Since certification, the SL Special has racked up in excess of 3000km. A poorly designed support bracket resulted in the rear bodywork developing some cracks (now reinforced) but apart from that everything appears to be OK. (Firmly grasping wood here!)

The Nissan VG 20 D.E.T. V6 motor with link management computer is now making 13 psi turbo boost and feels very strong. I had thoughts of fitting a large intercooler and raising boost a further 5 psi, but I am happy with the way it is at the moment. At a guess I would say it is putting out around 250 bhp.

Also getting well is the Toyota Crown chassis that I used as a base for this project - although I must say that the crown chassis is solid enough to build a replica Bren-gun carrier on, let alone a lightweight 2 - seater.

Lyn and I had a super time displaying the car at the club night. It was great fun meeting and chatting to so many of our club mates, and was one of the highlights of our Gisborne-Christchurch - return tour which constituted the SL Special's maiden journey.

I am currently obsessed with the idea of a twin-supercharged straight eight engine for the next SL Special.

I would like to use two Toyota 4AGZ (1600cc twin cam 16 valve supercharged injected) one behind the other on a common sump casting. The original Alfa Romeo inline eight was made using two separate cylinder blocks and a two-piece bolt together crankshaft, so nothing new there. At the moment the design process is at the discussion/beer drinking stage but the engineers and machinists that I work with here in Gisborne agree the project is feasible. With the crankshafts phased at 90° and a sequential firing order of 1,5,3,7,4,8,2,6 the straight 8 would have a sound at 7000rpm similar to the four cylinder engine at 14,000 and with a capacity of 3.2 litres and supercharged/intercooled should easily exceed 350bhp. I suppose I would then have to use a rear-mounted transaxle (Alfa or Porshe) to retain adequate footwell space which would in turn require the fabrication of a dedicated space-frame or monocoque chassis. Oh shit, here we go again!