It’s About Time – Dubshed!
There’s no need to introduce Dubshed. Everyone, at least here in Ireland, knows GTINI’s flagship show – the traditional show season opener. It’s great. Every year around early April dubheads from all over the green island gather in the north to meet mates and show off what they have been up to in their garages over the winter. It’s time to officially open the season for low yokes! Queue up!
I wasn’t ready for the show season to begin when the alarm rang at 7am brutally ending the short sleep I got to, let’s say, enjoy after a long Friday night. With my eyes still closed I found the noise-making phone on the ground and I’ve hit the snooze button cheating on myself – as I do, and probably you too, every morning – to get that extra 5 minutes in bed.
A foolish strategy this is… it never helps, it only gets things delayed and eyes swollen. Get up, I said to myself, get up you… the season is about to start fella and it’s not going to wait for you… neither Neil will. I was halfway through my coffee when he rang: “I’m on the way, I’ll be there to pick you up in twenty”. Feck. No breakfast so…
Well, there’s no point lying, I never have breakfasts, though they say that the morning meal is the most important one of the day. How about Dubshed as the starter into the show season? A not so little appetiser, tasty and greasy from all this quick detailer fellas use. Kinda Full Irish Breakfast – it can’t get better than this, trust me. Bricfeasta Éireannach. Baked beans, Irish sausages, rashers, pudding and hash browns. Delicious! Who never had a proper fry up in the morning will not understand. Forget your Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. They’re for kids. Real men eat meat.
The day before Dubshed I was still not sure if I’ll be heading over to Lisburn where the show takes place since 2016 – at Eikon Exhibition Centre, but Neil convinced me I should go: “Come on, let’s go… the hotel is booked and… we’ve got fresh, 181-D Volkswagen Arteon from VW Ireland for some testing… and we’ll have some pints later too”. I’m not sure whether he had me at the calculator testing offer or was it rather the latter.
I know Neil for the past 13 years since I arrived in Ireland in 2006 to study, but we never really got the chance to have pints. We had numerous burgers at the monthly Dublin meets at Eddie Rockets a.k.a Empty Pockets, but no gargle. We met first in Portlaoise at the good ol’ Gandon Inn meet to which I went in my filthy Corrado G60 straight after doing over 2000 km road trip across Europe from Poland. A few days after the meet I was driving home when some pikey, I thought, started to drive his van up way too close to my rear bumper flashing lights at me, making me nervous. But I couldn’t see who was there in the rear view mirror, the van was too close. It smelled like a bare knuckle fight so I decided to avoid it and not to turn around, but the van kept on sitting on my Rado’s ass and I, eventually, turned around to find out that it was Neil. It turned out we were pretty much neighbours. We’re friends since.
VW ARTEON AND OTHER CALCULATORS
Neil picked me up in the morning in this fresh Volkswagen Arteon, a VW Ireland press vehicle we’ve got for the craic at Dubshed. Both of us, Neil and myself are die hard youngtimer heads but this brand-new calculator, as I call all new cars packed with fancy electronics, got the two of us excited.
I have some experience in playing with these so-called calculators, both pleasant and unpleasant experiences. Some time ago I wanted to be like Ken Block and I’ve launched into the air one of these yokes full of electronics off an impact barrier on a motorway at modest 160 km/h.
Adaptive cruise control kills people, especially when it puts you asleep.
Meanwhile I didn’t find the same features as problematic in Audi RS7 or S8+ I got to play with some time ago. The 605 PS generated by bi-turbo 4 litre V8 provides as much fun as you’d like with just a slight touch of the gas pedal. Anytime you want it! So flexible these cars are with their 8 speed tiptronic gearbox and that’s not all that keeps one awake. The symphony that the exhaust plays guarantees no one goes sleep. Of course, if exhaust flaps are left open in the sport mode, but why would you even want to go silent. Pointless feature when you can go up the gears in manual to only paddle down for a bit of mean sounding popcorn. Pop pop pop, yeah! Loved it I did! And in fact, although I’d modify and drop hard to the ground any car I’d get… I’d never do this to a vehicle of that class. Well, I’d get a Miltek or other pricey exhaust for even more popcorn to strike terror on the streets. After driving these monsters, which according to Top Gear, are one of the best cars out there, I started to understand why my mate who got a fresh Porsche 911 Turbo S said no to modifications, with an exemption for a sporty exhaust – an actual safety measure.
What the above and the Arteon have in common? All these cars feel very similar while driving with their electric assisted power steering, touch screens and various automatic systems.
GTINI’S DUBSHED 2018
Anyway, let’s get back to Dubshed – the No. 1 VAG show and shine in Ireland. I never found the time to finish this write up last year, but with the show season about to start – it’s high time to get a few words out.
It’s hard to go wrong with this show – it’s the largest out there and it always gathers the best projects from all over Ireland and abroad. This year, in 2019, the show will be held for the tenth time! Gutted I am that I can’t open the show season with Dubshed – the traditional season opener in Ireland.
Last year we went with Neil to Lisburn to enjoy Dubshed for the whole weekend. We’ve got a fresh Volkswagen Arteon from VW Ireland for a quick tryout in the North, as I said in the first part of this short write-up, and it was a great chance to show the new model at the most favourite VAG-focused car show around. After a year has passed I wonder if this move helped VW get a few sales in for their flagship model.
In the evening after the first day of the show we went out testing Peroni’s… the next day Neil said it failed the test. Never again, not drinking anymore – he’d repeat. The Arteon passed all tests with flying colours.
The show, as every year, turned out great with many many awesome cars on display. There was something on show for everyone: from older aircooled yokes all the way up to fresh calculators. Out of all cars that came to Dubshed I’ve picked four that I liked the most – the #FAP4 selection – I’ve published a few words about the four a year ago. More here: LINK TO #FAP4
It’s a pity I can’t be there this year to see all the fresh builds and to meet with all mates… hopefully we’ll get the chance to chat later in the season! Perhaps at GTINI’s Castlewellan Show if it’ll take place – haven’t been at it for years and this year… I might come in a funny commie yoke!
‘Tis time for breakfast? Wakey wakey! 2019 show season – let’s have ya!
Dubshed 2018, Eikon Exhibition Centre
Words and photography:
Mateusz Kulik | StanceSyndicate
A FEW PHOTOS OUT – AT LAST – DUBSHED 2018
SATURDAY AT DUBSHED 2018
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SUNDAY AT DUBSHED 2018
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