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.
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 →
As a pimply faced preteen, I sought out any and every shred of automotive knowledge I could get my hands on. With “childhood” memories of cruising the Tyrol in a Dino and having a best friend that lived in an air cooled mecca, I had to get more knowledge. I had to know everything about cars and the people who built and drove them. I would scour the local library for anything automotive that I could get my hands on. One day, I picked up a plain white book that changed my life. It was called Sunday Driver. Continue reading →
While things here in The Garage are heating up as Gary Faules prepares to do battle at La Carrera Panamerica, friend of The Garage Alex Roy has some stuff heating up in New York City. First off, Alex has launched a series of new wallpapers of the infamous number 144. Now the obvious reason is to build hype for the launch of Alex’s new book, The Driver, which launches on October 16.
Perhaps of more covert interest is news of a new Interceptor. That’s right, Roy’s mystical, magical M5 is being retired. The big question is, what is the replacement? Hmmm… Let’s take stock of things here. We have an international playboy with access to what may be one of the world’s most impressive fleet of exotic cars. What are the options? Bugatti? Naw, no back seat for extra passengers to share the escapades. Audi RS4? Nope, VW electronics are way too finicky. CTS-V? Too common.
I’m betting that Interceptor 144B will be something offbeat, like a Cayenne S that’s paid a visit to our friends at Ruf or some such super fast, super reliable shaggin’ waggon so AR can keep up with that playboy image!
After the break, see the original Interceptor in action as Team Polizei gets a police escort through Florence. Continue reading →
