SCR is live from Baldwin Hills with Italy stories, a Porsche GT3 S/C deep dive, a brutal AMG takedown, and a bear that nearly took out Jonny. Plus: Polestar's US ban, Max Verstappen's LEGO beef, and why classic car market correction means the great stuff is finally getting affordable again.

______________________________________________

🛠️ RaceDeck - Transform Your Garage

Get 15% off garage flooring!

https://RaceDeck.com/SCR

🫧 Meguiar's - 125 Years of Passion

Premium products to clean, restore, and protect your vehicle

https://meguiarsdirect.com/collections/new

🔵 BlueChew - Get Bricked Up with BlueChew Gold

Buy 2 months of BlueChew Gold, get the 3rd month for FREE with code SPIKE911

https://BlueChew.com

✉️ Ultra Pouches - Instant Focus in a Pouch

Don’t sleep on Ultra Pouches. New customers get 15% Off with code SPIKE911 at https://takeultra.com

GRAB SOME SCR MERCH:

https://spikescarradio.com

GET MORE SCR ON PATREON:

https://www.patreon.com/spikescarradio

______________________________________________

Jonny Lieberman's Porsche 911 S/C review is the automotive centerpiece of the episode. The new GT3 S/C, a cabriolet configuration echoing the spirit of S/T and Speedster variants, runs about $275,000 and arrives with the full Porsche 911 Weissach package: carbon ceramic brakes standard, magnesium wheels, carbon fiber front fenders and doors. The manual gearbox with its short shift kit is, per Jonny, exactly what it needs to be. Then comes the hammer: the Mercedes AMG E53 Wagon review. Despite sharing 577 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque with the legendary E63, Jonny calls the E53 a wallowing, under-braked waterbed of a car with no chassis confidence and a hybrid system that adds weight without soul. His verdict: they just whiffed on this one.

The hosts dig into the 2027 Polestar US ban. Spike mourns the American dealer jobs and real estate investment that disappear with it. From there, the conversation pivots to the Max Verstappen LEGO F1 car moment at Silverstone: Verstappen's flat refusal to drive a LEGO-brick F1 replica because, in his words, drivers shouldn't look like children. Spike is firmly in his corner. Also on the table: the McMurtry Spéirling, a $1.3 million track-only electric fan car pulling 3Gs, and a Ferrari 12C's simulated manual clutch (a pedal wired to an electric actuator spring, not an actual clutch disc, which produces predictably heated reactions).

The classic car market correction thread that closes the show is worth the price of admission alone. Zuckerman's morning drive in his '71 Porsche 911 Targa, ivory paint, perfect balance, cruising at 88 mph. Vintage Porsche prices falling from their pandemic peaks means early 911s, 356s, and Speedsters are drifting back into reach for people who actually want to drive them.

_____________________________________________

📧 To advertise with Spike’s Car Radio, contact Neon Tiger Media:

[email protected]

🌐 or visit:

https://scrpod.com/sponsor

Produced by

Skyview Entertainment

&

Q6 Media

https://q6.media

______________________________________________

Timestamps:

00:00 - SCR's back at Baldwin Hills!

01:07 - Spike's brutal Italy trip

11:37 - Why the Porsche 911 S/C is so amazing

16:51 - The SCR Live Tour

23:07 - Our own car dealership

24:11 - Mercedes AMG E 53 Wagon review

29:32 - Jonny's bear encounter

31:46 - Polestar is DEAD in the US

33:30 - Lego is making F1 cars?!

35:42 - McMurtry Spéirling for sale

39:13 - Ferrari 12C with a manual?

40:13 - Mercedes is making a baby G Wagon?

48:41 - 18-way seats

50:45 - The future for the Porsche 718

54:43 - Porsche's questionable history

55:39 - Spike's Ford Bronco

56:31 - Our one-car garages

58:30 - Jonny's Sheffield watch

59:48 - Zuckerman's current car collection

1:01:54 - The state of the classic car market

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices