Wildcat 1000i H.O. here in the UK

At last the long awaited Arctic Cat Wildcat 1000i H.O. side by side has arrived in the UK. Thorney Offroad are the first UK Arctic Cat dealer to receive shipment of these awesome vehicles and have them available now for viewing and demonstration rides.
To celebrate this fact Thorney Offroad are arranging an official launch day at their brand new Silverstone facilities. The launch date is set for Saturday 16th June and on offer will be:- 

• Tour of Thorney Motorsport race workshop and Thorney Offroad showroom
• Free BBQ
• Rides and drives on the new Arctic Cat Wildcat 1000i H.O.

There is limited availability of places so early booking is recommended.
For more information go to the Thorney Offroad website.

Gearbox Front Mount Bracket

We are making great progress towards completion of the Astra VXR engine transplant. The latest achievement is the design and manufacture of the gearbox front mount bracket. The chassis of the Corsa SRI differs from the Astra VXR is as much it doesn't have a crossmember running across the front of the engine bay. Consequently we have had to manufacture a bespoke crossmember resilient to absorb the torsional loads imparted by the 400bhp Z20 LEH engine. The final design is very innovative since, not only does it provide an anchorage point for the Astra gearbox front mount but also doubles up as an anti-roll bar, thus providing additional body stiffness. Yet again a fine example of Thorney Motorsport's engineering expertise. Once painted this crossmember / anti roll bar assembly will really look the part!

Astra VXR Engine Conversion Update

With less than 4 weeks to go to the launch for the 400bhp Astra VXR engine transplant into the Corsa SRI race car the fabrication of the new front gearbox mount bracket/cross member is under way and should be completed by 22 May. Attention is now focused on production of the full set of cold air intake and cooling silicon and rigid pipes. We intend to use black silicon hoses as well as black rigid pipes, both of which will incorporate the TMS logo. The complete set of hoses/pipes will be available to buy through Thorney Motorsport, once the engine conversion project is finished and fully tested.
We have called in the services of SFS Performance, specialists in the manufacture of motorsport silicon hoses to measure up the installation and produce the kit.

6 weeks and counting ...

Throughout this Astra VXR engine transplant project regular project review meetings have taken place with Thorney Motorsport. At the last meeting it was decided to set a target date for completion of the project so as to focus the minds of all concerned. With Thorney Motorsport competing this year in the BTCC with their Vauxhall Insignia we fixed the weekend of June 9/10 - this being the next scheduled BTCC race meeting at Oulton Park.
 The aim is to have the Corsa race car fully run-in and dyno tested with a smart new livery to do justice to the collabaration between us and Thorney Motorsport. The Corsa will be on display in the Oulton Park paddock at the TMS team garage.
Still left to do include:-

• Tidying up the various wiring harnesses
• Complete the Pipercross air intake system installation
• Installation of the Scorpian 3" full race exhaust system
• Fabrication of front gearbox mount bracket/cross member
• Dyno testing / custom mapping to achieve 400+ bhp
• Vinyl wrapping / bodywork detailing

6 weeks and counting ...