Jeffrey Robert Wenger

My Cars


"V8TURBO"
Lotus Esprit

2002 Lotus Esprit 2002 Lotus Esprit 2002 Lotus Esprit

My 2002 Lotus Esprit V8 Twin Turbo is a 25th Anniversary Edition number 81 of 100. This is Britain's exotic producing 350 hp with a 7000 rpm redline and a weight of only 2968 lbs (1380 kg). This engine developed and manufactured by Lotus elevated the Esprit to true supercar status, delivering a top speed of 178 mph, or 185 mph by some accounts. Here are the stats. It goes 0-60 in 4.4 and 0-100 in 10.5 seconds. It does the quarter mile in 13 sec @ 112 mph.

It has more punch and a better weight ratio than comparable Ferraris 355 and 360 thanks to the twin turbos and light weight. It has great sex appeal, speed, exclusivity and awesome engine sound. It has great handling, brakes and reliability. It also has working AC and a usable trunk. The interior has a cockpit feel and the leather seats are as comfortable as they are beautiful. In my opinion it is one of the supercars in the world, at least for my taste. It has the sizzle with comfort and practicality to boot.






"VICE"
Daytona Spider



My 1980 Corvette is registered in Nevada as an "Assembled Vehicle" as it now sports a Ferrari Daytona Spyder 365 GTS/4 replica body. The only real Ferrari parts are the door handles, and any Corvette owner or Ferrari owner spots it immediately as a replica. It also doesn't sound like a Ferrari. It sounds like a big-ass V8 which it is, with glass packs on the otherwise straight pipes. It originally had a 350ci engine putting out 190 or 230hp, I don't know which. It now has a light weight ZZ4 Corvette crate engine (as of December, 2007) meant for off-roading that puts out 350hp. The real Daytona has 352bhp. I estimate the car is now about 500 pounds lighter than the original Vette's 3,336 lbs. although I haven't had it weighed yet, and even lighter than a real Daytona. That makes it pretty fast! It's very quick off the line, although I've never had it to the dragstrip (no rollbar). It's much faster than a stock Vette of that year, and maybe even as fast as a real Ferrari Daytona (rated at 0-60 mph in 5.4 seconds), if you can find one outside a museum. There were only 122 factory-made Spyders, and only some of those were shipped to the U.S. It probably doesn't handle as well as a Ferrari, but I've had it up to 165 mph with the original engine when the front end started to lift. I hope to solve that with a front air dam. The original Ferrari goes 172mph, and was the fastest production car in the world for many years. Now with my new engine I hope to be even faster!

There were a number of original builders of Daytona replicas including McBurnie Coachcraft, California Custom Coach, and Daytona Coachworks of Rowley, Massachusetts. I do not know which builder constructed my car. Replicas are not to be confused with "conversions". A number of actual Ferrari Daytona Berlinettas (coupes) were converted to Spiders (convertibles) back in the 1980s by having their tops chopped off. Both spellings are considered to be correct, Spider and Spyder. The license plate is a Las Vegas Commemorative Plate: "VICE" which refers to Miami Vice. In the 1980s the car gained new notoriety on the first two seasons of NBC's hit television series Miami Vice. The black car used in the series was a replica built on a Corvette chassis. Ferrari executives were not pleased that their company and one of their products was represented on TV by a replica. The Daytona replica was eventually destroyed on-screen and replaced with a Ferrari Testarossa, the company's newest model during the time. That is one less Ferrari Daytona replica. Daytona replicas are more rare than the originals as fewer were produced. Of course the originals are much more valuable and sometimes sell for prices in excess of one million dollars. Ferrari has now forced all Daytona replica manufacturers out of production. Read this for more information on the Ferrari Daytona Replica.








"BIANCO"
Ferrari 308



This is "BIANCO". It's a 1982 308 GTBi and yes, even though it isn't red, this is a 100% original Ferrari. White is a rare color for a Ferrari, so I wanted a license plate that said "NOTRED", but that idea was vetoed. Instead i chose the license plate "BIANCO" which means "white" in Italian. I purchased it in early 2002 and have kept it completely stock except for the recent addition of black OMP racing seats, blue OMP 6-point harnesses, 16 inch Speedline wheels, Dunlop SP Sport 8000 P205/55ZR16 89W front, P225/50ZR16 rear unidirectional combination street/track tires, a fire extinguisher, and a coolant overflow resevoir. I have it serviced at Italy Service here in Vegas.

I have had it out on the track with the Ferrari Club of America at Watkins Glen twice and Lime Rock once in the summer of 2002. I've also had it on the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway inner and outer tracks and the Spring Mountain Motor Sports Park with the Pantera Club, Porsche Club and a number of other Las Vegas area clubs. It was also my car of choice for Open Road Racing in northern Nevada. It is smooth and comfortable at top speed, and extremely tight and nimble on the track.




"2FST"
Porsche 951



I purchased my 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo "S" commonly designated by it's factory prototype number "951" in the fall of 2003. (Often incorrectly referred to as a "952", the 952 are actually right hand drive models and were sold in Great Britain.) As it is very rare, I flew to Tucson on a one-way ticket with designs on purchasing it, and then drove it home. It now bears the same Las Vegas commemorative vanity plate "2FST" as it has over 50% more power than my previous 944. I understand this is the fastest model Porsche offered in 1988. After Premier Sports Car Service (the company that prepared the last few LeMans winners) installed a new chip and made other modifications, it's even much faster!

The Porsche 944 Turbo S represents what most authorities consider to be the highest performance version of the highly successful 944 product line. The Turbo S was introduced in 1988 as a limited production run, fitted in the same manner as the "Turbo Cup" race car. In the following year (1989), the 944 Turbo maintained all of the performance characteristics of the 1988 Turbo S, but dropped the "S" designation. 1989 was to be the last year that Porsche imported the 944 Turbo into North America in any significant numbers. Initially, the Turbo S was only available in a "Silver Rose Limited Edition" form. This characterization followed from their paint scheme. In addition to the performance options and Silver Rose paint, these vehiles were trimmed with a burgandy-plaid ("studio") interior. Fortunately, they dropped this interior theme by the time my car was produced. Initially, Porsche intended to sell 1000 of the "Silver Rose" Turbo S. However, plans changed and in the end, well over 1000 cars were made, in a variety of colors and options.






"1REDTOY"
BMW 318ti


This red 1998 BMW 318ti was a daily driver that I also took out to the track. Although low on power, it handles well. It's strictly stock, but it holds it's own on short tracks like at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Spring Mountain race tracks. Front Engine, Rear-Wheel Drive, Horsepower: 148, Torque: 148 from a 1993cc inline four, with 5-speed manual. The BMW 318ti is a hatchback, the smallest four-seater BMW of recent years. The rear seat folds down completely so it's great for hauling and transporting skiis and other gear. The 318ti is built on the late-90s 3-series platform and is functionally equivalent to its coupe brethren. It uses the same 1.8-liter four cylinder engine, 5 speed, transmission, and rear wheel drive design. Like all BMWs, the 318ti is comfortable, well-made, and well-supported by BMW. Brakes are excellent on the little car, and rear storage space is more than ample. Overall it's a great car.




"2E09"
Mercedes Benz CLK 350

2006 Mercedes Benz CLK 350

I no longer own this Mercedes CLK350 Coupe, powered by a 3.5-liter V6 with 268 horsepower and a seven-speed automatic transmission. Standard equipment includes 17-inch alloy wheels, leather upholstery, power seats, dual-zone climate control and a power tilt-telescoping steering wheel. Interior accommodations are airy thanks to it's B-pillarless design. It's definitely more of a grand touring car than a sport coupe. This is the car of choice for long road trips. The steering is precise, and overall, the CLK350 handles fairly nimbly while riding comfortably.







Jeff Wenger
Naples, Florida
Mobile: 702-617-3300
www.jeffwenger.com

jeffwenger@gmail.com

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