@SesameStreetThug Yup, they are quite rare, this one was imported from Belgium.
@TeckMonster Fortunately manuals are a lot more common in Europe, still I am pretty sure this could be the only 2.5T AWD in my country. There are less than 20 R’s.
And yes, there’s something about a 5 cylinder engine that just makes me giddy when I drive one
It’s sad how hard/impossible it is to find new cars with manuals. We did get 5speed + AWD in a far amount of V50s, but there power is underwhelming to me. I thought about buying one but decided to stick with my more powerful V70.
The end game for me is a 6 speed V70 R, or a 5 speed 960 or V90 which would give me a RWD platform that I could bolt my T5 engine right up to, and thanks to it’s locking rear diff it would be a drift missile.
This one has the stock whiteblock that’s a DOHC N/A 6 cylinder engine.
I’d have to 100% import a manual for it. I’m pretty sure the US never got these V90s with manuals.
It’s actually quite often the case (lift body off engine, particularly for front wheel drive), without the engine attached the front of most cars is relatively easy to lift.
I left the retaining screws out on the two that were broken. Maybe I’ll try to fix it someday, but I only take the wheels off a few times a year anyway.
I rotated the wheels at the same time (front to rear because directional snow tires) and I noticed the fronts were noticeably worn on the inner edge of the tread. Driver side worse than passenger. I’ll have to get an alignment before putting the summer wheels and tires on. I’ll probably run the winters through April just to finish them off, almost down to the treadwear marks.
The brakes are fantastic, though. Super smooth and great bite. I’m getting better at engine braking, so maybe the brakes will last a good long while this time.
about 09:20 - I didn’t know that a lot of video games use Jay Leno’s Garage to record engine exhaust noises. Stay tuned for the Happy Meal story at the end.
Would be a lot of work to gobo in a car to kill garage reflections, but so worth it.
Also amusing that the host looks and sounds a bit like Leno himself
The blue is really sharp… in 2017 MSR had the blue chrome wrap done by Aero on Lally and Legge’s car. Aero really nailed it. They also did the other NSX in the red which was campaigned by Negri and Segal.