BENCH SEAT

In this job of mine, I’m lucky enough to be given some great opportunities, and the most recent — and definitely up there with the most memorable — was the chance to ride shotgun with ‘Fanga Dan’ Woolhouse in his VF Commodore drift car. Fanga’s car control is exquisite — it’s as though he is telepathically linked to his machine — and the aural sensation of the Vortech-supercharged six-litre L98 screaming in the upper reaches of the rev range is like nothing else out there. From inside the cabin, the exhaust note’s volume is eardrumbursting, in the best possible way. It’s a car that you can read more about further on in this magazine, and, while I’m aware that drifting is not a form of motorsport frequently found on the pages of NZV8, Fanga’s Commodore is absolutely worthy of feature. We actually hoped to photograph and feature the Commodore last year, right after its new wide bodykit was unveiled at Big Boys Toys, where its full new vinyl-wrap livery was applied. Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen, due to Fanga, Nicole, and the team’s hectic schedule of working full-time while also committing to the full D1NZ schedule, with all the logistical, financial, and personal sacrifices that entails. However, it’s just as cool now as it was then, and underneath its tidy, albeit battle-scarred, facade, is a purpose-built race car that simply happens to be used for the discipline of drifting. This car is more than just a bunch of cool engineering, though. I think Fanga’s Commodore has significance for the V8 scene as a whole in much the same way the Rattla Mustang does. To me, these cars represent a bridging of the gap between older hot rodders and the younger generation of car enthusiasts. We frequently hear older generations, especially those in vintage and veteran car clubs, worrying about what will happen to the cars they love and into which they have invested much of their time and money. The same applies, to a lesser extent, to hot rod and classic car owners and enthusiasts. What we have in Fanga’s Commodore is a car recognizable to Kiwi petrolheads both young and old, driven at the top level of a motorsport that appeals to the younger generation, and powered by a force-fed lump of American iron. I’m not saying that drifting is the future of V8s in New Zealand, but its fan base will almost certainly play a very large part in it. Following on from that, GM’s LS engine series has gained almost universal recognition as the go-to for engine swaps. While this has somewhat dulled the sheen of LS power, it can only be a good thing that pushrod V8s are still being recognized as a solid base for producing (relatively) cheap, reliable power. When it comes down to it, everyone has their preferred method of making power, but the fact that a humble OHV V8 engine is, arguably, the most popular engine in the world tells me that it’s still relevant and will be for some time to come. As the late Oscar Wilde famously put it, “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

Connal connal@v8.co.nz