Around The Block :: Spectators Cars

Grant — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:10:02 +0000

Walking around the car park outside the Ken Block show was like walking into an internet forum, with so many of the cars/trends that we are so used to seeing on our computer screens all dropped on to an empty field together.

From the simply clean, like this KE70 Toyota Corolla.

To the outrageous! A Nissan Stagea sporting an R34 Skyline front end.

This Mitsubishi Evo was on the ‘function’ side of the fence, with no crazy offset and wearing its Cusco brace with pride.

However the trend in the car park seemed to be from the other side of the fence, ‘form’. With this Subaru’s flush stance and twin tone horns, it was maybe a little too clean for a rally bred AWD monster.

One of the cars that Subaru got right was this Liberty, tough and clean.

In a sea of Holdens, Fords and imports, this M3 BMW was flexing it’s muscles. I don’t think Australians give much credit to the quality and performance our European friends offer.

You might recognize this S14 from the last Vic Drift day at Winton, head over to our desktop section to grab a picture of this car doing what it does best.

A truly amazing car considering it is road registered and driven almost daily.

The R32 is coming back in strength, there seems to be heaps of mint examples cruising around the streets lately.

The plates say it all for this subtle R33 GTR.

I only counted 3 modified Honda’s in the entire car park… truly a shame. This clean s2000 made up for it though.

I’m surprised this intercooler is still attached considering it only sits 10cm off the ground.

Not everything was sports cars and crazy wheels, mini MP-V’s were out in force with a few good examples such as this Nissan Cube.

Hood ordainments, I miss them! They let you know that the car means business.

I wasn’t entirely sure what kind of car this was, a quick Google search soon revealed it was in fact a motorcycle. A Suzuki Boulevard M109R to be exact.

This 180SX was in need of a wash, dust aside it was sitting perfectly on some SSR Professors.

Series one 200SX’s have never really been a stand out car for me, this one was simple enough to catch my attention though and I happily snapped a few photos of it.

This R33 looked at home under these trees, almost like a postcard.

The owner of this Lexus GS400 has definitely been spending some time on the internet.

Nothing sets off a car better than a classic sticker-bomb!

If it was a facebook page, I’d like it.

This Toyota Chaser had seen better days, it was however wearing the most expensive shoes in the car park.

Rocking Gram Lights 57SXPROs up front and Work SP1s on the back, I’d like to think that I’ll be seeing this car on the track very soon.

This old school Soarer seems classier than the more recent examples, affectionately referred to as ‘sore-ass’.

If ever there is a day I have to drive a wagon, I hope it’s a Stagea. How good does this look!

The R32 Skyline, a modern day classic?

I think so.
It was a great show on Saturday and I hope those that made it enjoyed it as well, hopefully it wont be the last time we get to see Ken Block live.
Calder park was a fantastic venue and I really wish more events were held there, less than an hours drive from the Melbourne cbd it is a shame we don’t get to use it more.
Thanks for reading, see you guys at Drift GP in a few weeks!
– Gwyn and Grant

Block Party :: Ken Block Live In Melbourne

Grant — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 10:12:30 +0000

Ken Block made it all the way down to Melbourne today to shred some tyres and scare some business execs.
From up in the seats it was hard to tell just how fast he was going… but up close it was a different story.

Ken Block welcomed the crowd, after a nervous entrance by the v8 supercars.

Warming up for the first run.

So close to the drums, I can only assume they are actually filled with Monster Energy Drink!

Close but not close enough says the crowd. His second attempt got him a lot closer though. If this wasn’t enough, the announcer jumped in between Ken and the barrels at one stage!

Ken followed a set course during the day, repeating it at least 20 times.

Even the pros get tired and by the end Mr.Block was getting his entries on the last barrel all wrong and on one run missed it completely. He had to pull a quick hand brake turn and go back and try again.

While he is known for tight maneuvers, it is easy to forget Ken’s Ford Fiesta can drift the bigger corners with the best of ’em.

This car was easily the most precise on the track during the drift runs.

A very tough Nissan 350Z piloted by Rob Whyte.

The 350z was rocking a supercharger too, this equals one happy passenger!

No car deserved the massive ‘Monster’ sticker down the side more then the Chevy ‘trophy truck’.

This Commodore was going flat out down the drag strip on the day, hitting well over 200kph

The speed this truck was getting on the grass was insane!

Huge air!

It’s amazing what a can of Monster Energy drink can do in your fuel tank.

There was a lot of support for our favorite gymkhana driver!

Most of the crowd stayed in their seats to see Ken around the circuit.

Others remained seated to try and win free stuff. This guy brought along the worlds silliest hat.

While this guy did a back flip off a wheelie bin for some giveaways!

Even the girls wanted to take their tops off for a Ken Block signature!!
Monster Energy and Ken Block put on a great show, definitely worth heading out to see the legend himself.
Thanks for reading and be sure to check out some of the cars spotted in the car park at the show in our upcoming post.
– Gwyn, – Grant.

Ken Block – Gripshiftslide

Around The Block :: Spectators Cars

Block Party :: Ken Block Live In Melbourne