Is Your Car RAD Enough for RADwood? Use Our Checklist to Find Out

If you’re into the cars and culture of the 1980s and 1990s, RADwood is where it’s at.

Co-founder Art Cervantes hosted his first RADwood in 2017, and the enthusiasm for shell suits and Subaru SVXs, car phones and Carlssons (obscure Mercedes tuner reference) is getting stronger every year.

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On 7 September RADwood comes to Kent. Our first event at Chatham Historic Dockyard has room for over a thousand cool cars, but what should you bring along? What, exactly, makes a car RAD?

“1980 to 1999 is the age range,” explains Cervantes. “We are also open to bringing in some cars that are immediately post ‘99 and immediately pre ‘80 if they were continuation models. So let’s say a 1979 Volkswagen Scirocco would be fine, as it was built into the early ’80s in the same body style. One car in particular that always comes to mind is BMW Z3 M Coupe. That was built in the late ’90s into the early 2000s. There is a little bit of grey area on either end, but we try to keep it very focused on the ’80s and ’90s.”

So that’s the core criteria defined, but let’s be honest, it’s those design quirks and technology of the times that really make a car RAD. If you can tick at least one of the boxes from the list below, we look forward to seeing you in September.

Side Strakes

If there’s one item of body art that defines the era it has to be the side strake. Arguably invented by German tuner Koenig, it most famously featured on the Ferrari Testarossa and the aftermarket was soon awash with kits from the likes of Dimma that turned hot hatches into wide-bodied wonders. RADwood should be side strake central.

Car Phone

You knew you were climbing the corporate ladder when you had a carphone installed. While its history may date back a century, it was only in the cut and thrust of 1980s business that Motorola and its rivals really took off. Now you could buy and sell pork bellies or frozen concentrated orange juice stocks from the comfort of your GTi or 911.

Graphic Equaliser

ICE, ICE, baby! In-Car Entertainment installs were massive – literally taking up the entire boot space in many cases. If there’s one piece of RAD tech that we had to pick out among the ICE equipment of the era it would be the graphic equaliser. With just a few small sliders you could fine-tune your tunes to your personal taste – or, more likely, spoil them. Still, an EQ in your head-unit or as a standalone unit set you up as a seriously sound guy or gal.

3-Spoke Wheels

Three is the magic number when it comes to the RADdest wheel spokes. From the Vauxhall Nova to the Dodge Viper, three-spokes were the wheels to wear. Who wore them best? We’d have to say Saab, but we can’t wait to see what wheels will adorn your RADwood ride.

Decals

Porsche may have started by branding its cars’ flanks with the Carrera legend, but RADwood cars truly democratised the decal. Who can forget Audi’s famous four rings, the Twin Cam 16 pasted on the side of the Toyota Corolla AE82, or the word RalliArt writ large on a Mitsubishi Evo?

Rear-Window Louvres

The Lotus Turbo Esprit just pre-dates the RADwood age, but its lovely louvred rear windows made as much of an impact as the rockets fired out of them in The Spy Who Loved Me. For a time you’d see these slats on everything from Mazda RX-7s to Mini Coopers. They ruined rear visibility, of course, but kept things literally and figuratively cool.

Pop-up Lights

RADwood really marks the end of the era for pop up headlamps. By the mid-1990s, aerodynamic requirements and pedestrian safety put paid to one of the loveliest lighting ideas ever. BMW 8 Series, Mazda MX-5s, Honda NSXs, Porsche 924s and 944s – present your pop-ups!

Digital Dashboards

If we see an Aston Martin Lagonda at the gate we’ll excuse the fact that it’s a few years early, because the wildly complicated car pioneered the digital dashboard. By the 1980s, LEDs allowed the Audi quattro, Subaru XT, Toyota Celica, and Vauxhall Astra GTE to join the digital age. What can you add to the list?

Looong Names

There was a good chance of running out of real estate in order to print the full names of some RAD cars on their rears. We’re talking about you, Daihatsu Mira Avanzato TRXX, and you Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR Tommi Mäkinen Edition, and you Mazda Bongo Friendee Hardtop. Clearly there’s a common thread here with Japanese carmakers vying for the record. If your motor has an even longer moniker, bring it along!

Rubber Rear Spoilers

Whether they actually produced any noticeable downforce or not, flexible rubber rear spoilers were a totally RAD idea. Paging all FB RX-7 owners, 944 keepers, Saab 900 fans, and Escort XR3i enthusiasts, bring a full can of back-to-black and show us your shiny spoilers.

Now that you know what kind of a ride you need for RADwood, you can get your tickets here!