While we’ve been having a pretty traumatic time today here in The Garage, the stress has been broken up by the continued arrival of text messages from Team Polizei’s Interceptor 144B as it makes it’s way across the continent.
That’s right, the Chief Piloto of Team Polizei has gone completely freakin’ mad and is taking readers/viewers on a run from the Big Apple to San Fran. Live! With the usual cast of co pilotos, including an Autoblog scribe, Roy is following the entire length of Interstate 80 and broadcasting live from the car along the way.
How the hell are they going to evade every trooper along the way when they are sending out a live feed is beyond me. Perhaps the new electronics on board include Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak!
Be sure to check the view below on a regular basis. If the feed is down, check back in a few minutes, as they are just in a dead zone.
Those who pay attention to the offbeat but increasingly mainstream world of cross country motoring records are well aware of the accomplishments of our friend Alex Roy and his motley crew of automotive miscreants known as Team Polizei. They may also be aware that Herr Roy swears that he has sworn off any further pursuits of long distance infamy.
Herr Roy has been alternately praised and criticized for his shameless self promotion over the past few years, but more recently that promotion has taken somewhat of a different tack. It seems now that Roy is intent on the world domination of the Team Polizei brand. But to what end? The clues are substantial, yet Roy isn’t talking. Well, not about the end goal.
Is there an end goal, or has the goal already been accomplished?
Exhibit #1: The release of Interceptor 144R, a race prepared yet street legal Euro spec M5 in Team Polizei livery.
Dave Maher, Alex Roy’s sidekick is on the trip of a lifetime. Day one, visit the Maserati factory for a guided tour. Day two will include both Ferrari and Lamborghini. The ultra lucky Maher tells the tale at Gumball 144 headquarters.
Dave, I’m sure that thousands will agree with me when I say: I hate you!
Last week, while I was deep in scavenger hunt mode for the Pontiac Vibe launch. I needed some help, so I contacted the Team Polizei head honcho Alex Roy. Herr Roy informed me he was on a run to Atlanta and would have to call back. That run wasn’t they type of run most of our readers would normally think of when Gumball 144 is discussed.
Alex and Interceptor 144B were leading a parade of 275 BMWs from Braselton, Georgia to nearby Road Atlanta in an attempt to break a Guiness Book record. Following the event, many participants headed to 4ngiefest 2008, a giant gathering of car fanatics in support of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. While you may have missed the parade, you can still visit the 4ngiefest site to donate.
One might think so as he amasses an ever growing fleet of E39 M5’s. This latest squad car comes complete with a roll cage and what looks to be a track suspension set up. Even more interesting is the suggestion that 144R may be used in combat some time soon.
For a regular guy to go on Letterman must be a pretty scary deal, and Alex Roy did a great job! Somehow, he even had the balls to make a quickie about The David’s performance. The funny thing is that Dave either missed it or ignored it.
As our regular readers know, retired underground cross country rally guru Alex Roy has become a close part of the circle here in The Garage. While many may feel that some of the risks Roy has taken, it is impossible to deny that the Cannonball/Gumball legacy has become part of the fabric of North American automotive culture. No matter how irresponsible you may find some of this stuff, there is no avoiding the fact that Roy has been part of something seriously cool.
Even cooler, is that Roy is David Letterman’s guest tonight on the Late Show for no reason other than he is the modern gearhead’s biggest hero. Perhaps anti-hero might be a more fitting term. No matter, as Roy will representing the automotive fraternity in style this evening.
Anyone care to guess which leather he’ll be wearing?
Over at Team Polizei Headquarters, Matt Farah from New York Motor Club and Garage419 had the rare opportunity to test drive Alex Roy’s infamous BMW M5, now known as Interceptor 144A. He very nicely has chosen to let us in on his impressions of the Bahn Stormer. As we’ve come to expect from these boys, it’s a well written review. Matt answered the call from Roy, who needed a Co-Piloten for a quick jaunt to Miami. It sounds like they had a blast in the process, Farah’s stained shorts being the sole exception. Get that headlight fixed will ya? Continue reading →
Those enterprising lads over at Fast Lane Daily are kicking things up a notch with their video styles. They’ve launched a new video site called Garage419 which takes viewers closer to the dark side of the automotive world.
The first weekly shoot follows retired cross country racer Alex Roy against Matt Farah from New York Motor Club. It’s a cut throat race from New York to Paris, aboard highly tuned motorized vehicles. Will the victor be the Chief of Polizei, the mutton chopped madman or the monorail rent a cops?
Those of you who have read your copy of The Driver already know that Herr Roy suffered more than a little embarrassment when he planted a brand spanking new Lamborghini into a wall. I’m sure that the sting has subsided a little in the past 3 years, but this video I just came across must cause Alex’s eyes to burn.
