THE big-block Barina has returned! Snagged last year by our intrepid host for $500, our SB Barina hides a girthy two-litre donk yanked from an Opel Calibra. Making 120hp at the front wheels, it has a serious power advantage over the factory 1.4-litre units.

Thanks to the broad international following these little machines have, Scotty’s first look at the car became one of our most-viewed videos on YouTube.

Watch next: Carnage: We race a Holden… Barina

The last time we featured the budget banger, the Carnage crew did some basic track preparation before hitting the Bryant Park circuit. Though the car had more than enough grunt to light up the tyres at any given time, floaty stock suspension hampered driver efforts.

This time around, Scotty decided to get serious in making the car handle and stop as it should, with some semblance of safety. High on the agenda were new shocks and springs, which dropped the front end and firmed up the ride considerably. With a small amount of fiddling, a disc brake-equipped rear axle from a later Barina replaced the existing drum set-up.

Should somebody – almost certainly Bubba – push the Barina a little too far around an intense corner, a rollcage and harness were added. Knowing that wild elevation changes and tall cars don’t mix, Kian shored up the thin floor to guarantee the harness will function as it should in a pinch.

With $2000 worth of race parts dumped into the car, it was time to return to Haunted Hills in pursuit of faster times.

But in classic Carnage fashion, it just wasn’t to be. Check out the episode to see what went wrong!

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