I love my job and I'm very lucky in that allows me to get up close and personal with some simply stunning cars. Today was extra special though. Today I got to have a look at the John Pope Special. It's tucked away in a quiet corner of Bucks and owned by an Aston Martin dealer.
John Pope raced the car with an Aston DBS V8 in 1974, before going to Aston Martin who helped him stick two T04 turbos on it for the following season. 900bhp and all the wheelspin in the world was the result. It’s a Magnum bodyshell draped over and welded onto a DBS chassis with full Aston running gear.
The best bit? It was fully road legal and John drove it to most race meetings. Can you imagine trying to race this thing in your Mk3 Cortina circa 1975?!
I realise we've had a thread about this very car quite recently, but I thought it'd be worth starting a new thread for these up to date snaps. If the mods disagree then feel free to merge the two.
Apologies for the shonky phone snaps, you'll have to buy Total Vauxhall to see the pro ones and read the full write up.
At speed the lights fold back to allow more air for the turbo setup. As you can see, it's tucked right down at the side of the engine. There's an intercooler on each side too, mounted in those 'gills' at the rear of the arch extensions,
^The final two lines of this are well worth reading!
One of those days that’s pretty much perfect; gorgeous sunshine, an ice-cold beer and one of the most mental Super Saloon race cars ever built.
John Pope raced the car with an Aston DBS V8 in 1974, before going to Aston Martin who helped him stick two T04 turbos on it for the following season. 900bhp and all the wheelspin in the world was the result. It’s a Magnum bodyshell draped over and welded onto a DBS chassis with full Aston running gear.
The best bit? It was fully road legal and John drove it to most race meetings. Can you imagine trying to race this thing in your Mk3 Cortina circa 1975?!
I realise we've had a thread about this very car quite recently, but I thought it'd be worth starting a new thread for these up to date snaps. If the mods disagree then feel free to merge the two.
Apologies for the shonky phone snaps, you'll have to buy Total Vauxhall to see the pro ones and read the full write up.
At speed the lights fold back to allow more air for the turbo setup. As you can see, it's tucked right down at the side of the engine. There's an intercooler on each side too, mounted in those 'gills' at the rear of the arch extensions,
^The final two lines of this are well worth reading!
One of those days that’s pretty much perfect; gorgeous sunshine, an ice-cold beer and one of the most mental Super Saloon race cars ever built.