THE JAWS OF LIFE

I recently listened to a podcast with Larry Chen on it and he mentioned that he shoots cars with a 50mm fixed focal length lens. It makes the subject stand out and to get it in the frame, all you have to do is move back. I have a 50mm fixed focal length lens for my Canon, but I’ve never shot whole cars with it before, only detailed close-up shots of parts. 

I thought I would head out for a bit of practice and there was a Porsche Club of San Diego Autocross this past weekend, which I figured would be a great opportunity to try it out.

I like taking pictures of race cars, or cars used for a purpose rather than show cars. There’s always a bit more character in them. There’s signs of use. These cars aren’t babied, they’re used for their intended purpose. Everything done to them is functional, and because of that, they have a coolness no show car or trailer queen will ever have.

This GT3 still had dealer plates on it. So this owner has decided that they are just going to go straight to the track with their purpose built 911. I recently have been training a lot on these cars at the Porsche Experience Center. They are more than amazing. A real, sum of all parts car. It’s now on my list of favorite cars.

I didn’t know this, but the Porsche Club of San Diego lets non-Porsche cars participate in their Autocrosses. So there was a Ferrari 550 Maranello waiting in the pits to have another go. When I was in high school I lusted after these. Gated shifter, 12 cylinder in the front. Looking at it up close, it’s amazing how little car there is. No unnecessary material. This one has been well used.

The interior of the GT3 is similar to the other 911 models. But with the Alacantara steering wheel and fixed back carbon fiber bucket seats, it makes it feel very special. The absence of sound insulation also helps it to feel like there’s something else going on.

The 3.8 GT3 is the previous generation. Specifically 991.1. I never got a chance to drive this car but the changes made to the 991.2 car are immense. Especially with the engine.

The 996 generation of GT3 has a bit more of a basicness to it that the current generations have seemed to have lost. It’s devoid of luxury features. It’s nice that the current GT3 comes with amenities but I thought the point of the car was that it was the stripped down racer 911. But I guess that’s what happens over time. This specific one is so perfect as is. 

I love these simple racing buckets. They’re so minimal and perfect.

The gold BBSs are a perfect addition to this car. 

One of the awesome things about the old cars was the lack of stuff in the engine bay. You can’t even see the engine anymore when you open the rear deck lid of the 911. I guess that’s the price of progress.

The new GT3 is very reliant on air flow. So the front of the car is mainly shaped by how it uses the air it’s driving into.

Hips

Over the past few weeks I’ve been working as a Professional Driver on the Kia Stinger Experience Tour. If you’re not familiar with this event, it’s a 9-week tour of 9 different cities to promote Kia’s new performance sedan, the Stinger. Because of this great opportunity it pretty much ties up my Thursdays through Mondays of every week due to travel and the fact that they have it scheduled around most normal working people’s days off.

This year my birthday on the 13th of March fell on a Tuesday, so because of this schedule I was working it would mean that I would have a day off on my birthday. 

I also decided that because I hadn’t really been getting the chance to drive my ‘17 Volkswagen GTI that I would spend at least the morning going on a drive. It just so happens that I also was coming from Washington D.C. and my internal clock would still be on east coast time which meant that I would have no problem getting up in the morning.

I made the decision to wake up before sunrise and go for a drive on the Sunrise Highway to watch the sun wake up for the day on top of Mt. Laguna. I don’t think I had ever seen this before and thought this was the perfect opportunity.

Sure enough as soon as 4:00 am rolled around I was wide awake. I took my time getting ready and was probably out my door by about 4:45 am. 

If you’re not familiar with the San Diego area and it’s wide array of mountain roads, the Sunrise Highway spans from the 8 freeway and goes along the top of Mt. Laguna until it brings you down into the Lake Cuyamaca area where you intersect with Cuyamaca Highway which will take you to Julian. 

The Sunrise Highway is a nice flowing road with some amazing views of the desert down below. I’ve driven many different types of vehicles up there and it’s always a great drive with minimal traffic. There is a spot that is pretty much at the summit where you can sit and look out over the desert, giving a great view. I’ve sat up here before in a Tundra that I used to own while weather rolled over the top of it at a decent rate of speed. It was surreal. Because of this I figured I’d drive my GTI up there on my birthday and see what kind of pictures I could snap.

I now know why it got it’s name as the Sunrise Highway and why the Volkswagen GTI is a more refined instrument of driving than I thought it would be.

This was just as I arrived at the highest point you can drive to on Mt. Laguna. It’s a dead end that you can enter off the Sunrise Highway. I got to it around 6:00 am when the sun was still down and sat with my car pointed to the East. Sunrise that morning was slated to be around 7:00 and you could really start to see some color fill the sky around 6:30.

The colors and the clouds that morning just set the stage for some great pictures. All I had to do was start snapping away.

Right when the sun starts to rise up over the desert then the real picture show starts to appear. And with the mountains out there as part of the backdrop it just creates some awesome images.

After I was done with the dead end spot I continued North on Sunrise Highway. The views just keep staying nothing but amazing. 

This road is one of my favorites. It’s not a lot of slow speed, twisty stuff, mostly fast sweepers and good flowing corners.

The views are awesome everywhere you look, and with the sun still rising, you still get the plethora of colors and patterns filling the sky.

Every time I drive this car I understand more and more what sets it apart from it’s other competitors. It’s definitely not power, or speed. I also have a Focus ST and it has 32 more hp and feels noticeably quicker. This car does it with refinement. This car does it with beginning with a starting point and relentlessly refining it until you have the best version of it. You can feel it in many different aspects of this car. From the chassis, to the suspension, the gear shift, and even the way the door closes. It’s all been honed over time.

Every Project has a Starting Point 

Carrera 3.6 Double Barrel 

911 In-board Coil-Overs

Performance in Simple Form

Baby Blue Alfa Racer

Racer is What You Make It

Deep Black 911

Lightning Holes

Shark Nose

Hoff Kink

Kidneys

Stick Shift

Wood Grip

It’s Por-sha

turbo

A small gathering of vintage race cars at Stanceworks in Costa Mesa.

Photography by: Jeff White

Photography and Words by:  Jeff White

Let’s keep this short and sweet. This car has been reviewed by many people. I just recently got a chance to drive it for the first time myself and I must say, this is by far the best Mustang ever made. 

Why do I say this?

Because it does everything well. Yes, everything. It steers well, brakes well, it’s comfortable, the engine has plenty of power for street driving, the suspension, with its independent rear suspension finally makes the Mustang feel like it’s riding on the road, and I must say, those looks, god damn those looks. It’s the best looking Mustang since the 1st one.

Now, I know what you’re saying, a Ford Mustang, really? Look, I’ve driven pretty much every generation of Mustang and I’ve owned more different Mustangs than probably your average earthling. Hell, I even have a Ford Mustang old school jacket. I don’t wear it that much anymore but that’s neither here nor there. I think my Mustang resume makes me more than capable of claiming that this is probably the best Mustang ever made. Throw your emotions out the window and just look at the spec sheet, drive it, and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.