Cos I am :) Can't think of a better way to donate to charity

going on thursday.

Was going to but I'm going next wednesday instead. Please report back :D

Thanks

Paul :)

I'll be going this evening. Prodrive will no doubt be completely stripped of all loose Subaru parts by the end of tonight :)

Could'nt get a ticket:(

Going next Wednesday 19th, looking forward to it.

Going next Monday.......can wait.

Tony

Well, I went last night and it was well worth it. Only 6 of us turned up on the night, but seems as the no-shows had already paid made it better for us, got more time to talk to the guy doing the tour.

Started with coffee and biscuits and then a 10-15 minute audio visual presentation on what Prodive do and who they do it for, much more than I realised they did! Were presented with a "Team Gift Set" which has an LED lit biro, and a solid "WRC" keyring, a Prodrive merchandising brochure (just in case you wanted to buy something) and a corporate brochure on their services.

Then we had a good poke round a Ferrari 550, including taking the bonnet off to stare at an engine, though it was totally boxed in in carbon fibre! Standard 550 is bought, stripped down, strengthened, lightened and the engine tweaked. Power is taken to well over 600bhp and the weight is shaved from 1650kg to 1100kg. Twice the power to weight of the satndard car apparently.

Then on to the gearbox, suspension, engine and wiring loom areas. Loads of facts and figures on Subaru stuff, but don't want to spoil anyone else's visit! Suffice to say you could eat you dinner of the floor in there!

Next went in to the body shop to see how they prepare the WRC shells. Very impressive. 160 man hours go into the body shell alone (not including painting).

Then saw the machine shop with some very impresive CNC machines that run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but nothing going on when we went in :(.

Then we went and looked at some fully prepped WRC cars both classic and new shapes. We were allowed to poke all over them and take photos (bugger forgot my camera) as long as we didn't take under bonnet shots. It is impressive how low they get the engine in the chassis!

Finally went into their hall of fame where they have a Honda touring car, a BAR F1, a BMW 3 series rally car, a legacy and of course several Subarus.

All in all a very enjoyable couple of hours. My 18 year old nephew had the biggest grin imaginable all the way round. The guy showing us round was from marketing but we won't hold that against him ;), he could field most questions easily enough. Shame the tour round wasn't Monday night as the rally drivers were there and apparently there was a bit of a party going on !!!

If you couldn't get a place it may be worth phoning on the day as several people had dropped out of our tour, and the more money they raise the better.

Thank you Prodrive.