E3 Spark Plugs News

Pro Wrestler John Cena’s flame-throwing, no-doors InCENArator built for the Gumball 3000.

It’s been called the world’s biggest, craziest moving car show.  Though constantly conjuring memories of the 1982 Burt Reynolds comedy The Cannonball Run, the Gumball 3000 is a decidedly more posh, yet perhaps equally wacky event – an annual favorite of E3 Spark Plugs. And this year, it’s celebrating its 15th year.

The 8-day competition across Europe revved up Saturday with launch party in Copenhagen, Denmark and will take competitors across the continent with stops in Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Austria, Italy and Monaco. Members of the 115 driving teams are quite the motley crew, consisting of film, music and sports celebrities, multi-millionaire Internet gurus, a Latvian soap opera star, a 3000-bout undefeated masked Mexican wrestler and two guys recently disqualified from NASA’s space program. Participating celebs include Pimp My Ride star Xzibit, rap star Eve, actor David Hasselhoff, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, pro wrestler John Cena and Swedish skiing phenom John Olsson, among others.

While the antics of such a cast of characters are sure to be entertaining, it’s the cars that are the real stars of the show. A few notables are Team Galag’s Batman-inspired Tumbler, Olsson’s Ultima GTR Rebellion R2K, Xzibit’s Bentley, a Rolls Royce Phantom, Morgan Aero SuperSport, Jaguar F-Type and Murcielago SV.

Often referred to as the rich guy’s Cannonball Run, the Gumball 3000 actually was inspired by films like  Two-Lane Blacktop, Vanishing Point, Bullitt and Le Mans. But we’re guessing its moniker was inspired by 1976′s The Gumball Rally, a film about a 3000-mile illegal road race across America with a disparate mix of international drivers driving exotic cars on public roads. Today’s Gumball 3000, founded in 1999 by British entertainment and fashion mogul Maximillion Cooper, also covers 3,000 miles and a host of colorful characters. But this show is set in Europe and is legally legit.

Also, organizers stress that it’s not a race, per se, but a road trip adventure. You won’t win a prize for being the fastest or flashiest. In fact the winners are the various charities that will benefit from seven celebrity auctions. Up for grabs: an electric light cycle just like the one featured in the movie Tron; Olsson’s XGames-winning skis; a Knight Rider steering wheel signed by the Hoff himself; and a day with Tony Hawk and your 10 best friends at Hawk’s personal training facility in San Diego, Hawk Headquarters and the new Birdhouse Skatepark, including a private session on the famous Boom Boom Huckjam ramp.

Who’s your favorite to watch in the Gumball 3000? Post your thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.

• Gumball 3000

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  Pro wrestler John Cena's flame-throwing, no-doors InCENArator

  

• Gumball 3000

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  Swedish skiing phenom Jon Olsson's Ultima GTR Rebellion R2K

  

• Gumball 3000

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  Team Galag's Batman-inspired Tumbler

  

• Gumball 3000

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  Gumball 3000 boss Maximillion Cooper and rap star Eve's Morgan Aero SuperSport

  

• Gumball 3000

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  Tony Hawk's Alpine Edition Twisted Defender

  

Tim Spurlock’s 1978 Ford F150 is the fastest mud bogging machine in the New Paris, Indiana area.

Tim Spurlock started wrenching with his dad as a kid and was just a teenager when he began building engines as a part-time, after-school business. Twelve years ago, he opened his own paint and body shop which since has grown to two locations with 15 employees. Clearly, his blood is tinged with motor oil. And maybe a little mud. Now, he’s riding high – and fast – as one of his area’s top mud bogging champions.

The latest Team E3 Racing Tier 2 winner has a penchant for rebuilding and restoring classic Ford trucks, particularly those from 1953-1979. So when he decided three years ago to build a full mud racing truck, he chose a 1978 Ford F150 that he highly modified for competition. That choice proved a good one.

“In the last two years I have been undefeated in two classes for our local series, won a class at every race I have entered in the surrounding three states – a total of 18 first place finishes in 2012 alone,” says the New Paris, Indiana resident who last year partnered with the New Paris Speedway to produce and promote a new mud bog series that has prove wildly popular with regional competitors. “People know my truck is serous and will be putting on a show when it hits the mud.”

While he certainly enjoys the winnings and bragging rights, Spurlock and his Old Blue Mud Racing team truly love hanging with fans at competitions, car shows and cruise-ins.

Team E3 Racing winner Tim Spurlock

“At competitions, we spend half the day in the pit area showing and discussing the truck with interested spectators,” he says.

Spurlock and his team often forfeit winnings to benefit area charities and causes. He loyally attends bogs with competitor payouts, where the funds benefit the local Hospice and Camp Millhouse, a summer retreat for children and young adults with mental and physical disabilities. And this year, he headed up the Michiana Mud Bog Series, a partnership between the New Paris Speedway, Ruffriders 4×4 and South Bend Sod Busters, expected to raise several thousands of dollars for worthy causes. Even when he’s off the competitive track, he’s still on the dirt, running off-road ATVs and dirt bikes and camping with his family.

From all of us here at E3 Spark Plugs, congratulations and welcome to the team, Tim!

Quentin Tarantino’s stolen “Pulp Fiction” car found after nearly 20 years.

It’s a favorite among great movie cars with us here at E3 Spark Plugs - the 1964 Chevy Malibu SS driven by John Travolta’s character, Vincent Vega, in the 1994 cinematic blood fest Pulp Fiction. While the image that immediately comes to mind is of Travolta and costar Uma Thurman in the front seat of the cherry red, city lights shining behind them, the classic convertible is most famous what happened to it after the film wrapped.

Nearly 20 years ago, the neo-noir crime director’s beloved ride was jacked from a Los Angeles street. Whether the theft happened on the street fronting Tarantino’s home or his then-girlfriend Mira Sorvino’s apartment is up for debate. But who cares, really? Fact is, the car disappeared without a trace and stayed gone for two decades. That is, until San Francisco Bay area cop, Sheriff’s Sgt. Albert Anolin, began an investigation into an old Malibu in the desert city of Victorville last month. Though that particular vehicle turned out to be legit, the investigation somehow led to the real thing. Tarantino’s jacked ride soon turned up in the Oakland area.

Investigators found the classic convertible driven by actor John Travolta’s “Pulp Fiction” character far too late to catch the bad guy. The statute of limitations on the crime rang out long ago.

Though it’s finally accounted for, what happened to the car all these years remains a mystery. It appears that the most recent owner had been duped, having bought the Malibu in what he thought was a legitimate transaction. Unfortunately for avid film fans and classic car buffs, we may never know the whole story. The statute of limitations on car thefts ran out long ago.

So what now? Should Tarantino cast the car in a new film, perhaps one that chronicles the 20-year adventure of a stolen car? Or should he take advantage of the hype and auction it off for charity? Post your ideas on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.

Eleanor, the modified 1967 Mustang GT500 who starred in “Gone in 60 Seconds,” is up for grabs.

She was the one – the ultimate dream ride for actor Nicholas Cage’s Gone in 60 Seconds character, Memphis. Now, she’s headed to the auction block.

In the 2000 film starring Cage, Angelina Jolie, Robert Duval and Giovanni Ribisi, Memphis (Cage), a retired master car thief, is unwillingly jolted back into the industry. To save his brother’s life, he and his crew are tasked with stealing 50 cars in one night. Among them is the gorgeous Eleanor – a sleek, silver 1967 Mustang GT500. But were it not for budget constraints, she might have been a much different lady.

While one would think that a $90 million budget could get producer Jerry Bruckheimer any ride he wanted, word on the street is that his first choice to play Eleanor was a Ford GT40. But the famed producer suffered a bit of sticker shock when the numbers came in. Turns out, the fleet of Ford GT40s needed to collectively portray Eleanor was too much.

Meanwhile, the Mustang GT500 also was in the running despite concerns over whether a ‘Stang could hang with the Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Aston Martins already confirmed for the film. Fortunately, Bruckheimer decided to cast the GT500, but ordered a Hollywood-worthy makeover. The result was the Chip Foose-designed icon with a modified fiberglass appearance, PIAA driving lights, larger fender flares, side skirts, aggressive scoops, a 400-hp upgraded V-8 engine, side-exit exhausts and a monstrous nitrous kit, fired by a button reading “Go Baby Go.”

We here at E3 Spark Plugs couldn’t imagine Eleanor any other way. If you’re as big an Eleanor fan as we are, head to the Mecum’s Spring Classic auction in Indianapolis on May 18, where Eleanor (serial number 7R02C179710) will be sold to the highest bidder. Owned by Cinema Vehicle Services, she’s expected to go for around $300,000.

“Breaking Bad” character Jesse Pinkman’s 1983 Toyota Tercel is up for grabs after filming on the final season wraps.

Yo, Breaking Bad fans – Need a new ride? Jesse Pinkman can hook you up. Check it…

On a visit to any given used car dealership, you’d likely pass on the 1983 Toyota Tercel with the faded red paint job and no hubcaps. But this particular 30-year-old junker has an intangible value as the sometimes-star of the AMC hit TV show – the only show to ever make us root for the local meth dealer.

In reality, the ride belongs to Mike Faris Auto Wholesale in Albuquerque, New Mexico. But on TV, it belongs to Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), high school dropout-turned-meth dealing partner of Walter White aka “Heisenberg,” who just happens to be his former chemistry teacher. But for a few thousand bucks and a little patience, it could be yours.

The Tercel actually serves as an extra, should the main Tercel suffer an unfortunate and untimely end on set. But even as an extra, it’s getting the star treatment from fans looking to get their hands on a little piece of Hollywood history. Were it not cast in the show, the Tercel would have an estimated value of about $750 on a good day. But Faris is fielding offers starting at $2,000.

The top bidder will have to pony up a little patience, too. Faris won’t sell until the show wraps production and plans to use the cash for a very fitting charitable cause.

“When the new episodes start, we’re going to sell the car and use the proceeds toward drug-addiction treatment,” Faris said.

The final season airs this summer on AMC. Will you make an offer on the Breaking Bad clunker? Post your thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.

Proceeds from the sale of “Breaking Bad” character Jesse’s 1983 Toyota Tercel will benefit drug addition treatment programs.

The Concours D’Elegance and Festivals of Speed take place this weekend at Amelia Island.

Hey speed enthusiasts – Got plans for the weekend? If you’re in the area, E3 Spark Plugs recommends you take a joy ride to Amelia Island, Florida for the Festivals of Speed and Concours D’Elegance.

The Festivals of Speed revs up with a Luxury Lifestyle Cocktail Reception at the tony Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort on Friday evening. Smooth jazz, premium handcrafted cocktails, luxury product displays and some casual conversation with fellow car buffs.

But the real draw begins on Saturday with the Festival of Speed’s display of dozens of the world’s most exotic cars, motorcycles and watercraft on the resort’s 9th fairway. This year’s event celebrates 50 years of Lamborghini and a full century of Aston Martin. Special displays will feature some of the most beautiful Aston Martins and hottest Lamborghinis around. And it all benefits the Spina Bifida Organization of Jacksonville.

Throughout the weekend, the Concors D’Elegance goes on at the uber-ritzy Ritz Carlton and the Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach. The area’s most exclusive auto show this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Porche 911 and the Ford GT40, as well as the cars of Harry Miller, the designer and builder called “the greatest creative figure in the history of the American racing car.”

Miller was most active in the 1920s and 1930s and his cars were much more than beautiful works of automotive art. They were powerful, too. Miller-built cars won the Indianapolis 500 nine times and others using his engines won three more. In fact, Millers accounted for 83 percent of the Indy 500 fields between 1923 and 1928.

On display this weekend are two Miller-built race cars, Edsel’s Ford, a prototype of the first Cadillac to bear the Coupe de Ville not displayed in public in 64 years, and the only original Lamborghini Miura Roadster ever built. Some new rides will be displayed as well, including the 2014 Corvette Sting Ray.

The 2013 event’s honoree is Sam Posey, a retired American racecar driver and sports broadcast journalist.

Will you attend the Festivals of Speed or the Concours D’Elegance Amelia Island? Post your pics and thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.

The Benz Patent Motorwagen, the world’s first commercially viable automobile.

January 29 marks what is widely considered the birth of the modern automotive industry. On this day 127 years ago, German inventor Karl Freidrich Benz patented a gasoline-powered vehicle of his own design, deemed the first viable automobile.

Karl Freidrich Benz at age 25.

Benz had received his first engine patent in 1879, followed by patents for the speed regulation system, the ignition using white power sparks with battery, the carburetor, the clutch, the gear shift, the water radiator and, our personal favorite of course, the spark plug. He’s best known, however, for the patent he received in January of 1888 for his first automobile, the Benz Patent Motorwagen. Powered by a single-cylinder, four-stroke motor good for 2/3rds of a horsepower, the Motorwagen went through three design versions before becoming commercially viable, begging sales in the summer of 1888.

But as they say, behind every successful man is a determined and supportive woman. And in Benz’s case, that woman was as savvy am entrepreneur as ever. Wife Bertha Benz first came to Karl’s financial rescue when, as his fiancé, she used her dowry to buy out Karl’s partner, August Ritter, in the Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop in Mannheim. She continued to finance his inventive pursuits, unemployed years and meagerly paying side jobs while he worked toward not just automotive success, but industry icon status. And when her husband slacked in promoting his historic Motorwagen, Bertha took the wheel – literally.

Bertha Ritter Benz.

In an 1888 publicity stunt, Bertha climbed into the Motorwagen and set out on what would become the world’s first long-distance trip in a car, taking copious notes, solving amyriad of mechanical troubles and laying the groundwork for design improvements along the way.

“In those days when our little boat of life threatened to capsize, only one person stood steadfastly by me, my wife,” Karl later wrote of his beautiful and driven bride whose history-making jaunt helped make the couple’s company, Benz & Cie., the largest automobile company in the world during the latter part of the 19th century. “She bravely set new sails of hope.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

Collector John Mumford’s 1927 Fort Track T Roadster was recently named America’s Most Beautiful Roadster.

Touted as the world’s longest running indoor car show, the Grand National Roadster Show held its 64th anniversary event this weekend in Pomona, California. And as always, officials named one show-stopper America’s Most Beautiful Roadster.

This year, the clear winner was a 1927 Fort Track T roadster, a gorgeous ride that combines Model T parts with Model A bodywork. But the win was a good 30 years in the making. The car began as a rebuild project of various car owners in the 1980s, NHRA Top Fuel champion Kelly Brown among them. Brown and other subsequent owners never quite finished the project and eventually, the car found its way to hot rod collector John Mumford, who gave it to noted car builder Roy Brizio.

Mumford knew just what to add to the mix of parts that had made their way to his garage – his traditional Ford flathead V-8 topped with an Ardun overhead valve setup made by Zora Arkus-Duntov, known by auto enthusiasts as the father of the Corvette. Arkus-Duntov made just eight of these engine heads and, as fate or pure luck would have it, Mumford owned two of them. By the time Mumford applied the last layer of shine on his soon-to-be award-winning roadster, it sported the front axle of a ’37 Ford; a nose, tail pan and belly pan by bending master Steve Davis; and upholstery by Sid Chavers with help over the years by SoCal Speed Shop and Pete Eastwood – An automotive dream team, no doubt.

Mumford’s Track T beat more than 500 other entrants. And we here at E3 Spark Plugs can certainly see why. Did you attend the Grand National Roadster Show? Post your pics and thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page.

1989 Corvette convertible with just 67 miles – a deal of a lifetime thanks to one unnerved Irish car thief.

Talk about your great garage finds. E3 Spark Plugs would love to come across one of these – a mint condition 1989 Corvette – so mint, in fact that it’s still got the first price tag in the window. And it recently sold a Chevy aficionado with a time capsule dream for the original sticker price.

Mike Robertson, a Newport Beach, Calif. advertising executive had long dreamed of buying a brand new car, then promptly storing it away with plans to take it out 20 years later and drive it like it around like it had just come off the lot.

“Like time capsuling a car for myself,” Robertson recently told reporters. “It was just a fantasy.”

But every now and then, fantasies are realized. And Robertson’s chance came with a December 21 article in The L.A. Times. The article told of an Irish immigrant who got mixed up with some ne’er-do-wells stateside and talked into stealing a car off a dealer’s lot. He did the dirty deed, but apparently was so unnerved by his crime that he parked the car in San Diego storage facility the same day, walked away and never looked back.

He did, however, keep paying the bills for the storage unit, apparently pressured either by his criminal cohorts or his own conscious to keep quiet. And so, there the candy apple red, black-topped convertible stayed, untouched and protected from the elements and from prying eyes for more than two decades.

Twenty three years and $70,000 in storage fees later, our car caper had long ago high-tailed it back to the Emerald Isle. To his credit, he lawyered up and spilled the whole story. And no doubt, he was thrilled to learn that the statute of limitations covering his crime had long expired, leaving him scot-free. Police picked up the car and delivered it to the insurance company that had originally covered the dealership’s loss – who sold it to a wholesaler – who sold it to Sherman Oaks dealer Corky Rice – who promptly posted it on EBay.

Despite a few layers of dust and flat tires, D-shaped from two decades of sitting still but otherwise undamaged, the black leather interior car was in immaculate condition. It even still sported that much envied new car smell and had just 67 miles on the odometer. When the story hit the newspaper, Robertson hit EBay, where Rice was hoping to get $39,410 for the car – the same price on the sticker still on the car’s window. Robertson’s winning bid was just $300 less.

Roberson says he may end up selling his time capsule fantasy turned reality on wheels to a dealership, but no doubt will take it for a joy ride or two.

“I’ll drive it when I feel like it,” he told reporters just a few hours before picking it up from Rice’s dealership. “And I feel like driving it today, I’ll tell you that.”

The original Batmobile, used in the 1960s “Batman” TV show, sold at auction for $4.2 million.

Were you the lucky bidder? E3 Spark Plugs has just learned that the original Batmobile has a new owner. Other than the bandied-about phrase “some rich guy from Phoenix,” there’s no official word on just who dropped the $4.2 million final purchase price last weekend at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The 19-foot-long black, bubble-topped car was used in the 1960s Batman TV show and boasted all sorts of futuristic features including lasers, a batphone, the official Bat Ray projector and the ability to lay down smoke screens and oil slicks. The car’s base is a 1955 Lincoln Futura Concept that seller George Barris bought from Ford for a grand total of one dollar. Holy ROI!

Barris kept the car in his garage for a few years, until late 1965 when he got a frantic call from 20th Century Fox Television and William Dozier’s Greenway Productions. They needed a super hero-worthy ride for the new show and they needed it in 15 days. With short notice and a $15,000 budget, Barris created what has become arguably the most iconic of all Hollywood rides.

The Batmobile sale was undoubtedly the most anticipated deal of the auction, which featured Barrett-Jackson’s much-touted 5,000 series and famed Salon Collection of 50 unique and rare automobiles, and no doubt helped to attract the record attendance.  But it wasn’t the only crowd pleaser at the January 19 affair in Scottsdale. Two new world records were set with the sales of a 1947 Talbot-Lago T-26 Grand Sport for $2,035,000, making it the world’s most expensive T-26; and a 1956 Chrysler Diablo Concept Convertible for $1,375,000, a record for a Chrysler Concept car.

Did you attend the auction? Post your pics and thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook Fan Page. And check out these vintage images of the Batmobile undergoing its super hero transformation.

• Original Batmobile Created for 1960s "Batman" TV Series

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• 1947 Talbot-Lago T-26 Grand Sport

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• 1956 Chrysler Diablo Concept Convertible

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