Over here is the US, we do not associate England with an active street racing scene but in reality there is a thriving drag racing culture in the UK. The ground zero for that activety is London's South End.

This working class section of London was heavily bombed during WW2 so the quaint little streets were replaced with wide modern throughfares that lend themselves to straightline contests of speed. English culture frowns upon calling undo attention to ones self, so flashy (what we would call ricey) cars are not looked upon favorably by the established street racers. There is an element of F 'n F wannabes over there, but the real racers prefer a clean subtle look that does not shout out RACER!!!

The South London Look specifically is a clean, neat paint job (preferably in a stock color) with no graphics or decals. Removing chrome and slightly flaring wheel wells to clear wider tires is as radical as it gets. The modifcations are all under the skin where they do the most good. I find this low-key attitude just the sort of look I prefer for my '87 CRX Si. I believe that there is nothing to be gained by calling attention to my car from cops or thieves.

Weapons of choice range from 30 year old Ford Escorts (think of a sedan version of the Pinto that weighs less than 2500 lbs with 200+hp coming from a 2 litre four) to Detroit muscle cars to the hottest JDM exotics that are exported to the UK as barely used cars.

So while we use the term DFH, in England they call it the South London Look.

Scott





[Modified by cbstd, 4:13 PM 12/25/2002]

 

"Are you with the band?"
AP: "No, I'm English."



FB

 

Excellent observation. Thanks for sharing!

 

right on!

 

Any pics??? Show and tell is always welcome 'round these parts

 

that is what we call the proverbial ****

 

Cool. It's always nice to hear what is going on in other cultures. I picked up this British/UK (I think?- everything in the ads was in pounds) mag called "Japanese Car" and it basically talked about what was going on over there. There were a lot of Imprezzas featured in the mag, as well as a few 240's/Silvias and the occassional Honda. Pretty neat stuff. I found the mag at Books A Million.

 

This South London look as you call it is interesting. A lot of the European car enthusiasts use a simular "look" as what you have described. In Germany they call it "Boeser Blick." Translated, "the mean look." And the cars that perscribe to that look are mean looking. No huge Touring wings or graphics messing up the clean lines.

Here's an American version of that Mean look:







This car started it's life as a '99 VW Passat GLX 2.8L V6. As you can see, a lot of work went into recreating that Germany look. Notice the lack of door handles? Smooth! The trunk is the same way.

Here's another B5 from Germany with a simular look.





[Modified by B5 Wraith, 9:16 PM 1/2/2003]

 

WoW.

What type of front bumper is that? It looks like an S4 lower part. Very nice
-Alex

 

Excellent-looking ride, Wraith. Very exotic-looking.

Here's my dumb question--what the hell is a B5???

[edit] duh I'm assuming B5 is the Passat chassis code. But is the front end specific to another car or is it a bodykit for the Passat???


[Modified by gamby, 11:39 AM 1/4/2003]

 

mmmmmm....euro classy imports

 

Yeah, that silver car is one tough Passat. I think I have pictures of it when he first started in on that car. It looked WAY different than now. That's a lot of love going into that machine! The bumper is a kit designed for the B5 Passat to look like the Audi S4. I believe Dietrict in Germany makes that one. I especially like the M3 side vents and the working sidemarkers in them. And they actually work to vent out the engine bay.

Oh, and yes, B5 is the VWoA designation for the chassis and body style of the '97 through 2001 Passats. Before that it was B4 and B3. No B2 or 1 here in North America. We were blessed with the VW Dasher and Quantum (B1 and B2 respectively) After 2001.5 the Passat got a facelift and we enthusiasts have dub it the B5.5. Same basic chassis, but the new facelift has more chrome and a more Audi like appearance.

Here's another picture of a Passat from Suadi Arabia. And yes, that's a factory color for non-NA cars. Check out the headlight washers. I guess the rest of the world gets really dirty headlights and we here in North America don't!




[Modified by B5 Wraith, 9:37 PM 1/4/2003]

 

yea that kit on the silver one does its job...at first i was like s4? wTf????

 

And heres a picture of my buggy. Not as exotic looking as the rest, but then again, I have a family to support and not just a car.





Not as flashy or "mean" looking, but still, it has it under the hood where it counts.

 

cool

 

Whoa, pretty cool

 

that silver passat is hands down the best one ive ever seen

 

you know.. the Videogame Midnightclub: Street racers Kindof reflect this attitude to an extent.. the first car's of england are a stock looking mini-cooper, stock looking bimmer, and some exotic's

 

Here are some pretty sweet cars with the "South London Look" from Performance VW magazine- which is a very good magazine all about VW performance, etc.

Enjoy:

 

[QUOTE]Here are some pretty sweet cars with the "South London Look" from Performance VW magazine- which is a very good magazine all about VW performance, etc


Wow thats badass, but the 8 point rollcage throws the sleep look out the window.
Im having a rollcage made now 2, but I know if I get pulled over I cant tell the officer its a show car anymore hehe.

 

Yeah. If I saw an MK1 on the road that was that clean in the first place, I wouldn't dare mess with it. I wish I could tell you the details on the engine, but it doesn't say. Probably a built 16V.

 

More super clean VDubs:

 

Ok , who's got some nice clean pics of Audi's. My buddy just bought a 98 silver a4 1.8T and i would like to give him some ideas. Thx

 

get that stuff outta here!! (j/k).

point him over to http://www.audiworld.com

plenty of pics. two of my friends bought silver A4's. Tons of them out there.

s

 

Jesus--that is plain psychotic. Beautiful car through and through.

Great pics. That is some clean *** style. Why the hell doesn't anyone make their look like that?!