Newport Edition

Synchronized

Introducing Chris’s G60 Synchro. First in the line of NewportEdition members featured rides..

Unsure of what the weather was going to do we set out one Saturday morning in early May for the fortress that is Llanwern steelworks, or what’s left of it anyway. Chris has a few connections on site where he spent his summer holidays learning his trade in welding, so after literally blaggin’ our way through security, filling in various bits of paper we headed for the concrete works.

Llanwern is a huge huge place. The one straight road running the length of the whole complex must be around 4 miles long, unfortunately it’s peppered with speed bumps and the odd round-a-bout. I can see why Richard Branson is trying to get permission to build an international airport there.. no really! An airport in Newport!!

After driving through muck and silt left over from the various trucks that use the road, the car was stinking. Luckily for us there was a hose pipe available to give it a quick once over. When I say ‘hose’, this was literally a pipe sticking out of the ground with an industrial size hose attached to it, and cranking the lever to the on position soon realised the water pressure was ‘industrial’ too. Minted!

Most of the day was spent carefully driving around the cement works material stores looking for sweet spots and the best light. The car looked good in all angles. Give or take the odd stone chip and ding, Chris’s car is mint considering it’s a daily beater. Although here he’s got his show wheels on for the special occasion.. lets see how long they last in that condition hey Chris?

The engines seen some work also. Last rolling road figures where around 220 at the fly wheel. Since then the charger has been rebuilt and the head breathed on a little. A twin SWG cold air induction system is the only real give away under the bonnet to justify the work inside. All that torque goes straight to the tarmac through all 4 wheels via the Synchro drive, giving a pretty sideways angle on the handling. The interior is simple and to the point with electric Recaro’s which buckle you in on those sideways moments.

Fingers crossed, Chris will be joining us on this years trip to the Nurburgring.. and he’s given me front row tickets just for taking a few pix!

Check out more pix in the Featured Rides Gallery

Cheers Chris

Ewan