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2008 Gumball 3000 Rally Kickoff

smack — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:23:40 +0000

What’s the only thing more enjoyable than watching the cable-cars on the streets of San Francisco…121 supercars racing up and down the hills with familiar faces behind the wheels! Yes, the Gumballers are back in town with some of the rarest supercars to traverse the planet. Not since 2003 (the last Gumball in San Francisco, ending in Miami) has the town been so car crazy! This 10th Anniversary Tour will not disappoint.

The festivities began with a kickoff celebration at Temple SF. To call it a party would be an understatement. Drivers rocked out to a performance by the Cuban Brothers, enjoyed cocktails, and mingled with celebrities on the red carpet. Not before long, it was time to retire and try to salvage a few hours sleep before the epic journey began.

Saturday’s start of the Rally brought flocks of fans to the top of Nob Hill. The sounds of revving V-12s echoed off the buildings, and brought excitement to the air. The final destination is Beijing, with half of the cars going the full distance. The caravan takes a slight detour to Pyongyang, North Korea, a first for an event of this kind. The cars will be flown direct via massive cargo planes to China, whereas drivers will enjoy an All First Class Boeing 767 across the Pacific, and spend a day as spectators at the Mass Games.

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The field of cars contained the standard fare; Lambos, Porsches, and Ferarris. This is to be expected. This years’ Rally included a greater number of classic cars, cars that you can’t walk into the dealership, throw down your Amex Black, and roll. These are vehicles of passion, and you could see the attention to detail put into preparing the cars for the race. The decal application alone went deep into the night on Friday, thanks to the dedication of the Rally’s production staff.

The Drivers Meeting put everyone in the right frame of mind; all that was left to do was load the luggage and get rolling to Los Angeles. A quick lap through the City of San Francisco was in order, which would not be complete without including Lombard St., the most crooked street in the world. The field returned once again to the Fairmont Hotel to receive the green flag, and off they went.

The Gumball is off and running. As sad as we are to see it leave the City by the Bay, we take comfort knowing the 11th installment will have it back again in the USA for 2009. Los Angeles to Miami, with all the fun spots in between. Something tells me they will outdo themselves again, as they do every year.

Off-Roading in a Range Rover Sport at the Driving Experience

Charlie — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 20:32:40 +0000

If you’re an off-road junkie, the Land Rover Experience Driving School is right up your alley. Land Rover creates courses that showcase Land Rover and Range Rover capabilities and strengths with the help of in-car instructors. We had the chance to take the Range Rover Sport out in the mud at the Land Rover Experience located at the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC and were quite impressed with the vehicle’s performance in the sloppy mud.

Check out the 2007 Range Rover Sport going off-road at the Biltmore Estate.

You can also watch 2007 Range Rover Sport Off-Road Video on YouTube.

If you want to see more on the Land Rover Experience Driving School, click here for an article about the Driving Experience as well as additional video coverage.

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Getting Dirty With Land Rover

barmstead — Fri, 25 May 2007 18:35:16 +0000

You just purchased a HUMMER, Jeep Wrangler Four-Door or Nissan Xterra. You bought it to be a mad mudder, heading off road every chance you get. There’s only one problem – you’ve never been off road before, and you are sorely in need of professional instruction.

Have no fear, as Land Rover has the answer to your problem. See, if you own a Land Rover, Cadillac, Hyundai or no vehicle at all, you can still get expert instruction for off-roading at the Land Rover Experience Driving Schools. The Land Rover is the only manufacturer to offer a factory-backed off-road driving program that is open to the public year-round.

The Land Rover Experience Driving School has three North American locations – at Quail Lodge in Carmel, California; at the Fairmont Le Château Montebello in Quebec, Canada; and at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.

No matter your skill level, you’ll find yourself navigating incredible off-road obstacles with the School. Steep descents down a two-track trail, tight hairpin turns with trees on each side, even climbing a pile of logs with just three wheels touching become obstacles you overcome with skills developed through lessons and programs at the Land Rover Experience Driving School.

I, along with my partner-in-crime for the event, Roadfly’s Publisher Charlie Romero, chose the Biltmore Estate School, given its close proximity to our Washington, D.C. base. We were met at the Asheville Airport by team members from the School, and traveled to the Biltmore Estate in a silver 2007 Range Rover.

If you’ve never seen the Biltmore Estate, its quite an amazing sight. Built in 1895 by the Vanderbilt family, the Biltmore Estate houses thousands of original furnishings, and features comforts and technologies that were virtually unknown during that time. For example, the entire Estate has electric lighting, and the main house, with several hundred rooms, boasts an intercom system and electric elevators.

The original Estate covered more than 120,000 acres, and is now pared down to 8,000. The Land Rover Experience Driving School covers more than 20 acres of the Estate, and was professionally designed by the Land Rover Experience team, led by Instructor Greg Nicholas. Gregs team of highly trained instructors not only show you how to get down off-road in Land Rovers, but how to respect the environment by honoring “Tread Lightly” principles.

There are several school options with the Land Rover Experience Driving School. You can choose “Lessons,” for beginners; “Trails” for those with off-road experience; and “Full-Day Adventure; with either hard-core off-roading or scenic off-roading. Times run from a one-hour excursion to the six-hour full day adventure. Costs are also extremely reasonable, with the one-hour experience costing $200 per vehicle (with up to three drivers), and the full day Adventure costing $800 (which includes lunch and driving for up to three drivers).

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Before starting the course, Greg walked us around a trio of Land Rovers – 2007 Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and LR3. It was then time to truly go to school, as Greg discussed the terminology we would need to understand in the off-road environment. We discussed approach, departure and breakover angles, and how they relate to the vehicle’s off-road dynamics. We discussed left-foot braking, which saves time from switching from brake to accelerator pedal in a crucial situation. Greg and his instructors covered all the basics, including gear selection, weight transfer and balance, and line choice.

We also talked about the technology built into all Land Rover products that make the vaunted British brand legendary in jungles and deserts around the world. Some of the advanced technology includes a terrain response system, Hill Descent Control and a fully independent air suspension. They all work together to help you get around off-road without a hitch.

Out on the course, we encountered steep inclines and declines, side turns that make you wonder how the vehicles stay upright, and tons and tons of mud! It is truly amazing to see what true SUVs can do off-road, and Land Rover builds some of the worlds best for both on and off road situations. After a tasty catered lunch on the trail, we finished the day with a true understanding of what good instruction can show about the vehicles capabilities, and how taking care of the trails means someone can come behind you and do the same thing.

For more on the Land Rover Experience Driving Schools, go to www.landroverusa.com/drivingschools. For more on the Biltmore Estate, visit www.biltmore.com

Big Boys and Tough Toys – The Nissan Truck Off-Road Experience

maxfarrow — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 18:49:02 +0000

We’ve just returned from the town of Bridgeport Texas, about 90 minutes outside of Dallas, and future home of the Bridgeport Recreational Park. The 900 acres set aside for the park include serene trails through the scrub brush and rocky hills that make up the area’s terrain-a serenity we promptly quashed in a day of thrashing Nissan’s best off-road offerings throughout the landscape.

Nissan’s truck and SUV lines are some of the toughest, least-sissified vehicles out there, especially in this era of “crossovers” and trucks designed specifically for soccer-moms. We took Titans over towering hills, forced Frontiers through fresh mud, and drove Xterras down extremely steep slopes, all in an effort to find out just how capable these Nissans really are in this type of terrain.

In other words, we played with trucks in the mud.

Far as the eye can see standing in the center of the future Bridgeport Recreational Park, the rough ground is littered with boulders and covered with a bright orange mud. Undulating gracelessly to the horizon, one of our colleagues commented that there are probably more hills, with higher elevation, here than in pretty much anywhere else in Texas. Recent rains had made dry gullies into streams to be forded and deep depressions into small lakes to be splashed through. It honestly looked pretty daunting-and there wasn’t a paved road in sight.

The Nissan team on hand had spent the last several weeks on-site, laying out a looped course of several miles through the landscape. After an initial run with one of the trail’s topographers acting as a guide, the journalists present were invited to hop into each of the vehicles Nissan had carted along and run the trails themselves. We were asked to try out both four-wheel-drive High and Low settings at different spots, to use the locking rear differentials at some particularly perilous points, and to play with the electronic toys like Hill descent Control that some of the smaller trucks sported. The menu for the day included several Titan trucks, a few Xterra SUVs, and a number of Frontier pickups-a few of which sported a factory package of off-road upgrades by NISMO, Nissan’s in-house performance arm.

NISMO, which stands for NISan MOtorsports, is a recent apparition in the United States aftermarket scene, dedicated to building bolt-on parts with bulletproof reliability and seamless integration with stock vehicles. NISMO aftermarket parts are offered in three stages of tune; S-Tune for street vehicles, with 100 percent legality and a full warrantee; R-Tune for more race-oriented vehicles, which are often designated as off-road only; and Legacy parts for older Nissan vehicles like the 300Z and 240SX that still command a wide enthusiast following. Bob Speights, from NISMO development, showed off a smattering of the NISMO offerings, and on inspection they prove to be tough, well-designed, and of much higher quality than most typical add-on bits. “NISMO parts are not about eye-candy,” says Speights-another refreshing fact in this world of stick-on horsepower and lighted windshield-wiper nozzles. Nissan dealerships are the official NISMO vendors, and can also install the parts for you, if desired. Furthermore, NISMO collaborates with Nissan’s Product Development engineers to create performance-oriented option packages, such as we’ve seen with the NISMO 350Z, and on the NISMO Frontier we tested here.

We’ll delve into the performance of each specific truck in another review, but suffice it to say that every example on had performed impressively. They forded deep water with ease, thanks to high ground clearance, and climbed the steepest, rockiest hills we’ve ever seen, thanks to class-leading approach and departure angles. Coming down hard onto rocks and earth presented no problem for the Nissans’ running gear; the liberal use of skid plates protecting the vulnerable bits, and an overall design that tucks such components up and under the frame kept the dirty party unharmed. Essentially, the Titan, Xterra and Frontier all felt sure-footed and competent, even traversing parts of the trails we wouldn’t want to walk over. In fact, some of the hills we took these trucks up and down were so steep we almost expected to flip end over end on our way down-but the Nissans themselves seemed to relish the experience.

It is truly amazing what these trucks can do.

This may go a long way towards explaining Nissan’s recent domination of the Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR) series. In that last year’s standings, Nissan drivers scored six wins, two second-place showings, and took third-place honors three times-in 18 events. Showcasing their superiority, Nissan had brought along two of their sponsored drivers and an examples of Titan and Frontier CORR race trucks.

Chad Hord’s Pro-Light mount is a fiberglass Frontier, built on a spec chassis but featuring a Nissan four-banger that makes 305 horsepower from a stock block and cylinder head. He says he’s regularly running the motor at 8-9,000 r.p.m. through the races-and has yet to experience one engine failure.

In the Pro-4 class, 14-year Nissan veteran Art Schmitt pilots a Titan. His ride also runs on a stock Nissan block; this the V8 configuration, making more than twice the power of the Pro-Light truck-750hp. The Titan is the official truck of CORR racing (which is broadcast regularly on Speed Channel; races take place in California, Michigan, and Wisconsin).

Both drivers thrilled the assembled crowd with a few jumps over a rock-and-dirt mound set up by the “headquarters” tent. Firing these things up is itself a revelation; both the four and the eight can be heard miles away. It was the more-powerful Titan that made the most spectacular jumps; catching what seemed like 15 feet of air and flying for several car lengths. Once the show was over, the grins of the assembled spectators were overmatched only by those on the driver’s faces.

Now, we’ve been on other off-road expeditions, with other brands debuting some other capable four-wheelers. None of those, however, have ever matched the Bridgeport terrain for sheer challenge. A comfort to the “real-man” contingent of guys who cringe at “all-wheel-drive sport-wagons,” we can honestly report that Nissan builds some of the toughest trucks out there-and what’s more, they don’t mind getting them dirty.

What fun!

Porsche Cayenne Driving Experience

Steve — Thu, 20 Mar 2003 20:40:46 +0000

Before a new model vehicle ever hits the show room floor, many key events have to take place – many of which happen behind the scenes and completely unbeknownst to the consumer. Ever wondered why your salesperson knows so much about how the vehicle you’re interested in handles rocky terrain? Ever been curious as to how your salesperson knows what it’s like to drive a vehicle like the one you’re interested in at speeds in excess of 100mph?

With Porsche’s launch of the 2003 Cayenne, consumers are certain to ask all kinds of questions. Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) wanted to make certain their sales staff could answer as many questions as possible, so they set-up a special “Drivers Experience” event for dealership personnel to attend.

Held at the recently completed and ultra-modern Barber Motorsports Park, located just outside of Birmingham, Alabama, PCNA invited dealership staff from around the nation to attend a two-day event in which the Cayenne’s capabilities were showcased. We were fortunate to catch up with Howard Winslow, sales manager from Porsche of Arlington, and spent some time talking with him about the Porsche Cayenne Driving Experience.

“Off-road, the Cayenne is as capable as any sports utility vehicle, including long time off-road legends like Land Rover,” says Winslow, “And on the track, well, it’s nearly as capable as any car, including the 911.”

Howard spent approximately two days at the Barber Motorsports Park putting the Cayenne through its paces, learning the ins and outs of the vehicle, while following road racing legend, Hurley Haywood around the 2.3 mile FIA/FIM-approved racetrack.

“We’d be behind Hurley, who was in a 911, and they’d tell us to just follow him around the course – same speed, same lines, same braking. It was amazing to drive a 5,000lb Cayenne at 3,200lb 911 speeds. It was absolutely mind boggling, the truck just followed him wherever he went.”

According to Winslow, the Cayenne doesn’t give the driver any indication of its massive size while operating at speed. He commented that the vehicle was very nimble, cornered very flat, and was a great vehicle on the track. He commented that the only time he was reminded he was driving a “truck” was when he’d hit the accelerator. “The turbo is fast – way fast, but the S, while it’s no slouch, reminds you that you’re driving a truck,” he commented.

But the Barber Motorsports Park isn’t all about road coursing – there are two off-road tracks, located in the woods within the complex. “It was amazing that it could do what it could off-road,” says Winslow, while recalling his woodland experiences with the Cayenne. “I had to ask the guys who had more experience with vehicles in an off-road environment if there was anything comparable to the Cayenne off-road. They said it was as capable as anything from Land Rover, which to me, says quite a bit, given Land Rover’s history.”

“There were things that looked impossible to me, but you were sitting behind the wheel and the instructor said ‘do it’, and you did it and the Cayenne did the task without any trouble.” According to Winslow, “The object of off-roading is to go as slow as possible and as fast as necessary – we’d put it in ‘reduction gear’ while going downhill; and we’re talking about some steep grades- it would just creep down the hill, completely stable and steady. No need to put your foot on the brake – it was able to handle the situation perfectly.”

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I was excited to hear more about the Turbo Cayenne, so I asked Howard about the motor and the driving experience as it related to the Turbo. “There’s zero turbo lag – power is precise and spot on. But other than the difference in acceleration, which is significant, there’s no difference between the S-model and the Turbo. None.”

Howard had nothing but positive comments for PCNA and their hospitality. “They put us in a great hotel – at least a 4-star hotel, and the food was amazing. Porsche always does a great job when it comes to functions like this – it’s a real pleasure to attend Porsche events.”

He indicated that there were approximately 40 dealership personnel (from various dealerships) in attendance at his session. He estimated that Porsche would be conducting the Cayenne Driving Experience for nearly two-months – which is quite amazing. Even more amazing is the fact that just about every person in a Porsche dealership is invited to attend.

“We had sales people, technicians, parts staff, service writers, just about everyone from the dealership was able to attend the training. Porsche is always real good about inviting everyone to new model trainings.”

By the time you read this article, Cayenne’s should be making their debut at dealerships around the nation. Porsche has set March 15th as the official launch date for demo vehicles to be available, and Porsche of Arlington is planning an introduction party at their dealership on March 14. Howard expects to have a few hundred people on hand for the party.

Current allocations for Porsche of Arlington sets the number of Cayenne’s available at approximately 10 cars per month, and Howard expects the first batch of Cayenne’s to arrive around the first week of April. I’d highly recommend that if you’re interested in the Cayenne that you give Howard a call – he’s very much a Porsche enthusiast, and with his recent on and off-road experiences, he’s well versed in “pepper speak”.

For more information:
Howard Winslow
Sales Manager
Porsche of Arlington, Virginia

email: howardw@porscheofarlington.com

(703) 684-6660

http://www.porscheofarlington.com

MISSION MINI: International Intrigue and Mystery, MINI Style

Steve — Mon, 06 Jan 2003 21:41:04 +0000

The new MINI certainly has been well received by its fans, followers and the general public. In fact, it probably could have sold itself, but that wasn’t good enough for MINI – they carefully crafted a fictional story based around a private detective who happened to have a MINI, which, as fate would have it, was stolen during his investigation in to some artwork that was stolen and being held for ransom. They then invited 84 lucky individuals from 17 different countries to help solve the “crime”, and they called the entire operation Mission MINI.

MINI contracted the world famous crime writer Val McDermid to craft the story about a fascinating theft that unfolded in Barcelona, Spain. Tens of thousands of people followed Ms. McDermid’s story, which centered on detective Sam Cooper, a PI who was in between jobs, and living in Barcelona. In her story, the ending is left wide open, and that’s where Mission MINI came in to action.

Through a contest that MINI sponsored, MINI-loyalists were invited to apply for a chance to travel to Spain, and participate as one of 21 teams from around the world competing to solve the Mission MINI mystery, in “real life.” Club Roadfly caught up with Kendall Helmstetter, who along with Winnie Poon, Brooks Garner and Brian Huerter were selected to represent the USA at Mission MINI’s conclusion in Barcelona, Spain.

Roadfly (Roadfly): What got you interested in Mission MINI?

Kendall Helmstetter (KH): I became interested in MINI cars when a friend of mine pointed me in the direction of the MINI Cooper. While trying to research and learn more about the MINI, I came across the Mission MINI website and was drawn in to the story. Their website was really elaborate and very well done, and it immediately grabbed my attention and hooked me.

Roadfly: What did you do to earn one of the spots for the trip?

LH: The basic idea was an investigator’s dossier. I got a really sharp looking 3-ring binder with four sections in the cover and back, and put together a car kit, roof designs, disguises and a “concluding remarks” section. In the center of the binder, I put in a letter of introduction and also crafted a clear plastic VHS videotape holder to hold the contest videotape. In the video, I included a shot of me sliding across the hood of my car and jumping in through the window to drive away.

Roadfly: What was the timeline between your learning of Mission MINI and attending the event?

KH: Well, I think I found out about it just a few weeks before the entry deadline, so I scrambled to put together this really elaborate entry, and I got it to them about 3 weeks before the contest closed. After I found out that I had been selected to participate, I think it was less than a month before we actually left for Barcelona.

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If I recall correctly, I left for Barcelona on the evening of November 6th, and arrived on the 7th, sometime in the afternoon. On that first evening, I got to meet my team members and we met the other teams at a dinner that MINI put on.

The track day took place on the 8th (which was a Friday), and then the contest started on the 9th, with the finale occurring at around 3:00pm on Sunday the 9th. I chose to stay a little longer and spent Monday and Tuesday hanging out with my team members – we even stumbled across the HQ/repair shop of one of the Barcelona MINI leaders – he had a bunch of old MINI’s there and a really cool collection of MINI collectables.

Roadfly: What were the accommodations like? Did MINI take care of you pretty well?

KH:Mini provided the winners with business class tickets, and let us choose the airline and our own trips – they even arranged for limo’s to pick us up and take us to the airport. We were put up in ARTS of Barcelona, which I think really goes beyond any five-star hotel I’ve ever been in. They were really over the top with service and hospitality.

Roadfly: So, when you got to Barcelona and got started with the contest, was it obvious you were working with actors, or were the actors always in character?

KH: Yeah, they did a great job – they were always in character. When we first got there, we were called in to a press conference at the gallery, which really seemed real, and I suppose it was partially real, but the actors – they had the scenes all set-up just like in the story. There was the wall where the paintings vanished from, and the police tape and everything. They had the Police Inspector and a few of the suspects, and they were just wandering around beforehand in character. We stumbled across one of them by accident and started chatting with her, and we found out that she was Patsy Chen, who was one of the suspects. So, we talked with her and gave her our card and told her to call us if she had any info about the case. It was really amazing, because everything seemed so real and fit the story so well.

During the actual press conference, all of the investigators got to ask whatever questions they wanted of the conference attendees, so it was really great – everything was completely freeform – we basically had to come up with our own plans and methods to gather information and try to solve the contest first.

Roadfly: With so many diverse teams from so many worldly locations, were language barriers ever a problem?

KH: No – everyone spoke great English and so we never had any problems there. Even the contestants from Hong Kong and Tokyo were really fluent in English. We had a great time talking with the other teams, and everyone was really great.

Roadfly: Tell us more about the “support” you received from MINI.

KH: All of the cars were outfitted with a PDA that was not only a PDA, but a GPS unit and a phone as well. The phone could be used as a voice phone, and we also received text messages on it as well – often, we’d receive a tip or a clue via the phone, then we’d have to use the phone as our navigation tool to find a certain location.

While the PDA was really cool, ultimately we found ourselves using maps more often than not, because the PDA would do a good job of getting us close to the location, but we’d brought our own maps and found that if we could get within a few blocks with the PDA the map would get us to the destination easier. The thing was great though – by the time we were done with the contest, we pretty much knew Barcelona inside and out.

MINI assigned us an “assistant” who would help us set-up appointments with suspects, and they’d help us organize our day – making sure we got messages and tips at the appropriate moments.

Roadfly: Did the PA help you with directions or finding location?

KH: Oh no – we had to rely completely on our own abilities to get around, either the PDA or the maps. And more often than not, we were under a timeline – we’d get a message saying that we had to be at a certain location in 30 minutes, and it took a lot of effort to get there on time.

Roadfly: You mentioned a driving course, tell us more about that.

KH: It was pretty amazing – on the first day, MINI took us and taught us a lot of cool things about the cars. I think they might have had an ulterior motive of sorts – wanting us to make sure that we returned the cars in one piece and all – but, what they did was take us out to a training grounds where there were 6 driver stations.

We picked up our car at the start of the training and then proceeded to a station. The stations were made up of different skill builders, and were a pretty good mix of high-speed maneuvers and safety maneuvers. For example, there was an understeer/oversteer station, where they taught you how the car reacted in different situations and how to maintain control in those situations. Then there was a high-speed cornering section that taught you how to apex and control the throttle through a corner. There were a few emergency-braking stations, which were pretty tricky, and there was an emergency lane-change station that simulated an emergency lane change at around 80kmp/h without using your brakes to make the lane change.

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The slalom station was cool because near the end of the session, they showed how well the Goodyear Run-Flat tires worked by letting all of the air out of the rear tires and then having us go through the course on 2 flat tires. The car felt a little sluggish/tail happy, but it was very controllable, which was incredibly impressive.

Roadfly: Did you feel that the course helped build your overall driving skills?

KH: Oh yeah – after that course you really had a good idea of what the car was capable of, and you just sort of knew the boundaries of the car pretty good. I’m not sure how much I’d use the high-speed stuff, but the safety maneuvers were really convincing and helpful. I’m not too sure I’ll be using the reverse-180 maneuver any time soon! (laughing)

Roadfly: Ok, back to the Mission MINI story. Were you left to work “on your own” or were you always with a group of fellow investigators?

KH: MINI did a great job of coordinating the events – you were rarely in the same area with another group – the timing was superb. I recall that we received a message saying that there had been some suspicious activity at a warehouse, so we went to the warehouse and it looked like a normal warehouse, because it was a real warehouse! There was stuff everywhere – and we noticed a door was just slightly ajar, so we went in, and in the middle of the warehouse – we were nosing around in it, hunting around in it, and we found a couch with a folder with a clue in it.

About the only company we ever had was an occasional camera crew, but we really didn’t notice them after a while. MINI was really ingenious about scooting you out of an area – we were in one of the suspects apartments, when after about 20 minutes of investigating a maid came up and acted like she was really upset that we were in there. She said something like, “if you don’t leave, I’m calling the police,” and it just seemed pretty realistic – in reality, there was probably another group on the way, but they never said something like that – they did an amazing job of moving us around properly.

Roadfly: So, how did things come to a close?

KH: Well, we received a clue that led us to a train station, where we found a locker with a phone number on a piece of paper. The phone number was supposed to give us a code, but when we got there, the phone number just told us something like “the secret code has already been given, proceed as planned.” We think we were about an hour behind team Germany 1, who eventually won the event by being the first to get the code.

So, after we got the message saying the code had been given out, we started pursuing some other leads when we got a message that said something to the effect that Sam had found his car, and that we needed to proceed immediately to our final destination. We had no idea what was going on, but when we got there, we found some bleachers and a bunch of camera crews and media.

We took a seat, and then this action scene with a car chase and police and everything unfolded in front of us – it was really well done – a great close to a really great adventure.

Roadfly: I understand there was a party for you afterwards?

KH: Yeah, MINI gave us a few hours to rest up, and then they bussed us to this exclusive club that’s supposed to be the hot spot in Barcelona. Well, apparently they closed the whole club down and reserved it just for us, and we had a blast – there were DJ’s and food, and it was a really great time.

Roadfly: So what were your final thoughts on the event?

KH: It was so amazing. MINI did an unbelievable job of coordinating the whole event and I’m sure they had to adjust things on the fly, you know, because I’m sure things happened that weren’t exactly planned, but we never knew it. It was all so seamless, and everything fit together so well. I can’t believe the level of organization that had to exist in order for everything to come off without a hitch.

Roadfly: Tell us about your MINI.

KH: Prior to entering the contest, I ordered an Electric Blue MINI Cooper S, which I happened to take delivery of right after I got back from Mission MINI. It has a white roof with white 16″ wheels, black interior with Anthracite panels, space cloth, Auto AC, DSC, Xenon lights, fog lamps, cold weather package, MFSW and the on-board computer.

It certainly appears as though MINI did a great job of executing the Mission MINI finale. Kendall and his team partners took some great video footage and pictures while in Barcelona, which we invite you to enjoy. Barcelona is a beautiful city in and of itself, so when you sprinkle about 2 dozen really cool MINI’s about the city, it becomes even more interesting. Thanks again to Kendall Helmstetter, Brooks Garner, Brian Huerter and Winnie Poon for doing a great job of representing the ‘ole US of A in Spain, and for sharing your story with us here at Roadfly.