Who The Heck Is 009?

Situated in North Texas, 009 is a perfect fit demographically  for AutoSpies, especially considering 004’s New England local, and 001’s southern California homestead.   A certified “gearhead” since age 15 it only took him a short time to start modifying his first car, a brand new 1974 Vega GT. 

Much to his parents chagrin, 009 continually found that curbs continually interfered with the perfect apexes in his corners, and a few short years later the Vega was history.  While as humble as these beginnings may have been, the seeds were planted for a lifetime, and continued to grow to this day, with a variety of makes and models entering his possession over his formative years.

These early years proved to 009 that low mass and balanced handling, many times were more than a match for the large motored ponderous beasts of that  generation. Some of the favorite cars he has had the privilege to own included; the original Chevrolet Cosworth Vega, Lotus Europa, Lotus Elan, the original Mazda RX7, the original VW GTI, and the original VW Scirocco 16V.  If you notice a trend for smaller performance vehicles especially those that broke the mold, then you see why smaller displacement high output motors are his forte’.
 
Having raced in local SCCA, and Equipe Rapide events through out North Texas in both the 80’s and the 90’s saw 009 continually making a name for himself by selecting cars that were the underdogs of the class, and placing them high in the overall standings.  Ever race a Citation V6 X11 against a 455 cubic inch Trans Am on a road race track and win? 009 did it many times in dry and wet conditions.

009 will be the first to say, that once you go under the hood and tinker then you will always do so.  009’s current daily beater and project is a first generation Audi A4 quattro  with a mild mannered turbocharged 1.8 liter motor.  When completed this project should boast an estimated 400hp combined with a curb weight hovering at just under 3,000 lbs.  The goal is to create a civilized time attack monster for high speed driving events.  The project is well underway complete with a suspension that exceeds RS4 specifications, complete with Porsche Cayenne brakes.  Handling and stopping probably will never be an issue for this car to say the least.  Stay tuned as this project unfolds over the months and see just how well it all turns out.