This Off-Road Lexus LS is Stealing Hearts
How a dirt-seeking luxury sedan illustrates a shift in modern car culture.
A weekly newsletter by Ryan K. ZumMallen | @zoomy575m
Happy Race Day to everyone EXCEPT Toyota! The automaker is clearly exploiting my weak spot by dangling a road-going version of its Yaris rally car in front of U.S. buyers—basically the prototypical ‘slow car fast.’ Don’t tease us, Toyota!
Welcome back to this little experiment to document Millennial car culture, and all the strange places it takes us. Today it brings us to Natasha Adams, the owner and builder of a ‘Safari’ style 1991 Lexus LS that proves how fun it can be to push the envelope. And then push a little more. And then push a lot more.
I got to meet Natasha when she graciously came to our book signing at Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank earlier this month, and was blown away by her zest for building, her passion for the culture and her hunger to learn more. I know you’ll enjoy our interview below.
I keep meeting more and more people like Natasha. And I keep finding more and more meets, shows and competitions that prove the culture is moving in new directions. You’ll see in this week’s newsletter that lots of motorsports are doubling down on what’s made them popular lately—innovative outreach, celebrating diversity and curated content.
We got all three in L.A. this past weekend, with an Italian car showcase at Deus Ex Machina in Venice. Deus is known for its vintage motorcycle aesthetic, but it also hosted the first-ever Lüftgekuhlt and was the perfect place for a really exclusive meet.
In partnership with The Motoring Club, it attracted a laundry list of heavy hitters—an F40, a 275 GTB, a Lamborghini 350 GT and two Countaches. Plenty of Abarths and Lancias filled the lot, too, plus a three-row, panoramic glass-roof Fiat made for ferrying people around the factory!
This may be an extreme example, but again, we see groups of carefully, hand-selected cars chosen not to exclude but to include. Not to restrict but to welcome. Not to compare but to appreciate. And yes, to capture content! Welcome to the new era.
As a reminder, to learn more about modern car culture and how we got here, my debut book ‘Slow Car Fast’ is available to order now—fresh off being named to the Automobile Magazine 2020 holiday gift guide! Get your copy and it ships out the next day for just $3 within the U.S. Your support is greatly appreciated and allows us to keep this all going.
Onward!
Culture
I feel seen! Acura launched its own racing game for smartphones, where you can pick famous models throughout the company’s history. What’s more—the car you pick comes with matching graphics from the era! What’s not to like?
The celebration of all things air-cooled Porsche will head east. The seventh edition of Lüftgekuhlt, German for air-cooled, will be held in Durham, North Carolina, this May 29-31. It’s the first time Lüft leaves California.
An important message here from a member of the motorsports community. I implore you to click and read the whole thing:
The video game championship known as eNASCAR has a new sponsor: Coca-freaking-Cola. The series, hosted on iRacing and now in its 11th season, increases its annual prize to $300k with $100k to the winner. For video games. The season starts this summer and will be televised on NBCSN. Pick up those sticks, kids!
In more sim-racing news, two racing juggernauts are coming together. Iconic F1 team Williams and the German supplier Mahle will compete in iRacing events in 2020. Cool announcement. Cool collab. More of this, please.
Is this TRUE???
A new auto magazine is on its way, as Hearst nabbed editor Mike Guy away from The Drive to run an upcoming publication called R&T. It’s a luxury lifestyle accompaniment to Road & Track. I’m glad about more opportunities for writers, but unsure that this is what readers want. The whole culture is trending toward grassroots, DIY creativity—nearly a polar opposite of R&T. I’m sure advertisers want it, though. We’ll see.
Say it with me now…
Video Reel
Here is Top Gear test driver Ollie Marriage going full drift in a big, cushy Mercedes sedan. Because tire smoke, that’s why.
Here’s a deep dive on the car itself, if you’re into V12-powered madness. (You are.)
What happens when you drive a slow car… too fast? If you’re Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolf, you end up with a Mitsubishi Evo X stuck in snow.
‘Uppity,’ the new Netflix documentary about pioneering NASCAR driver Willy T. Ribbs, hit the No. 1 overall trending spot on the streaming network this week. If you haven’t already, go watch it!
F1 has posted its Top 10 Barrel Rolls through history. Thankfully, these all ended without injury for the drivers. Which means we can safely chuckle at “I’m hanging here like a cow!”
Race Results
Stock car phenom Hailie Deegan caused a stir when she ditched longtime sponsor Toyota for a Ford ride in the ARCA series, a stepping stone to NASCAR. She caused another one this weekend — with a mammoth second-place finish at Daytona. It’s a huge step in the development of a driver many think has a very bright future at the top level. There are official highlights of the race but I liked this behind-the-scenes vlog from her official family account.
Last season, the electric series Formula E made huge gains in fan popularity with a combination of engaging racing and excellent content packaging. This year they’ve doubled down and introduced an awesome driver’s eye camera!
Naomi Schiff, a 25-year old racer who competed in the inaugural W Series season last year but didn’t qualify for 2020, is its new Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador. Interested to see how this goes and whether other series follow the lead.
The iconic Rally Sweden will be held this weekend, albeit eight stages short because of a lack of snow. Climate change is already affecting motorsports and will continue to do so.
Ask A Millennial! Natasha Adams, 24
The first time I met Natasha, I immediately thought, “This person wants nothing more than to get back under a car as soon as possible.” She builds Volvos. She built the Lexus at the top of this page. And what she builds gets attention. The Lexus didn’t qualify for any official awards at Radwood in December, so the organizers called her up on stage and gifted her a vintage bottle of oil as an honorary trophy. Last weekend she took the Lexus to the notorious off-road race King of the Hammers, where it turned more than a few heads. I highly recommend her hilarious Instagram and her entertaining vlog from the desert. Natasha is a gem in the community and I can’t wait to see what she does next. Here is an edited version of our conversation:
Being a car enthusiast isn’t always about how fast you can go, or how much money you've spent. Very few people are putting time into restoring vehicles now. It’s just so much easier to buy one and go. That’s why I do things differently—I choose cars that are older than I am and do the opposite of what everyone else is doing. Nothing is 'bolt on' with any of my vehicles.
Volvos are special to me. They are the most underrated, under appreciated, bulletproof cars out there. Currently I have a lifted 1991 940 wagon and a Chevy 350-swapped 1978 262 Bertone. There are few true Volvo fans in this world, but we all know each other and are always willing to lend a hand. These 2.3-liter 240 engines (B230 or B230FT) are almost indestructible if you treat them right, and I am all for keeping these cars on the road for years to come, even if hipsters are driving them.
I prefer driving over building, because that’s when you find out if you've built it right. Driving is a huge part of building a car, and a car is never truly finished.
Being respectful is the best way to be accepted, along with having true passion. The thing I truly enjoy is that it’s about what you bring, not who you are. It’s really about what YOU'VE made. Being a young female in the car scene isn’t always easy—there are plenty of times people have asked me who owns my car, or if I bought them after the modifications. The world is changing and hopefully soon, a female can be looked at with as much respect and credit as any male that shows up.
Auction Block
Whooooooo baby! You think your Cybertruck is punk? A freaking 1988 Italdesign Aztec came on the block as I was writing this. This is the big one, folks.
Sometimes it seems like enthusiasts sniff out every single good deal there is. Other times they let one slip right by!
According to one person who was there, auction announcers last weekend advertised cars as being “Radwood eligible,” a term normally reserved for exclusive high-dollar shows that has apparently been co-opted by a populist, post-ironic Millennial celebration of the ‘80s and ‘90s turned mainstream. Go figure.
Maybachs went for $300,000 or more when they were new and will absolutely come roaring back one day. Today is not that day.
And Finally…
YouTube star Cleetus McFarland and his merry band of misfits made the ultimate enthusiast announcement—they bought an abandoned racetrack. The weed-filled Florida speedway will be used for video content and live events. Hard to watch this and not be genuinely excited for a crew that’s in it for the right reasons.
Drive hard and be safe.
Want your event included? Shoot me a note with subject line “Race Day” at ryan@carrarabooks.com.
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