Daily Slideshow: Ramona Rusu's Sunday Car of Choice
Cold-war-era C3 Corvettes aren't an everyday sight in former Eastern Bloc countries, but your odds of spotting one increase on Sundays.
Collector
Romanian drift racer Ramona Rusu's list of vehicles is almost as long as her list of recent successes at venues across Europe. Here's a partial accounting: Chevrolet Corvette C3, Ford Probe, Mazda MX-5 Miata, BMW 4-Series, BMW E30 3-Series, and Volkswagen Transporter flatbed. Working backwards—the Transporter is how she moves her dedicated, track-prepped E30, the car she used to take a podium-finish position in the European Drift Championship rankings. Ramona has also been named Queen of Europe and also vice-champion in the King of Europe Pro Series (we assume that's drifting stuff too because Europe is too big and unmanageable for just one king or queen).
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Problem-Solver
On the day Drivemag came to take photos of Ramona's 3-Series, she said it wasn't ready—it needed to be cleaned—so she climbed into the VW transporter and took the BMW to the car wash. They published a photo of it on the trailer as proof. But somehow, the BMW never got shot after that—which was good fortune for us because we get to look at Corvette photos instead. Ramona wears many hats, and when she's not drifting, hauling, or washing cars she's modeling, pin-up style, in her little red Corvette. Her small-block C3 ('76 with '77 front fenders?) features an automatic transmission and runs on aluminum wheels with soon-to-be-back-in-fashion white wall tires.
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Drifter
Ramona's E30, the one she piloted on her way to winning all the aforementioned accolades, has a somewhat different powerplant than it started with (ever tried breaking the tires loose in a 318i, for instance?). Apparently, its current engine's days are numbered too, at least in the spec it is now. "Force-feeding the 5.0-liter V8 with a bolt-on supercharger would up its power output to about 600-hp," Ramona said, weighing her options.
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Swapper
Ramona's competition ride before the E30 was a stock first-gen Mazda MX-5 Miata, and it almost received a V8 too. She wanted to swap a 4.4-liter V8 into the tiny Miata but abandoned the project when she decided it wouldn't fit. After the installation of a turbo, the Miata was Ramona's drift car for a time, until she felt the need for more power. After abandoning the Miata-swap idea she turned to the E30. Going back further than the Mazda, her automotive history reveals a Need For Speed-themed Ford Probe, which, like the Miata, she still owns. "I know it looks cheesy now, pink and all, but those were the times; it won a lot of trophies in its prime," Ramona says of the Probe, which was really a Mazda underneath anyway.
>>Join the conversation about Ramona Rusu's C3 Corvette right here in Corvette Forum.
Sunday Driver
That leaves us with just the 4-Series from our list of Ramona's cars. The BMW is modern and loaded, as befitting of a daily driver. The reason we're here, her '70s C3, is her car of choice for Sundays. There's nothing better than regular use for keeping an old car alive, and there's nothing like a Sunday tradition to cap off the week and reset ahead of another hard week of BMW use and abuse. If only every day could be Sunday.
>>Join the conversation about Ramona Rusu's C3 Corvette right here in Corvette Forum.
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