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The 3000GT-VR4


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Car picture

Bought on January 7 1991 as a graduation gift from my Mom, my 3000GT is black and has the VR-4 option package. This includes a twin intercooled turbo, fuel injected, four valves per cylinder engine with a peak output power of 300hp and 307lb-ft of torque.  It has all wheel drive and four wheel steering with limited slip differentials. It is a blast to drive, and a bear to keep clean.  It can achieve a 0-60mph time of 5.3 seconds (Motor Trend, 3/91).  It cost about $30k to purchase.

3000

3000

A conclusion to the Twin Turbo run

This story has a conclusion.  On March 18, 2016 we were driving North on Rt 3 in Crofton, MD when all of a sudden, I saw a puff of white smoke coming from the driver's side of the hood.  The engine died immediately.  It would not restart.  Luckily, there was a gap in the traffic, and we were able to push the car to the side.  Opening the hood and looking in, I could see the fan belt was shredded.  It was towed to my mechanic a few hours later, and the next day we heard the bad news: Timing belt was broken.  There was most likely major engine damage and the car was basically totalled.  


The last image I shot of the 3000GT.  This was taken in Fall of 2015.


Photo shot on the final night while being loaded onto the tow truck.

For years, a former coworker had said that if I ever wanted to sell the 3000GT, he would buy it.  By now, he had retired and had time on his hands.  I sold it to him for $500 as I knew I would be able to see it run one day again.  He lives close to me and I sometimes pass his house to see if he has done any work on it.

Despite the 3000GT being 25 years old, I had not thought much about a replacement.  After some searching, I settled on trying out the Lexus RC F.  I wanted something that was a four seater coupe with lots of power.  I also wanted something with aggressive styling.  On Sunday, April 10 2016, I visited a local dealer that had a leftover 2015.  It was available for a test drive and liked it immediately.  While I was departing the dealership, they asked if I wanted to take it overnight for an extended test.  I thought it would be nice to have it Thursday night for our weekly skate night at the rink and said I would come by Wednesday to pick it up.  The salesman then asked "Why don't you keep it till then".  I could not refuse the offer and drove the RC F for the next few days.  Well I totally fell in love with the car.  It was like putting on an iron man suit and going out in the world.  Needless to say I bought the car when I came back on Friday that week.

So far, I have painted the calipers red (with Brembo silver lettering), and added an aero kit consisting of a front lip and side skirts.


My new ride is the Lexus RC F.  This is the high performance coupe with
the 5.0 Liter 467 HP engine.  0-60 is in the 4.2 second range.

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