What Really Happened to Max Power Project Thunder? 

I worked with Chris for a short while delivering pizzas at the time he won the car. I remember him turning up in it one day.. Nearly 30 years ago!!

It was nice hearing his version of what happened in the accident. For years I’ve believed that he was arse out power sliding and cocked it up! Usual media, only doing half a story and telling people what they think they want to hear.

I remember the project RS Kicker being owned by someone i knew in Crewe . Story was it was originally won by a young lad possibly even under the required age to enter . Couldn't afford the insurance and sold it on to a Crewe based car sales company . That is where the owner i knew purchased it from . I remember seeing it all illuminated in the showroom front place on my way home from school on a dark winter evening . I met the owner doing work experience and blagged a ride in it one dinner . 49 now and remember it clearly still . Max Power was an obsession for me that eventually seen me build my own show car that i had on display 3 consecutive years at Max Power Live at the NEC . Modified everything myself and loved the whole scene back then when being unique was acceptable and encouraged . I still have every issue of the mag and remember buying the first issue with a free cap , from the local paper shop on a BMX 🤣

I remember the unveil of that car and the stories of the crash. Epic.

I saw this car filling up at the ESSO garage on Bolton road in Bury when I was 13 or 14. As a buyer of max power I was beside myself when I saw it in person. Felt very odd! The car ultimately crashed about 1/4 mile away from where I live. The tyre place the chap referred to as kwik fit was called smileys tyres at the time. The music shop was doctor rock. Was quite the talk of the area at that time. I don’t think the modern generation can appreciate how famous this car was 😅 really enjoyed that piece, thanks for taking the time to do it all 👍🏻

I bought the wheels off that car for my Lotus Carlton replica . Yes one was buckled . I soon traded them in at Prem tyres in Wigan for a set of Azeva A’s

Wow thanks for this video. Proper nostalgia trip. The Max power scene was a huge part of life back then. Loved it

Tsw venoms were the bollocks

Awe my fav project car. I saw it at max power live in earls court

Found this by accident but made me smile. Was at engineering college when that car was built. Max Power was a massive thing back then with me and my mates. Funny how now I look at it and think what an absolute shed but back then it was the bollocks. Good times.

Back when 17’s were considered huge Love a three spoke

I remember being a max power reader that car would have been stuff of dreams then

American here I comment often. This is so cool always wondered about the cars in the contests and what happened to them and the people. Didn't have max power but similar mags. Super cool Love your stuff

Johnny Smith (Ex Max Power staff) mentioned project thunder on a recent-ish podcast. (Smith and Sniff)

Loved the old max power cars. My friend that lives up road from me owns the max power pringles mk4 golf

I remember being in Broadbents in Oldham looking for some bits to fix my XR3i. Couldn’t believe it when I saw this thing sat there. 😮

Wow, 18k payout! If memory serves me correctly, you could buy a Sierra cosworth for 5k back then . 😬

Was great to watch need more like this

Think the BMW was called Project XS - i entered that one, loved the paint job!

Wow I remember this car so much ❤.. fantastic story , fantastic video !! I sharing this so much 😂😂

The boot lid story had me in stitches! What a lad! 🤣

what kind of animal folds photos up😂

Mental this im from Shrewsbury and remember in car systems.

Bloody hell I remember reading Max Power with the build for this motor back in the 90s (I'm the same age, so 21 back in 1995!) I was Vauxhall through and through back then and the Lotus Carlton is STILL one of my dream cars. Nostalgia bigtime!

This the same 30mph that Matt Armstrong was going when he crashed ?

Oh memorie lane,what times these where love the fact you pursue the good old days as content make me happy constantly duelled over this car wish I never new where my ecoose r5gt turbo was awsome work mate

Thats mad was only talking to sumone about project thunder and what happened to it loved that car thanks for the story

Wow what a story 👌🏼 1995 I left school, past my test in 97, max power was massive. I had a euro’d Mk1 golf slammed on 15’s, kicker ICE. I thought those wheels were TSW 3 spokes. A lad I used to cruise with squeezed a set of 17” venoms on to a mk2 fiesta 😂 Oh the glory days when doing your car up cost quadruple what you paid for it. Definitely the “modify before maintenance” days 😂😂

Brilliant video Adam...really interesting. Hoping you make more of these. Of the Max Power era myself...Had a grey 2.0 16v Nova reg no. A16 VOW. Got the conversion done in '98 when I was 20!! Youngsters could never insure that now! Love to know what came of it.

This wasn't at all what I expected and I loved every minute, great bit of journalism here - thanks to you and the lads involved telling their tales. Appreciated!

I’ve dug out my mag collection after finding these vids. And booked my tickets 😁👍🏻🇬🇧

Wicked vid. Even though I'm in Aus and the UK fads didn't reach here, was still reading Max Power in my uni days. Good to here the proper story of what happened. Pity the winner had it such a short time, but that's life.

Fly was a legend of a photographer he put his life at risk to get a cracking shot

Think I still have every copy of max power in the loft 👍

That was proper funny 😂 Really enjoyed it. I think Project 2000 is still owned by RS Jamie on RU-vid.

Awesome video guys! Kudos for setting the record straight on what happened to the car ❤.

Devastated I can’t be at the max power show this year! Will be there next year. Great vid

Blast from the past!

This was a great video. I really appreciate the effort you have put into this video. So good to hear such an interesting backstory. Keep up the good work.

Great video nice to hear the full story where the car ended up. The max power cars was everybody's dreams back in the day.

I think I entered all the competitions in max power they also did a mk1 golf gti which was stolen off the driveway of one of the staff members I seem to remember . I think the paint work ruined the project for me tbh if it was a single colour and maybe a nice blue or something it would have maybe been easy to match and may have been repaired, great video and really enjoyed the story .

Remember this build back in the day and the crash story and rumours. Was really interesting to here what actually happened to it. Hope you can find out other stories of ones that also vanished off the scene.

Amazed it ended up at Broadbent's, and that I didn't know about it. My 2nd mini came from there as my next door neighbour worked for them doing their accounts.

Being from Bury I remember the whole incident well. I also remember Keith Hand who owned the music shop, his daughter is a mate of mine!! Great to hear the whole back story. :-)

Would love to have heard Max Powers version of that story too

Wow 😮 what a story😢

I was 14 and had the poster on my wall 😀

Love those 3 spokes. The dog's bollocks. Those were happy days 👍

Miss my astra gte mk2 all reprayed in glacier white, with tsw vemons 17 inch. Had the car completely restored inside and out then sold it and unfortunately it was totalled by the new owner!

Great video, was 16 back then. I built my Nova based on the Mark Watts Purple (Amaranth) Courtnay Turbo, would be good to see where that ended up, or Jon Sheilds Green Nova Turbo

Doctor rock the music shop had part of it hung on the wall with the guitars used to see it every day I worked in the same shop row

I remember this car, very much of the time

Low key it was the only giveaway car that max power did that I hoped I didn’t win 🥴🤣 the colour and the “F1” wing just ruined the car for me

30 mph ? Cough cough bullshit 😂

I still have most of the max power magazines from back then and all of the videos my 1st video was project thunder the calrton good times back then

Great vid fella, I remember all of this, and great chatting with you are Wembley...regards the Guru

I really enjoyed this video. I remember coming home from a show at Silverstone maybe trax? And there was i think a gold Carlton that had gone off the road at towcester roundabout and was lying in the ditch. Old bill everywhere and lane closures it caused chaos getting home 😂

I remember sitting in it at the NEC

😮fair play to him 👍

I don't live more than 4 miles from where Project Thunder had it's accident I drove past it on the day of the crash such a sad sight to see after following it through the Max Power magazine. 😥

I remember the Charlton fake lotus around oldham. Looked stunning

Great to get to the bottom of it all, seems like a nice bloke. Pretty shitty they made it seem like it was his fault for the crash. Although imagine winning that at 21 i would have crashed it at high speed haha. Great bit of detective work.

I miss a max power hour on the bog , times where so much simpler 😂😂❤

Chris the Legend.. Randomly seeing you on my TV 😂

Awesome video. Shame that no other parts was saved or found. I wonder if the bootlid is still on the hill?

I drew a picture of this car for my art gcse

I remember the car when it was almost impossible to find magazine in US

Three spoke alloys ruled the scene then

30 mph we all say it lad haha

Loved this 1

Mad seeing myself in a picture at 11:20 (Max Power visited Swindon 'Cruise Patrol'... taken in the old Wickes car park (now Go Outdoors)

I love this 😊I actually remember it and bought the mag at the time. Hate the colour though 😅

Speedline Alesios on a Nova GSI was the business back in the 90's.

Anybody know what happened to protect orange..vw corrado now that was a beautiful car ..

Remember seeing Bernie from SMC drive this around Shrewsbury.

My mate won the RS Kicker Escort but he sold it soon after because he was either too young to drive, or couldn't insure it. I'm sure he sold it for £10,000, and it cost somewhere in the region of £27,000 to build.

Max Power fitted a 5th injector on a 6 cylinder car!? 😂🤔🤔

Did you find the other two max power cars the mag had done Also is there a chance of finding the series 2 black F plate Renault 5 GT Turbo that was featured in Max Power round the start of the 00s i think it was called black venom i could be wrong Great vid do remember the thunder car when it came out

Would have been from Rowcliffe's of Taunton originally with a YA number plate. I went to school with the Vauxhall Dealer's daughters.

I remember the car being in Shrewsbury when SMC fitted the sound system

Even back then this car was aweful, crusher was best thing for it

Enjoyed that

Great tp hear the full story.

Good content mate brilliant storytelling

I am from Shrewsbury, I remember the car being at incar systems having the ice done. I regularly went to this place on a Saturday to hang out with the Shrewsbury boy racers 🤣. 30mph into a left barrier then over the central reservation, must of slipped onto the loud pedal as the woman hit him 🤣.

Ended up in a scrap yard in Oldham. I put my head in it and got bollocked 😂😂

Wow, what a story , the 3 cars i loved Max Power ever did was Project Thunder , Project XS (E30 BMW) and the (Project VW Golf ... full of Alpine audio, the car no one won. Damn, that Max Power show is on my birthday, unfortunately i can't get, due to unreliable car.

It be good to track rs kicker

Broadbends has changed since I was last there, but that was about 17yrs ago

Further proves believe fuck all that being preached and ask the man himself . Well done good video.

Enjoyed that pal.

Great video! I remember the story

That brings back memories wonder what happened to the other projects like the corrado and the pink escort

I remember the wheel centre cap thing.

You should try and track down the other giveaway cars!! We know where pinky is but would love to know what happened to the others!

Ah man I was just starting to get into max power at 14 back then! they had just given it away… few issues later it’s smashed up…

All at 30mph. 🤣Across the road in a shop and duel carriageway

At least he kept the memories well! Every pic he took out was folded and bent.

Man I got the issue, great video, and wrong of Maxpower to say their version. Maxpower was last great car era , no Suvs on the roads and no financed BMWs and Audi's.

Dr Rocks music shop in Bury jumped out in front of it lol😂