What a day we had yesterday! 

When we arrived to Tierp area with the Rebellion I had pretty low expectations as the car has never worked before on its first tests, but Leif Tufvesson showed that he is the man! We rolled the car off the trailer and the car ran just as solid as an Audi A4, maybe just  a little faster! But the build quality was just amazing, I cant believe how good Leif is at what he does! The car is incredible!

We started a little slow but after 3 mins I felt totally comfortable to start crushing and I ended up crushing the car for 5 hours, just to see if we had any weak spots, but I have to say that I dont think it has any… We did about 40 full gas acceleration tests and nothing seems to bother this amazing car, this time its really done right!

A ton of pics and a full video will come on Thursday but right now its time for me to board the flight back to bergen and get some skiing done!  So stay tuned for a serious video in a couple of days! I cant wait to see it myself! 

/JON

Well that sure is one way to spend 48 hours! haha Will walk you though all the pictures below and try to give you an idea of the schedule we have had over the past two days!

48 hours ago we drove up to the resort with the snow cat all alone as the road had totally snowed over.  A little scary to be all alone up on a mountain in a machine that you are not to used to when the weather rolls in and out!

These cables could be driven under with the snow cat a few days ago, so as you can see there is a LOT of new snow!

Feel bad for the crew up there that had just finished preparing the lift track and then they get up to this….

Thought I would head in for a piss, but quickly realized that an out door one was a way better alternative!

Thanks to Palaris we did have a couple extra sleds to help us get where we needed to be, but I was stuck in the snow cat the whole time…

Got down from the mountain at 10 pm and since we knew that the weather was going to be seriously bad for the next few days we set a new plan and jumped in the car at 6 am to drive over to Geilo for some training. But once again the Norwegian weather made the trip abit longer as we had to wait for an hour for the road to open over Hardanger vidda.

You would think that with machines like this they would be open 365 days a year without a problem…

Got to Geilo at 10.30 and banged out a great session right away, a little tired but I was super stoked to get some good skiing done! A very big THANK YOU to all the guys at Geilo that made this possible. For sure the best two training days I have ever had! 

The best part was the we (me and Oscar Andersson) were all alone with a sled to take us up and down. For sure the best way to train!

After yesterdays session we slept a bit and got right back on it this morning. This is a shot of the track after 30+ runs, as you can see the hill was in epic condition and with the sled towing me up and down I got in the same amout of runs as I would normally get in 5 days. Very STOKED!

So this is the new Team no Team, a couple years ago we would have done a bunch of freeskiing but the team now has a coach so the level is stepped up a lot and I feel how much more I get out of it with gates and constant feed back. I do wish I had the rest of TNT here with me but Leif is to cool and hangs out with the Norwegians and warner is at home in the "greatest country in the world" as he likes to call the USA…

Driving back was slow as well as we had to wait an hour for the road to open, but when you have views like this its not so bad…

Came back to Fonna two hours ago after a gym stop in Odda. Right now I am packing up as I am about to fly to Sthlm in the morning, had a photoshoot there on Sunday but the road up to the resort is going to stay closed for a few more days so i figured that I would jump over to Sweden a day early and say hi to some friends!

Stoked to see the bidding on the Rebellion spots, will be interesting to see who gets it, either way we will be collecting a lot of money to the GB foundation! Great job guys!

So see you in tomorrow, time for me to sleep, think I need it!

/JON

As you all know I have been working on this car for a few years, but on Sunday its finally time for the car to break cover during a special shoot we have set up. I was planning on doing this alone but since the entry grid of Gumball will be based on the amount each car can raise for charity I figured that I would take the opportunity to offer you guys a chance to join me in the car for a little bit on the shoot. That way we raise money for a great cause and you guys get a chance to see the inside of a car that is as extreme as it gets…

The 3 people that will contribute the most to the Gumball charity will be able to join me for this first ride in the Rebellion. It will be on a closed location with just me, the film crew and some helicopters, so should be a really fun day! I cant wait to get to jump in this car! (Exact details on the driving will depend on the weather etc)

The only problem is how to make this auction work,  so I figured I would just let you guys make your donation proposal in the comments and I will contact the 3 highest bidders. (make sure to use your real e mail adresses as well as what currency your bid is in). Location will be Stockholm this Sunday so you would have to be able to make it there by your selves. I would then collect the offered amount once we meet up, so if you are bluffing, thats as far as you will get!  

So take your chance to get a ride in one of the most extreme cars on the globe as well as contributing to a great charity. 

Let the bidding begin! (Bidding will be closed on Saturday at 13.00)

This is what it looked like 2 years ago when we rolled out of the garage, but since this day the car is a million times more refined and re designed, but as you can see, it is a truly insane car!

/JON

There are crazy people and than there are the super crazy ones… !!!

/JON

Or maybe not?

Right now I am sitting here in Jondal all alone as Oskar Bakke had some work in Sthlm and Oscar Andersson had to leave for a few days. Got some training done yesterday so that was great. Took a chance and left the course up over night as the weather forecast said it might be good this morning, got up there and the weather had rolled in so I had to wonder my way up the hill with a sled and find the gates and bring them down. I now know that taking down a full course on a sled alone in a storm is a bit tricky! haha

Weather forecast calls for snow all week so I guess it will be a bit lonely down here in my little cabin as I dont thing we will get any skiing done. The weird part is that I kind of like it! I guess maybe I am a bit of a loner, as long as I have my computer I dont mind it at all. All year is just so stressfull that its kind of nice just to be alone in the middle of nowhere. That gives me time to work out and send all the e mails I need in order to feel in control of my life!

So the plan of coming here and ski everyday is failing a bit, but I am not complaining at all, I feel great and I am ready to wait for the weather to give in. 

I guess thats it for today, but thought I would share my lonely thoughts with you guys! Found this OLD clip online and I must say that it brought back a million epic memories from back in the day, that was for sure the best time of my life! Kind of crazy how fast time flies! haha ENJOY!

/JON

/JON

I guess its safe to say that I did not end up in the spring as I had expected when going skiing in late April! This week they had 1m of snow and looking at the next 7 days its going to keep on coming! Kind of crazy and awesome with all this snow, but it would be great to get at least a few runs of training… Today its however bluebird so I think its time head up and do some shredding before all the snow rolls in again!

/JON

Found this comment on the Rebellion and I thought I deserved a little comment from my side!

Why?

Just by upping the power and covering it with carbon does not make it a better car. It’s a performance race car now with nowhere to race.

I admire your skiing, blog etc but don’t get the car thing (i love cars too). You love and could no doubt afford most cars that you want so why the constant tuning? By a classic or race car and go racing. Doing 200 on a public road is: a, illegal and b, no real challenge, which amazes me for an ultra competitive guy that you are.

You are right that my life would be a lot easier if I was more normal and just liked to do what normal people do, either buy a race car and race it on a track, or buy a Porsche and just use it on the streets. But for some reason I love rebuilding cars and I do love long distance driving. I got good at skiing as I always wanted to push the limits, learn more and never be satisfied, the same goes for cars. For me its just as much about the build and imagining what could be done as it is about the final product. I just love laying awake at night dreaming about crazy things and then just setting a plan to make them a reality. The satisfaction of creating a sick jump is to me very similar to a car tune, you start out with a vison and the feeling of seeing them take shape if to me huge and one of the best thing in the world! Building the Rebellion has been a million head aches and I have hated big parts of it, but seeing it come together will be worth all that as it started as a vision in my head and here I am with car that came out of my head and out on the road! That to me is very similar to seing the first guys go over a kicker I built and realized that the vision I had in my head worked just as well in reality!

When it comes to why I build a car like this to be driven on the street during Gumball I guess its just because I am weird. An Audi Q7 disel would be a much better as a Gumball car as I am not in it for top speed, I am in it for the best navigation, good average and the fastest fuel stop, thats how you get to places fast, not by driving like an idiot as some people do. I drive enough to know that smart driving always beats craziness and to me thats important to point out. I drive the same all year around and sure its not slow, but if I was stupid I would be in truble every single day, which I am not. I guess driving the Rebellion on Gumball is like a final exam, if it can be driven 3000 miles in a week, its a working car and not just a nice piece of carbon to look at. Kind of like a jump, it does not matter how nicely shaped it is if the angles are slightly off. Total satisfaction only comes from perfection!

I really wish I had more time to spend on the track but I really dont have enough time to do so, so I guess I will keep building insane race cars with super performance and keep driving long distance in modest speeds, as that is just what I like doing, no matter how weird it is!

/JON

So I guess its time for another teaser! As you can see the body style is all new and the car is looking better than ever! A LOT better!

I also have more news for you!  This year the starting order will be decided on who will be able to collect the most money for the Gumball Charity Fund, as you know I love to start first but I cant do it alone!  I need your help. Since its going to a good cause I really hope you will help me get a good grid position on the rally! I will contribute 300 pounds myself as I think that is a great thing what they are doing so if you feel like helping out, just check out the live grid here at the Gumball 3000 site!

Hope you guys like what you see, this years really will be insane!

/JON