Hey guys,
I have to share some of my excitement with you. This past sunday, I was
given the opportunity to drive the world's fastest autocross vehicle, Joe
Cheng's Phantom Special.
I will give you a very brief impression of what it's like to drive, but part
of the mystique of that car is the thought, "I wonder what it's like to
drive". I won't tell you everything, you'll just have to keep dreaming :)
If you have ever kart raced before, the Phantom feels right at home. The
Phantom is like the Porsche version of a tuned 100cc clutch kart. The
suspension is so smooth, the steering millimetre precise, the brakes are
responsive and very easy to modulate.
The major aspect that separates the kart from the Phantom is the downforce.
I am now downforce's #1 fan. If you have ever owned a motorcycle and you
crack the throttle wide open for the first time and it does something to
your brain. You can't quite explain it, but it's a new feeling, a new
feeling that feels so good you want to do it again and again (get your mind
out of the gutter!). Downforce is like that, once you get a taste, you want
it more and more.
Overall, the Phantom is an incredibly engineered precision racing tool. Joe
is my engineering hero. If I ever become really rich and can afford to go
to school for years and years, I'd like to become an engineer, it's where my
heart is. More than anything with the Phantom, I was most impressed with
how well balanced the whole package is, the brakes suit the power, the power
matches the traction, the steering matches the grip and the suspension
matches the chassis. The Phantom did not feel like a race car, it felt like
a highly refined German production vehicle.
So, you may feel a bit excited thinking about this Phantom car. It's the
car that re-defined the PAX index, it's the car that turned A/Mod upside
down a few years in a row. I bet you're dying to see how it drives . . .
Well, you now can, in person. You can view the Phantom being run by Joe
Cheng and Gary Milligan at the West Coast Can-Am Challenge. This is the
west coast version of an American/Canadian shootout. The competition is
fierce and the drivers right on the ragged edge. If you want to see the
Phantom running live, you can't get any better than watching them go around
cones on the stickiest concrete surface in Western North America at Boundary
Bay Airport in B.C. Canada. Event info can be found at
http://can-am-west.erc.bc.ca/ Scotty White, The Leuty's, Bill Buetow, Ron
Bauer, Annie Gill, they've all run on Boundary Bay.
For those that won't be able to make it to B.C., you can view my one run in
the Phantom online at http://vcmc.erc.bc.ca/videos/phantom-farzaan.mpg If
that server is slow, you can download it from
http://shamin.com/fk/phantom-farzaan.mpg
If you have any questions about what it's like to drive the Phantom or about
the CanAm event, please contact me at the address below.
Farzaan
fkassam@direct.ca
|