"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
05/30/2016 at 20:30 • Filed to: GUMBALL 3000
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"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
05/30/2016 at 20:30 • Filed to: GUMBALL 3000 | 4
| 5 |
F40, Countach, F355, Oh My!
May 14, 2015 turned out one of the best good luck/right place/right time/right gear days of my life, when I stumbled on the start of the Gumball 3000 completely unplanned in London. You can say what you want about the ethics of the race and the kind of people who drive it, but the starting line always packs some rare cars worth seeing.
At the time, I was living in a small flat off of Goswell Road in east-central London. It was a gorgeous Saturday morning, and I didn’t have much to do. Most of my friends were either still in bed hungover or studying for final exams. I was going to be moving back to the US in a week, so I decided to take advantage of the situation and grabbed my trusty Canon PowerShot S500 digital camera (this was a few years before cell phone cameras were anything more than a novelty) and headed out alone.
My plan was to head due south towards St. Paul’s Cathedral and get some snaps along the Thames down by the Millennium Bridge. About two blocks down the road, however, I ran into a friend of mine at the corner of Old Street and Goswell Road. He had also been out wandering around solo, and was headed back to our flat block. He decided to tag along with me instead, and asked if I had heard of some “big car race thing going on in Trafalgar Square.” I had no idea what the Gumball 3000 was at the time, or that it was what was happening. I hesitated a bit at the 45 minute walk from EC1 over to Westminster, but I had a camera and there were going to be cars. So off we went, and cars we did see! Without further ado, here are the highlights. Remember this was just over 11 years ago, so many of these vehicles that look a bit dated now were brand new.
DB9. In 2005 this was still a new design, and this was the first one I had seen. Of course we are all used to these now, and production is just ending on these now to make way for the DB10. I still think it is gorgeous, especially in this color.
Owners had a bit of a laugh pretending this was a Bond car.
Lotus 7 replica. I think this one is a Caterham Super 7. Probably the gutsiest car to do the whole 3000 in.
F430. Was a fresh design then. I thought these were odd when they debuted, but at least from the front I think the design as aged well.
Here’s a Ferrari motor... at first I thought this was the F430 above, but clearly it is some sort of spyder. Not sure exactly which model, though I think it might be a F430 Spyder. There were enough Ferrari’s that I didn’t get a chance to photograph all of them in my attempt to make sure I got to see some of the rarer metal.
This Gallardo was the first I had seen even though the car had been out for a few years at that point. The part of London I lived in was silly with Ferraris and Bentleys, but I actually see more Lamborghini’s here in Texas than I did in the UK.
The RX330 is nothing too special (besides being a bit out of place in London. But the pink was something else.
Mmmmmm.... early one-mirror RHD Testarossa.
Tank. Pretty sure this was just a British Army promotional stunt.
Zonda! Still the only one I’ve seen in person. This thing had one of the biggest crowds, so I didn’t get the best shot.
More F40.
Even moooaaaarrrr F40... hnnnnngggg intercoolers....
Ferrari details are the best.
Fenomenon Stratos
Stratos from the rear. This thing ran and had a registration. Not sure if it ran the whole 3000 or not. I have heard there was only one of these made, but I have also seen photos with an Alitalia livery and GB registration. I don’t know if that is the same car or not.
550 LM with a General Lee livery... I’ve read that this is Maximilian Cooper’s car.
Remember when McLaren was working with Mercedes and not building their own cars? This was one of a couple SLR’s at the start.
SLR lights... always loved these.
SLR front.
SLR waves hi! And what is that behind it...
...Hnnnnnnnnggggg Enzo. I know a lot of people complain that these aren’t pretty, but I think most of them probably haven’t seen it in person. This car is truly a thing to behold on the flesh.
Those hips...
...dat ass...
...dat V12!
Yarrrrr!
There was more American Iron than I was expecting for something in Europe.
In an era before Cars and Coffee, Mustang GT’s were docile. Although the crowd was thick, this one did not injure anybody. I’d also like to point out that the S197 came out while I was living in the UK, so while they were probably everywhere back in the States by May 2005, this was the first I had ever seen - and a Roush to boot.
This GTO team really got into the whole theme thing.
Complete with Texas plates for maximum ‘Murica.
Pretty sure that’s a Lambo dude...
ZOMG 288 GTO! I don’t think I need to explain to anywhere here how important/rare this is.
Brap brap!
I think this is a Farboud GT. I remember thinking it was odd enough to take a picture of. I’ve never seen another one and still don’t really know anything about these.
Although it isn’t as eye-catching as most of the vehicles on the grid, this Bristol 411 is actually an incredibly rare car.
Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag.
Yep, I could spend 3,000 miles in there! (Provided it didn’t break down.)
I just like the color scheme on this Esprit. Also, the wings on this don’t look like a typical Esprit. Not sure if it is custom or just late production - I think this was around a 1990 model.
The crazy yellow/white color scheme...
...continues on the inside.
Noble M400 with built-in picnic table.
This Dakar Land Rover was a bit out of place, but very cool to see.
Complete with spares. I’m assuming this was more of a rolling ad than serious entry.
No idea what was up with the mini trike on top of this 911, but I dig it.
Another Noble.
Holy crap LM002!!!
Of course it has Monaco plates.
The detail is great on these. Oh and there is a 7.2L V12 lurking within!
Countach!
Gallardo V10.
I got as many snaps as I could in the hour or so before the start of the rally. I tried to get a few as the cars left, but the crowd was pretty thick. It was great just to hear all of these exotics that you so rarely even get to see parked revving to the redline before heading out.
Good lord the sound this Carrera GT made. It still haunts me.
And they’re off!
Hey Opposaurs... Allroad!
The SLR waves to the crowd.
Mmmmm F40 again.
Last, the tank rolled by and that was it.
We caught up with the tank taking all of the promotional stickers off after the racers headed off. Obviously it wasn’t going to driving 3,000 miles on public roads. The friend who suggested walking across town for this gives a thumbs up (face cropped out to protect the innocent).
And with that it was back to my dull student existence. A few blocks before home, I paused for this - although I don’t care much for the Barbican in general, I did always like interplay between the shadows and highlights when the sun it it right.
petebmwm
> FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/30/2016 at 20:57 |
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Trike looks like a Sinclair c5
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FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
> petebmwm
05/30/2016 at 21:12 |
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Yep. I have never heard of this before. Thanks!
godblessE39
> FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/30/2016 at 21:37 |
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I still love the earlier years of Gumball. It seems there were more classics actually participating in those years as opposed to now. A 288 GTO...dear god.
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FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
> godblessE39
05/30/2016 at 21:48 |
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Yeah it’s crazy to think how valuable some of those cars out there running the earlier Gumballs were.
Also +1 for the Archer avatar.
The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
> FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/30/2016 at 22:16 |
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That Lotus Esprit appears be to a S4 Esprit.