"Saf1" (safone)
09/13/2015 at 12:23 • Filed to: SUPERCAR, Lamborghini, Lambo, Diablo, VT, SV, Roadster, Countach, Urraco, Murcielago, LP 670-4, Aventador, Huracan, LP 700-4, TVR, GTR, McLaren, McLaren F1, 650S, F1 GTR, Ferrari, 355, 360, 25th Anniversary, Aston Martin | 7 | 6 |
GREAT variety of cars that day
With two of my favourite smaller Ferraris
Aston Martins
which were mostly the new, chubby variety, only making the sleek (DB7 Volante?) below look so so slender and beautiful
a few Japanese cars, sportsbikes, a few classics, and one of a very special car of automobile history...
THEN I SAW DESTINY ON A HILL
I hadn’t seen a Diablo in person in over a decade. Relatively, didn’t really appreciate the experience much as a kid, but since then I had grown to become seriously obsessed with it...so it was a VERY nervous walk up the little hill, I was steeling myself constantly and breathing strangely, never did an “inanimate” object put fear in me before!
YESSSS.... NOT ONE, OR TWO...
FIVE GLORIOUS YELLOW DIABLOS!!!!!!!!!
No words do justice to their magnificent presence, no picture appropriately conveys anything from the sheer size of these cars, from the waist-height to the TWO METRE rear width with lovely fat 335 rears to the little details in each car, with differences in so many areas, from the yellows (including legendary Lamborghini pearlescents (still no Giallo Corona tho...on!) to the vents to the diffusers to almost everything in the interiors etc...
From the teledial/monobloc whatever the name is wheels of the Roadster above to the above 3-piece OZ Racing split rim just above developed for the SV and used also for the GT (sadly not present that day), the MASSIVE wheels and brakes of the Huracan and especially the Aventador below, the Lambos were king of the rims! But that above design, is just perfect to me. While the big new Lambos can pull off big wheels, the look in general I hate on cars, and it’s great to see how right it used to be. Perfect size above, black spokes make it feel serious and the high-gloss aluminium rim is the right amount of flair without being tacky. Finish off with those rivets and you have the greatest wheel design ever. That’s what makes Diablos so special, bold design features everywhere but never feels gaudy (can’t help what customers do though, poor mods like the Tron-striping on an Aventador, orange in this case rather than the teal blue we’ve winced at online)
The Lambos absolutely stole the show that day for me, and would have for everyone else too if it weren’t for a certain Le Mans participant also attending...;) Unfortunately the Diablos were parked in the middle so I didn’t get to hear any of them run (they need warming up anyway before revving otherwise it runs rich and check engine light) as the outer cars had just started to leave when i had to. It was a noisy (when did that word start getting used negatively??) day with many passing “weekend cars” and show participants showing the depth of sounds these different cars all produce, you’d never ever hear even in well-recorded YT vids like Marchettino’s, but the loudest cars were the Huracans and Aventadors! Never thought my ear would ring from hearing a stock exhaust system, albeit on a supercar. But they crackled roared screamed and popped deafeningly as they furiously battled the rev limiter on their way out to an exalted life on the road!
Also many TVRs (I didn’t get pics of many cars that day), the variety was a great bonus, most cars I hadn’t seeI WAS THERE FOR THE LAMBOS
This is something I like about the kind of person who can get any car - chooses a Lambo, didn’t look at the newer ones very closely but the Diablos and LP670-4 above all had the delicious souvenirs of some high-speed hijinks, with that deep-set dirt where air passes like over the rear diffusers and ofcourse a mouth full of bugs see above :DDD Andthe Diablos were consistently the cars there that really looked they’d been driven hard for years
I didn’t like the Huracan online, but in person it’s actually a very big car (i thought it’d be Gallardo sized) and i do appreciate it quite a bit more now
Sitting in the cars was incredible, the sitting position is only that in name, your body’d be more vertical in a deckchair! Yea, your face is at arse-height in these cars see below XD Inside you are greeted by an efficiently designed interior, with simple but exciting shapes and touches, much carbonfibre in the newer ones and other model year-dependent features such as greatly increased rear visibility (it’s amazing how what seems like a few changes like bringing the rear window closer in made such a significant differences for that)
But here’s a car I’m pretty sure no one was expecting to see in person...
If you were shocked at the recent £10mil valuation of the F1, see above the Le-Mans participating F1 GTR, valued at £15mil...and it’s not even the most expensive F1 - the guy from Dovehousecars told me about the F1 GTR that won LM that would surely be worth atleast £20mil!!!
What’re these components above guys?? Found left of driver’s seat
It wasn’t actually cheeky of me to start a supercar article with a race car pic - the GTR has been converted and is street legal!
GATED SHIFTERS :))
a C6 and a Viper GTS (they’re quite special to see in England) with a “750 bhp” licence plate (the same guy owned a Diablo and was probably the friendliest stranger there)
Infact supercar owners have bad reps because of our own jealousies and projections i think, granted maybe those stereotypes you wouldn;t find attending in an “event for the others” but the owners I met were all friendly, patient, and quite accommodating! I sat in a silver Countach (not pictured) and learned an interesting thing about the car - Balboni said the cars (25th Anniv edition) were making close to 500hp but were underrated by Lambo as they knew when the Diablo came out in ‘90 it would initially make the same power!
:D one of my favourite pics from the event, the Mondial cementing its status as the outcast of Ferraris! All the other cars were grouped closely together across the venue, and here is the Mondial away, next to a Jazz, across the visitor carpark :P It left relatively early and I was thinking how the owner has the last laugh, a great sounding Ferrari that’s dirt cheap and probably less of a nightmare to own than its more powerful brothers and cousins of its time. (apart from the Countach)
Infact what is not widely known about Lamborghinis due to stereotyping/association is that they have exceptionally reliable engines relative to power output and overall build quality superior to most Italian cars (remember this company was founded when Ferruccio thought Enzo wasn’t engineering near what could be)
So I spent a lifetime lusting after pictures of these cars...that continues but I now have my own experiences (and am hoping to get a ride-along with a Diablo owner soon!!!) and at the very least my own pics and memories from a surreal and very special day :) Though even with the pics it’s hard to believe I spent even just a few hours with the DIABLO, MAN’S GREATEST CREATION.
More pics if anyone wants. Event @ Sharnbrook Hotel, Bedfordshire
Roundbadge
> Saf1
09/09/2015 at 21:52 | 1 |
Regarding your comment about our own projections about supercar owners...
At a show a few years ago, a fellow with a Countach had the car open and was happily chatting with anyone who’d approach. In the footwell of the passenger seat were a pile of Matchbox & Hot Wheels Lambos that he gave to any kids who’d approach. Seemed like a hell of a guy. I’ve met a few jerks, but most of the owners I’ve met at shows have been quite personable.
Saf1
> Roundbadge
09/10/2015 at 01:13 | 1 |
Wow!! I put that just below Lambo Batman :D That’s the meaning of wealth, to use it to spread joy and to share yours as much as poss :)
Jdrentarol
> Saf1
09/22/2015 at 09:32 | 1 |
Double D’s
Jdrentarol
> Saf1
09/22/2015 at 09:34 | 1 |
Radio controller, pretty sure, and the one on the bottom is a fire spray thing. It puts out the fire if there is one.
Saf1
> Jdrentarol
09/24/2015 at 03:35 | 0 |
When I read your reply I initially thought why would it be so massive, but I suppose it’s for range over Sarthe + reliability which F1s are very well-known for!
Saf1
> Jdrentarol
09/24/2015 at 03:37 | 0 |
FEEL THE D