Test Drives, Trends & Events

Godzilla and STILLEN have invaded Canada… (photo courtesy of Kyle Millen)

Try to imagine race cars, new and old, roaring through your local suburban community. The glowing brakes and roaring engines a few feet away from you as the drivers wrestle their purpose-built machines down Main St. Now imagine piloting one of these rumbling rockets through side streets, past the local store fronts, and occasionally over someone’s lawn. You have just pictured the 7th Annual Targa Newfoundland.

This year marks the first year that Steve Millen, good friend to NADAguides.com, and his crew at STILLEN attempted to not only compete, but to win the event. The STILLEN folks teamed up with Mike Monticello from Road & Track who served as Co-Driver for the targa - their chariot of choice; a modified 2009 Nissan GT-R. How did they do? Well, either you skipped the headline or want me to say it again.


Sometimes the fastest way between A and B is someone’s front lawn. (photo courtesy of Kyle Millen)

The Targa Newfoundland is broken up into multiple categories of Modern and Classic vehicles. Steve and Mike finished in the top spot for the entire Modern Class. However, due to the scoring/timing system, they finished 6th overall. The event sets handicaps for the modern cars which make certain stages nearly impossible to finish without incurring a penalty. On most, if not all the stages, Steve was able to catch up to and pass quite a few cars even though those other teams had a head start. They set blistering stage times and were happy with the final result but they were disappointed with the scoring system.


(photo courtesy of Kyle Millen)

Moving past the drivers for a moment, the other star of this event was the Nissan GT-R. The car held up amazingly well for such a grueling event. The Targa Newfoundland plays out over 1,400 miles in seven days. Other than a CV Boot, which needed to be replaced, the car only needed fuel and air in the tires. This particular GT-R has been modified to produce more power yet at the same time has also been given a carbon fiber diet. A stock GT-R is a fantastic car; however the STILLEN GT-R has more power and less weight making it an unbelievably fast and capable road racer, especially in the talented hands of Mr. Millen.


Mike, Steve, and the GT-R taking a breather in between stages. (photo courtesy of Kyle Millen)

Here at NADAguides.com we would like to congratulate Steve Millen and the entire STILLEN crew, as well as Mike Monticello and his team from Road & Track for running a fantastic race from start to finish. You may recall that we were a proud sponsor of the STILLEN/NADAguides.com Ford GT last year. We are once again proud to have the NADAguides.com shield on a STILLEN car and look forward to seeing more great things from this talented team in the very near future.