VolksWorld Show

[roland]

Yeah I don't get why they say it's the closest to an original BRM and then paint it gloss black?? I guess it's the bling factor...

[nicolas]

Yeah I don't get why they say it's the closest to an original BRM and then paint it gloss black?? I guess it's the bling factor...

they have them in chrome as well... 

[GeirH]

No mather what you do to them, they are still a copy....

[Rennsurfer]

Yeah I don't get why they say it's the closest to an original BRM and then paint it gloss black?? I guess it's the bling factor...

It's okay if they do... I fixed that glitch on my BRMs, yesterday.



 

Bring on the bling!

[Russell]

I think the new flat4 BRM is great, yes it not the real thing but that doesnt really matter, flat 4 have put a lot of effort in to our area of the scene and there products are normally great quality, would rather have a flat 4 product that has a proper VW guy in charge than a trade company that only want to make money, didnt see any other wheel manufactures at the stands at ebi nor did they bring there race car half way round the world to break it........

A real BRM while very cool is actually quite dangerous now, due to there age and the quality of the manufacturing in day one, original brms are all slightly different as the QC and controls probaly werent that great as it was only a lightweight $49 wheel !!!!! Asa i have the 4 NOS wheels i can assure you all that up close they are not all exactly the same, so i would'nt expect flat 4 to make every one different not with the quality involved.......

[Rennsurfer]

I agree with you, Russell. There's no way I'd want original BRMs on my daily driver. My hat goes off to anyone that drives on the street and/or races 'em... but not for me. I'd much rather have my modern ones. Way more functional.

[LuftsickTero]

I think the new flat4 BRM is great, yes it not the real thing but that doesnt really matter, flat 4 have put a lot of effort in to our area of the scene and there products are normally great quality, would rather have a flat 4 product that has a proper VW guy in charge than a trade company that only want to make money, didnt see any other wheel manufactures at the stands at ebi nor did they bring there race car half way round the world to break it........

Well, actually I cannot remember seeing any innovation/own products from Flat4, like CSP disc brakes or CB drop spindles as an example. What they do is just repro old bling-bling parts where some American/European guys did the development 40 years ago and which is probably easier money than for example trying to reproduce 100% correct sheet metal parts (which Volkswagen scene would really need) or do some engineering with own products. And the vintage drag racing cars in nostalgia events? Isn't that promotion?

[Zach Gomulka]

reproduce 100% correct sheet metal parts (which Volkswagen scene would really need)

That's the damn truth.

[John Maher]

Without question we should recognise and take inspiration from the great cars, pioneers and achievements of the past.
But restricting yourself to living in and duplicating some idealised version of that past leads to stagnation and lack of progress.

It's a safe option for those with lack of imagination because the rules have already been handed down in tablets of stone (so they say).
Their only future is the past.

The backward looking retro movement's version of 'R&D' is Rip-Off and Duplicate.

Personally I found it just a little bit depressing that the two highlights of the Volksworld Show were put forward by many on here as...
(i) the official launch of an aluminium wheel (claimed to be a more faithful copy of the original than previous faithful copies of the original)
(ii) a retro style gasser car

Not meaning to cause any offence here... the car in question is high quality. It will no doubt create even more interest when travelling the 1/4 as opposed to being parked in an exhibition hall.... but you get my drift?? Pretty disappointing when what you were led to believe was 'new' and 'exciting' turns out to be a cover version of the original.

On a more positive note, there were plenty of examples of new thinking on display. I should be more tolerant and welcome a few fundamentalists - as long as they don't take over! 

To be fair, in most respects the very nature of our hobby is retro by design (old fashioned aircooled VWs FFS!) but that doesn't mean progress is Verbotten!!!




( .. steps aside and ducks for cover.....)   

[ESH]

I guess the nature of this forum means that people are going to pick up on the retro side of things which is to be expected and fundamentally pretty cool but I know what people are saying. The way I see it the Dyno Pincher is a cool twist on a theme brilliantly executed and things like the Flat4 wheel mean that people without the money for the original can get a good looking period rim to suit the car.

I think there was evidence of fresh thinking elsewhere though, Rudy's New Beetle is something else in the best possible sense whilst Adele and Steve's car combines a load of current race car thinking with classic looks whilst cars like the Type3D / TrailerQueen Brasilia offer up a slightly different approach to stuff in other areas of the scene. In terms of products I think there was also a bunch of interesting stuff fresh out. Having previously bought a total piece of shite from the VW performance equivalent of Ratners something that appealed to me was the new CSP exhausts, the amount of R&D they have put into tuning their systems is great news for their customers and like their brake kits for what you get it's a cheap piece of kit. It'd be bad if things were standing still but I think things are still moving forward so the fundamentalists haven't yet taken over!

One thing is for sure though, we need a lot more good sheet metal and trim parts, it's getting really hard to put a car together nicely if you're missing certain parts and that's crap.