M3 is arguably one of the most popular cars around the globe, and has been since the 1980’s when it broke the mould with its "one size fits all" approach converting an ordinary family car to a racetrack animal. With over 33 years of production under the belt the M3 has transformed into a more impressive, more expensive and more brutal family sports saloon than ever before. So is it actually that good?

Loughgall Festival of Motorsport 2019

LOUGHGALL FESTIVAL OF MOTORSPORT

IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis 

Festival of Motorsport 19 returned to the beautiful Loughgall Country Park - a rural haven set in over 180 hectares which offers such diverse activities as golf, cycling, recreational walks, kiddies play areas and even a 37 acre coarse fishery.

Jaguar E-Type Low Drag Coupe

JAGUAR E-TYPE LOW DRAG COUPE

WHEN PICTURE SPEAKS A THOUSAND WORDS

Text and Photos: Reinis Babrovskis

What is the world’s most beautiful car? Is it the Ferrari 250GTO, Toyota GT2000, Lamborghini Miura or maybe the Bugatti Type 57? For me, it has to be the British cult icon - Jaguar E-Type. There’s no denying that the E-Type has one of the world’s most iconic car designs in the automotive history; it is instantly recognisable and was once voted the most iconic British car ever built.