Mark Riccioni
@markriccioni
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Following
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Photography | Unreliable car ownership | Top Gear Magazine best haircut of 2016
Joined September 2009
Latest chapter in stupid car buying. Brabus W126 560SEL - obviously it doesn’t work, has covered 460,000km & was once a seized asset. But it’s 5-metres of badass. Best check every cubby-hole before driving it.
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Fairly fitting way to end five years of M5 ownership. Cause still being investigated, but after 20+ recoveries, a new crate engine and £50k of warranty work it was never going to be a traditional send-off.
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Bought something ready for whatever madness 2021 brings. Bulletproof & armoured E32 750iLP (protection) used by the Bulgarian National Service. Will withstand most automatic weapons (obvs) but also has its own on-board oxygen supply, PA system and a fridge in the back.
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Photographic law dictates every 80s car shot at Calvert’s must be subject to their giant technicolour soft box.
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Genuine Evo II. Magnesium wheels, Lamborghini brakes, MoTeC ECU & Carbon Recaros. Just bonkers.
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Merry Christmas to all who enjoy doing silly things with silly cars. The world is a bit mad lately, so entertain yourselves with noise, skids and even more noise before it’s too late. Oh and buy something V12, too. Slow-motion skids by @OllieMarriage
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Covered more miles in three days than the last owner did all year. Best thing I’ve ever bought, bar a fire extinguisher.
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First DVD I bought in 2001 had Smokey’s 205mph run in Tokyo. Ended up in a Micra with him during Max Power Live back in ‘05 (despite his UK ban, he came in via Germany). @rowanhorncastle and I caught up with him last year and he’s still as brilliantly mad & passionate as ever.
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360 Challenge just arrived in the UK. Sounds fairly angry even up to 4500rpm. Time to get it registered.
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Back on the road after two years. New engine needs running in = four trips to Durham Castle and back before full boost.
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Bought some silly cars in the past but this takes the biscuit. Japan-only W140 Merc S600 AMG. Slightly non-standard exhaust. Now to figure out how to get it back.
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Mild obsession with putting Volk TE37s on everything. Favourite Japanese wheels bar none.
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Brabus, AMG & armoured. All completely pointless in 2021, all brilliant.
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Never really planned on selling my M5. Never factored it setting itself on fire either. Didn’t really fancy that again, so here’s a suitable replacement.
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350-miles covered in this today. Notable differences to the M5 include:. - Didn’t set itself on fire.- Haven’t had to fill it with fuel .- Dealer hasn’t ran engine low on oil.- Gearbox actually changes gears.- Dealer hasn’t delivered it back to the wrong house & posted the keys
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New (old) wheel day. Bayside blue & bronze TE37s, textbook combo but never gets boring.
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Throwback to 680bhp spec. Haven’t a damn clue what the new engine/turbo will make.
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Final mapping for the GT-R today. Managed 833bhp (706whp) at 1.9 bar with many good noises in the process.
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No regrets. Apart from exiting the A3 a bit earlier than expected.
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Best thing ever. 12-cylinders, 3+ tonnes, five layers of glass and two in-built phones. Oh and a PA system, B7 armour, oxygen supply and small explosive in the windscreen (in case of emergency).
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Rare, dangerous and needs a team of mechanics to run it. And a Porsche 917.
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Spent ages trying to find a good one from Japan, only to end up getting this minter from er, Milton Keynes. 1984 DR30 Skyline RS-X Turbo C complete with wingback-spec seats and many stickers down the side. Perfect replacement for the RX7 which actually went last week.
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Seeing as we’re all being told to self-isolate, figured it’d be wise to shift a four-seater in favour of a single-seat F360 Challenge Race Car. Road legal too, which should make the Tesco panic buy both quick and backbreaking.
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The first rule of V12 club is to make as much noise as humanly possible ALL the time.
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Viper always looks massive in photos. Until you put it next to a ‘normal’ car.
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I’d quite happily swap all of my possessions for a 993 GT2 R.
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‘Siri, what’s the most ridiculous car to buy while fuel prices are at an all-time high?’
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This has been a lotta fun the past year but is now up for sale. 1984 Nissan DR30 Skyline RS-X C Turbo. Full 80s goodness with wingback-spec leccy seats and many turbo noises. Ping me a DM if you’re interested.
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Full review coming soon to the local Neighbourhood Watch Facebook group.
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Wales with a bit of sunlight is properly hard to beat. Old pictures because (inevitably) the R34 is awaiting two new fuel pumps to be fitted.
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Strong image to lead a for sale advert with, but I respect it.
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Yeah a GT-R is cool, but it’s not got a patch on this.
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All gold in Beginner license vs. all gold in International-A license
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New engine for the RX7. Turns out you can still get ‘new old stock’ 13b engines from Mazda which makes getting it back on the road much easier. Well it would, apart from it’s now being split apart, ported & stronger seals fitted to push for 500bhp. Will never learn.
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Took some shopping over to the parents earlier. In the interest of self isolation, decided we’d give ‘em a heads-up of our arrival from around 5 miles away.
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Never realised the E36 AMG Estate existed. Off to German eBay we go.
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An expensive, temperamental headache. And an M5 Touring.
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Because every Huracan needs twin-turbos, 1000bhp and Super Trofeo carbon bodywork.
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‘What do you mean you’ve packed a 400mm lens? You’re on holiday. ’
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Four months off the road but well worth the wait. New RB28 with Nitto pistons/rods, brand-new head with BC oversized valves, Kelford cams/springs/guides along with just about everything else. 1000-miles to run it in and then time to fit the new Xona 105-68 turbo.
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Found another vid of the S600 AMG. Arrives in a few weeks. I for one welcome the new mandatory speed limiters when you can sound like you’re doing 200mph at 30mph.
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‘Did you use a rig or photoshop?’.
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Might be a bit obsessed with these, but at least this one works. Albeit 500-miles away in Germany. 1985 Brabus W126 500SEL now fitted with a 5.5-litre M117. Seller turned up in another Brabus obvs. Now to figure out a way of getting it back.
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Been off the road nearly two years, ironically was quite reliable before a dodgy engine refresh (25k over 3-years including two trips to Austria). New engine currently being fitted, aiming for 500bhp & 1150kg. and 2021 by the time it can be collected.
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Stumbled across some pretty wacky ‘abandoned’ stuff in Japan, but this ex-GT500 Supra definitely took the biscuit. Full story by @rowanhorncastle here:
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Perks of running a shop specialising in E500s? Best company cars imaginable.
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‘Zero’ turbo lag is impressive and all, but massive amounts of turbo lag is way more entertaining.
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‘Cus what every R8 V10 RWS needs is an 800bhp supercharger on top.
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This thing is all kinds of awesome. The @singervehicles & @Tuthill_Porsche ACS (All-terrain Competition Study) photographed at Walters Arena.
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About five years ago I picked up @BBC_TopGear’s Portfolio and promised myself one day I’d take photos good enough for the cover. A terrifying amount of hard work (and a bit of luck) later I’m massively proud to say that’s now a reality. Pretty good car to achieve it with, too.
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22 seems like an acceptable number of cylinders for two cars.
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Has BMW employed Rich Energy to do their social media?
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Some of the cars being auctioned at Tokyo Auto Salon this weekend. F40 odometer reads 2km. Bonkers.
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New (old) wheels for the 360. Stupidly light BBS Motorsport RE700s - same design as the NGT race cars but 5-stud rather than centrelock. Bonus rear shot now its got a proper-sized horse on the back.
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The things you see driving around Wantage on a Thursday. @singervehicles DLS photographed on the road for this month’s issue of @BBC_TopGear magazine out now.
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Took this out forgetting it had a slight leak from the turbo water hose. Now has a much bigger leak. Idiot.
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Might just be the world’s best group test. and most expensive. Photographed for this month’s issue of @BBC_TopGear magazine out now.
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Full video soon to be posted on the local Neighbourhood Watch Facebook group.
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Till: ‘Can I do a burnout in the Brabus before it goes to to UK?’. Me: ‘Yes but only if someone films it’
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Everything looks better with a bit of dirt. Might have gone a bit overboard though.
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Things I’ve learnt about Top Gear photography: If @tomwookieford says he has an ‘interesting’ feature idea, you go ahead and shoot it.
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Silly little wheels for a silly little car. Hoshino Impul Pro-Mesh Group C with turbo fans for maximum 80s goodness.
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Mizumoto-san’s Cayman ‘GT3’ is all kinds of outrageous. 997 GT3 3.8 on ITBs, sequential box, custom tubular subframes/hubs/arms and even a hand-built carbon steering wheel. Just awesome.
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If I can get two more stamps on my M5 Loyalty Card the next recovery is free.
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Good news: M5 repaired, Sytner have delivered the car home. Bad news: Sytner have delivered it to the wrong address. And posted the keys through the letterbox. Is it still there? Has it been recovered? Is it on eBay? Find out next on ‘Who wants a car maintained by Sytner!’.
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Truly a terrible time to be browsing Japanese-built AMGs
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And still getting absolutely nowhere near the speed limit.
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Running-in miles sponsored by the Northamptonshire countryside.
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