As classic car hunters know, this is a barn. And inside, there's a hidden gem that can be useful in their next races throughout the festival, but there's a catch; the barn find in question has a 6.5 million value and waiting for it to be restored during gameplay is a total nightmare! I thought it will took less than thirty minutes or so for a barn find to be restored but this one is different. The main reason why it took me several moments to wait for this hidden artifact to be restored like it was made is this...
Ladies and gents, this is the ultra-legendary Ferrari 166MM Barchetta. It isn't just more of being the first Ferrari to win Le Mans, it won the Mille Miglia and the Targa Florio as well as the Spa 24 Hours, making this one of the most successful racing machines in Ferrari's history. It was named by Motor Trend magazine as one of the ten greatest Ferraris of all time because of such success it made. It uses a 2.0L V12, which is kinda small by modern standards, which produces up to 140HP of power, not that powerful by modern standards. Although not as quick by modern standards, driving an ultra-rare, which is way more cooler than super-super-rare, barn find can be an awesome experience.
Finding a barn find is easy, but waiting for a barn find to be restored is a different experience and because of its 6.5 million value, taking a lot of time to be restored compared to the other barn finds, what else did I do in such spare time?
Apart from doing other stuff such as doing Bucket List challenges (because is nigh or never for Horizon festival "producers" like you and me), I spend some time finding some other barn finds before the 166MM is restored. So, what are some barn finds I discovered during the long timeline?
The Meyers Manx is an offroad buggy made by the dream of Bruce F. Meyers in California. Based on the chassis used for the Beetle, this unique offroader conquered dune racing and shattering records, spawning road-legal models until its demise due to tax problems after Bruce F. Meyers left. It's a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive and handling one of these requires accuracy because of its understeer issues.
The R32 Skyline GT-R has been one of the best JDM cars in history apart from western speedo boys called it "Godzilla" for some point but it sure is a fun car for a barn find like this. Looking for an ideal JDM tuner from the 90's? Try this, if you're lucky to find one.
The HQ Holden Belmont Sandman Panel Van isn't more than just a car, it's an all-rounder that is a hit not just for business use but for lifestylers during its time. Although it's a favorite among outdoorsmen, surfers, campers, whatever lifestyle hits their boat, the HQ-based Sandman was once rivaled by a panel-van variant of the Ford Falcon in its time but rivalry aside, those ute-based panel vans is just one way of showing how unique the Aussies make their cars. Believe it or not, you can change the Sandman's appearance from van look to ute look, making them mistaken there are two kinds of vehicles. Hmmm...
And finally, the Jaguar Mk. II, apart from being one of the forerunners of the British touring car history, it was once a favorite getaway car for felons. As a response, policemen get a dose of the action with this car. That's car culture for you.
So, after several barn finds later, the ultra-rare 166MM Barchetta's fully restored to its former glory and I had the honorary chance to try one of the most successful Ferraris in history. That was hardcore about the waiting period, huh?
Whew, glad I am part of this kind of experience. Speaking of which, I only got two barn finds left on the map. One that doesn't take a lot of time and the other...well, you guessed it. I need a break.
- Troops have captured three suspects connected to the deadly bombing of a night market in Davao that killed 15 people and seized a cellphone video of the blast from them that they apparently took for propaganda purposes. The suspected Muslim extremists captured are Wendel Apostol Factura, Musali Mustapha, and TJ Tagdaya Macabalang.
- According to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, he told the US military that plans for joint patrols and naval exercises in the South China Sea have been put on hold, the first concrete break in defense cooperation after months of increasingly harsh comments by President Rodrigo Duterte.
- PNP chief Director General Bato dela Rosa said that the alleged Davao death squad hitman, Edgar Matobato, will be taken under police custody.
- Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos was awarded with a Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to end a five-decades-long civil war that killed over 200,000 people in the South American country. The award came just days after Colombians voted to reject the peace deal that Santos helped bring about.
- Hurricane Matthew is currently making landfall near the US East Coast state of Florida as it heads northwest with wind speeds remained at 190kph. Over 270,000 households in Florida are without power while over 3,000 people have been evacuated.
- Police in India say there was a massive scam targeting against US citizens from "call centers" set up in this country. Over 70 members of the scam ring had been arrested at a western Indian city of Mumbai. The group set up 9 fake call centers and hired about 700 people.
- Alma Moreno asks for prayers for son Mark Anthony Fernandez, who was caught using drugs. Earlier, Mark Anthony Fernandez's arraignment at Angeles City Regional Trial Court Branch 60 was postponed because of the motion of suspension for added investigation on the troubled actor.
See this E36 BMW M3? I got it from a Midnight Battle, and if you're wondering what's it all about, this classic Bimmer is just one of the few cars you can win on Midnight Battle. To do this, you need to win enough Street Races to access to this duel where a prize car is at stake.
Here's what I did...
Heh, looks like I've been trying my "Vin Diesel" impression to take care of that prized Bimmer but in the end, it's always "eyes on the prize" and with such win, I finally got my hands on this sick Bimmer that can't wait to put on its cool bodykit sourced from Japan. I'm talking about Rocket Bunny, of course, and it seems odd for an German sportscar to wear such a bodykit made specifically for Japanese sportscars like the 86 and the BRZ, but what the hey? The E36 M3 is one of the best cars a speedo boy would love.
With the bodykit on, the E36 M3 it looks like if tonight's serving is a bratwurst dipped in wasabi and the beverage for the day was cerveza negra. Don't know what a cerveza negra taste like but with a unique serving and a unique lifestyle brew, the E36 M3 with the Rocket Bunny kit sure knows how to living the lifestyle after hours, unless it knows what its doing right now.
Uh-huh, perhaps it could use a little more work on the performance side that can balance both its offense and defense because this car's still on the defensive post but still, I had fun driving an E36 M3 that comes with a Rocket Bunny kit for its new kind of attitude for a classic German hi-po sportscar that has been the hallmark for every Bimmer aficionados since the first one and while I had fun driving the latest BMW M4 with the Liberty Walk look a few moments ago, it has a lot to learn from this car.
Still, this is a prized car worthy to be admired for not just for its looks, but for attitude as well...
- Ronnie Dayan, the former driver and alleged lover of Senator Leila de Lima failed to appear at the House Justice committee public hearing on the alleged drug trafficking operations in the New Bilibid Prison despite being summoned. Police authorities have served subpoenas to Robbie Dayan and former DOJ undersecretary Francisco Baraan III ordering them to attend the inquiry at the House on Thursday and Friday.
- A recent Social Weather Station survey said that President Rodrigo Duterte nabbed a "very good" rating and the approval of 76 percent for his first three months in service. Based on the survey, Duterte gained a +64 net satisfaction rating in the first quarter. The survey also showed that 76% of the respondents from Metro Manila, balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, are happy with Duterte's performance.
- Hurricane Matthew is approaching to southern parts of the United States, forcing residents to evacuate. The hurricane was moving northwest from the Bahamas on Wednesday afternoon, after passing through the Caribbean nations of Haiti and Cuba. As of now, Hurricane Matthew is now downgraded from a Category 4 to a Category 3 hurricane on a scale up to five as it sustained winds of about 195kph.
- The United Nations has announced that the Paris Agreement on climate change will go into effect on the 4th of November. The deal takes effect 30 days after over 55 nations representing more than 55% of global greenhouse emissions have ratified it. It will happen before the UN climate change conference in Morocco takes place next month.
- Civil and human rights groups expressed their condemnations and some cybersecurity experts urged their clients to stop using the Yahoo Mail service after report that the internet service provider had secretly scanned millions of e-mail messages on behalf of US intelligence agencies. A certain report from Reuters told that Yahoo secretly made a government-ordered email surveillance program, which continues the ongoing topic between digital privacy and national security. Yahoo said in a statement that the Reuters report is "misleading".
- Tuner Hennessey Performance plans to make the new Ford F-150 Raptor into a six-wheeled beast called the VelociRaptor 6x6, a 600HP behemoth that will cost $295,000 with the said truck as its base car. Apart from its six-wheeled monstrosity, it comes with bespoke front and rear bumpers, modified aluminum bed, and other improvements.
- There is now a Chris Redfield Nendoroid unveiled officially by Good Smile Company and the star of the very first Biohazard/Resident Evil game is yours to order starting at 4,630 Yen (plus tax) with deliveries taking place in March.
- A chibified Yellow 13 plane from Ace Combat 04 Shattered Skies has been unveiled by Hasegawa Hobby Kits and with prices starting at 1,500 Yen, fans can take home and built a super-deformed take on a formidable Flanker plane flew by a formidable Erusian ace.
- A live-action adaptation on a Disney Princess classic, Mulan, will be released on Winter 2018. As of right now, Disney is launching a global casting search for a Chinese actress to play Mulan. This live-action adaptation, when out this 2018, is made to honor of the animated Disney classic's 20th anniversary. We've seen all Disney princesses gave their live-action rebirths from 2015's Cinderella to next year's Beauty and the Beast.
Following President Rodrigo Duterte's "hellish" remarks against US President Barack Obama and the European Union, a White House official states that Duterte's comments at odds with US-PH ties. During his speech at the opening of the joint Philippine-US military exercises, Duterte told Obama to "go to hell" and the European Union to settle for purgatory. Duterte earlier expressed his intent to end the war games between the two countries during his term.
- Groups of Marcos supporters have surpassed the one million target signatures for the petition to allow the remains of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. The signatures will be turned over to the Supreme Court on Thursday. A simple mass will be held in front of the SC prior to the turn over.
- Department of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo announced that their new slogan will be unveiled on the 13th of January, 2017, the day when Miss Universe contestants arrive in the country for the pageant, to make sure it gets more international exposure. Teo denied rumors that the pageant here was cancelled due to recent developments.
- Vice presidential candidates Tim Kaine and Mike Pence sized each other for the vice-presidential debate. In an odd move, looks like Pence simply ignored the Donald Trump he familiarized with on the trail for more than a year.
- At least 11 people were killed in four countries, including Haiti and the Dominican Republic, when Hurricane Matthew wreak havoc in the Caribbean sea. US weather authorities say that this powerful storm was moving past Haiti and Cuba on Tuesday. It was classified as a category 4 storm on a scale of 5, with wind speeds as high as 216kph.
- Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, was named as the second wealthiest American, following Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The US business magazine Forbes says Bezos has gone two ranks up in its survey of 400 wealthiest people in the USA. Bill Gates tops the list for the 23rd straight year with assets worth 81 billion dollars while Bezos has a net worth of 67 billion dollars because of the sharp rise of his company's share. Warren Buffet, an investor, was ranked 3rd.
- Subaru unveiled their limited-edition WRX S4 tS model, which is "tuned by STi". Although performance figures remained the same, the S4 tS model is benefitted with STi-tuned dynamics to make it handle better than the normal S4. It's priced at 4,968,000 Japanese Yen while the NBR Challenge Package costs 5,292,000 Japanese Yen. Customers in Japan have until March 12 to grab one of those.
2017 Subaru WRX S4 tS
- The Smoking Tire Car Pack for the Forza Horizon 3 XBOX One game is now available to download. In this month's car pack, there are seven new rides to try out including the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, Lotus 340R, Jeep CJ-5, GTA Spano, BMW M2, Pagani Huayra BC, and the Aston Martin Vulcan. Car Pass owners can get it for free or can be purchased for $7.
- New Pokemon Sun and Moon info on the radar! The Alola starters are getting their first evolutionary stages as Rowlet becomes Dartrix, Litten becomes Torracat, and Popplio becomes Brionne! In addition, you can communicate with other players via the new Festival Plaza. You can even make Pokemon deposited on the PC do things with Poke Pelago. And, this is the part where all good trainers can sleep in their beds tonight, because Mega Evolution returns in Sun and Moon. The list remains the same but finding the Mega Stones can be obtained from certain people or by buying it at a special store. There's a special demo coming out this month featuring a Greninja from a very special someone. From the XYZ TV series, comes Ash-Greninja. A special Greninja that comes with its exclusive "Battle Bond" ability which transforms when it knocked down an opponent's Pokemon. You can even take it on the full game when it comes out as well!
These are the hidden gems lurking through the Australian Outback...
...and right now, I've been picking multiple notifications about barn find rumors sprawling around Australia and while this is basically a headache to me, knowing that I spend the rest of the job hosting races per festival, it's all "challenge accepted" to me.
Having ventured through the "wasteland" for the rest of my break in search for buried secrets, these are the "buried secrets" I found...
The FJ40 is by no means one of the finest offroaders Toyota has ever made and whereas all SUV becoming more city-focused and luxurious, this bare-boned old-school classic deserves some respect as what every offroad enthusiasts do most of the time and with such reputation, no other modern offroader comes close to this legendary beast that conquered through the ends of the earth. How did I find it and what I did with it?
Three years after the first Holden, the 48-215 (FX) was made in 1948, its ute derivative, the 50-2106, was launched and you maybe asking why the number codes are plated to the founding Holdens of the Australian motoring history is because when these Holdens first made, they were marketed simply as "Holden" with no model name mentioned. Although this is basically a coupe utility truck based on the first Holden ever made, it remains one of the founding fathers of the ute genre and it's a waste to see eight decades of Aussie motoring greatness faded away with nothing, but still, driving one of these founding fathers will give you a clear idea why Australia made such unique cars like this ute.
Although the XB Ford Falcon was known for scoring touring car championship wins with the legendary touring car driver Allan Moffat behind the wheel, it became a star car when it propelled to famed in the Mad Max movies and because we have the Australian Outback on our side, it won't take a matter of time before prepping up a Mad Max reference in-game using the XB Falcon as the hero of the story, if you know what I mean? With this XB Falcon, this festival belongs to the mad. WHAT A LOVELY DAY!!!
This is the first time the Forza franchise ever featured a three-wheeler and this is their first; a Reliant Supervan III. Yes, we are all familiar with this three-wheeled curiosity because we seen this car making a mess on the Mr. Bean show several times and we seen Reliants gone kaput in Top Gear during the Clarkson, Hammond, and May years so this three-wheeled oddity needs no explanation, unless you are brave enough to drive it and not to make its "famous" mistake that sends this car tumbling down the road, which, unfortunately, I did most of the times.
The HQ Holden Monaro is the second generation model of the car Holden calls it "Australia's first sports machine", and having one of these Aussie beauties set off feels like "it's going to be very Monaro" because it's the great way to move. Sorry, did I said much?
And lastly, this massive-winged classic muscle car called the Dodge Charger Daytona HEMI. Although I heard that this winged monstrosity was once used for NASCAR, little did I know that 503 of these were made while 70 of these are HEMI powered and only 20 combined comes with a 4-speed manual gearbox. Those 20 kinds of Charger Daytona are ultra rare indeed and it's so rare, it garnered an estimated auction of 800,000 to 1,000,000 US Dollars. Amazingly, it even featured on Fast and Furios 6 as one of the cars Dom drove and I managed to go with my Vin Diesel impression by recreating Dom's Daytona Charger inside and out and take it for a spin. Scary but fun.
So with all of Outback's buried secrets unearthed by me, looks like there are some more barn find rumors that need to be unearthed and I'm feeling I'm as adventurous as a world-famous treasure hunter seeking for fame and fortune. I am. For now, I'm now taking a well-deserved rest.
