Car thread - which one?

[Jody]

Let's leave the money out of it (at least for now) but if you were going to buy a classic supercar (from my era), then which one do you reckon holds that classic shape and looks nicer?

I'm genuinely torn, they're both icons of my time.

It would be porsche for me as it's the most practical and the least LOOK AT MEEEEEE

[Jody]

I don't think the Countach was ever about the drive, or even the performance. It was all about the looks. And even if you didn't like driving it, I bet you looked really, really cool.

The father of a kid I was at school with had one back around 1976, allegedly the third one in the UK at the time. Got a few rides in it when his dad saw me walking between the villages where I lived in Cornwall. His collection included a DBS Vantage, Pantera, Gilburn, & Firebird.
He (Ernie Marshal) still has newer Lambos, lives in Micheal Foot's old gaff in Callinton & has a EE Lightning on the lawn.

In other news, I threw another bid at that F350. Also discovered it's far cheaper to insure than my ShitBox Accord.

I saw his yellow lambo several years ago. Reg Plate ERN1E

[Potter]

Pretty sure someone on here has/had an E60 Alpina saloon, the one with the weird swirly supercharger.

@rodbargee

Yep and I’m sure I remember at one point he was selling it for a very reasonable price.

[rodbargee]

ahh! that was me, I sold my B5 late summer last year went to a chap in bumfuck nowhere Norfolk fine machine was a real supercar 195 mph and over 500 BHP this was it just at the time of sale
I figured having had it for 8 years Id got the best out of it...it ran faultlessly and was the fastest thing i've ever owned on 4 wheels, bike fast it is.

oil free swirly supercharger gives a genuine 32 mpg at 80 on the motorway A B5 S recently sold for 45K at auction more than twice what I took for mine the s had an extra 30 BHP. Alpina always under stated the power output

[Mr. Dazzle]

bike fast it is.

I once followed an E63 AMG Estate, a very similar sort of car to this ^, across MK on my VFR750. Obviously not a super bike, but still reasonably fast and certainly faster than most cars! Coming out of roundabouts absolutely pinne up the redline in 2nd and 3rd gear the Merc was still pulling away.

The dog in the boot was probably laughing at me.

[rodbargee]

bike fast it is.

I once followed an E63 AMG Estate, a very similar sort of car to this ^, across MK on my VFR750. Obviously not a super bike, but still reasonably fast and certainly faster than most cars! Coming out of roundabouts absolutely pinne up the redline in 2nd and 3rd gear the Merc was still pulling away.

The dog in the boot was probably laughing at me.

It was quickest from 80 through till 200 ish, never went that quick myself but the journalists did, all the figures they quoted were achieved time and again 0-60 4.5 secs first gear had to be selected intentionally, it would set off in second normally. Off the mark was a violent affair hardly any time in 1st and you were changing gear as fast as you could. there are bargains out there but ou have to really check service history for correct oil filters quite often garages would fit ordinary seven series filters that starved the charger of oil then Boom £5K thankyou please

[rodbargee]

The only other super car I had time with was a Ferrari 430 Modena, thats a piece of kit, very quick and makes a real audio fuss about it. I suppose the servicing would be just as theatrical with huge bills. I did like it though, spent a day with it recording it for a film.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I had a little race with an AMG Merc in 2003, I was on a 2002 GSXR750, I was doing about 90ish when I caught up with him on a dual carriageway, rather than pulling into the left hand lane and letting me come past he tried to out accelerate me, he ran out of go at about 155mph and finally decided to pull into the left hand lane, I accelerated up to an indicated 175ish and kisses past him, tbh it was a bit dull, the GSXR was obviously quicker than the car.

[KungFooBob]

Most of the German stuff is restricted by gentleman's agreement to 155mph.

I've never got there. My BMW 330 hit 140 and felt like it was about to take off, my SL feels really planted at 140, but I'm too old to try and hit the limiter.

In the SL I can still have a conversation with the passenger with the roof down at 100mph. On my GS the intercom is barely audible above 80mph

I've see 180mph on amy auld Blade, but I reckon it was nearer 160mpg, if that. And 180mph on a ZX9R, which felt like 180mph!

[rodbargee]

Alpinas not limited! my zx12R wasnt either off the 200mph clock wouldn't go any faster, on the way back from the Millau bridge a lane each! never done it again,

[Potter]

I raced an F40 once on my SP1, we were neck and neck up to about 100mph and then he started to pull away, then my bottle went and I backed off at about 130mph.

It was spitting blue flames out of the back and smelled lovely.

Other than that I don't remember being impressed much by cars, I know a bloke in Denmark who has a very special Porsche and that is superbike type performance. He didn't let me drive it and it's very fast from the passenger seat but I got out thinking that I wouldn't have spent that sort of money on it, IIRC he had north of £500k in it.

An acquaintance has a Testarossa, it's not very fast* and it's a bit of a handful to drive, but it makes you feel very special to be sitting behind the wheel. Although I think you need to be of a certain age and have some sort of nostalgic attachment to it, my kids were genuinely perplexed why I was dancing around it like a loon and trying to convey how it made me feel when I drove it.

*When I say it's not very fast, it's obviously going to see off a Fiat Uno, but it's not very quick compared to lots of other stuff.
It's like when my old man kept going on about 350 Goldstars and how they'd beat anything on the road, and when I eventually had a go I moaned because my 350LC felt loads faster and I'd been expecting something so much more. IYSWIM.

[Potter]

Fast forward to about 50 seconds in....

[weeksy]

Fast forward to about 50 seconds in....

I think i must me slightly weird... i'd still rather have my Transit

[Mr. Dazzle]

I have a weird liking for cars with only one door mirror.

[Potter]

I think i must me slightly weird... i'd still rather have my Transit

Any of these old things really need an emotional connection or nostalgia, technology (and fashion) moved on and so objectively they're crap.

The BSA Goldstar was a perfect example, growing up that's all I heard about, my old man at race meetings would be trotting out that silly old line about how they were so amazing that they'd still beat anything on the road even now (this was the 1980's), but the truth is they were quite nasty to ride and not that fast compared to anything modern.

I remember being at Matlock one day and there was one parked up, we had to sit around and wait for the bloke to come back and ride off just so the old man could hear it go. He was genuine in his conviction, he really believed that it would still beat 99% of all bikes parked up there on the day, god bless him.

I had a similar notion about my 350LC, but quite soon after getting it (after not riding one for twenty years or so) I got right royally had off by the group I was riding with and they were on stuff like Fazer 600s, SV650 and ER6s - anyone on a superbike would have been in the next postcode

[weeksy]

I think i must me slightly weird... i'd still rather have my Transit

Any of these old things really need an emotional connection or nostalgia, technology (and fashion) moved on and so objectively they're crap.

I'd like to be like that about something in the world i really would... but i'm simply not. I guess the closest in terms of vehicles for me would be a 690 Duke. It's about the only thing i can say i'd have an emotional attachment to in that sort of context.

Outside of that though in a 'car' context, i'm just a no. But i'm not a 'driver' in the same way many people are, i don't care about handling, i don't care about performance, i don't care about looks. Hence why i love the Transit i guess, i'm all about the functionality.

Maybe i'm just dead inside

[KungFooBob]

Weeksy, what about a nice XR3i with pepper pots!

[weeksy]

Weeksy, what about a nice XR3i with pepper pots!

It'd be awesome for a day... i'd love to go back to my youth and try one again. But i honestly doubt i'd have any interest past that.

[Potter]

I'd like to be like that about something in the world i really would... but i'm simply not.

Psychologists will have a word to pigeonhole us into boxes, I don't know what they are, but maybe I'm a romantic or an emotional person, or something.

If it means something to me then I can sit for hours looking at a piece of art, probably days if I didn't need to eat, drink and sleep.
The 'art' could be my old TZR250, if I had it in my garage I could sit there for hours just looking at it, as well as it just being a nice thing to look at I'd be remembering all the good times I had on it, etc.

I saw a meme on FB and it was a picture of a bloke standing looking at his new car and it said something like "This bloke got home twenty mins ago with his new car and he's literally just been stood there looking at it and eating crisps since he got back"
That's definitely something I'd do.

In fact, every evening after dinner, even if it's chucking it down like it was last night, me and my wife go out to the front of our cottage and she smokes a cigarette whilst I stand there looking at the house and marvelling how beautiful it is and how happy and grateful I am to own it.

I don't know why, but some things are just metal, plastic, brick, etc, and some things are so much more.

[Count Steer]

I think i must me slightly weird... i'd still rather have my Transit

Any of these old things really need an emotional connection or nostalgia, technology (and fashion) moved on and so objectively they're crap.

I'd like to be like that about something in the world i really would... but i'm simply not. I guess the closest in terms of vehicles for me would be a 690 Duke. It's about the only thing i can say i'd have an emotional attachment to in that sort of context.

Outside of that though in a 'car' context, i'm just a no. But i'm not a 'driver' in the same way many people are, i don't care about handling, i don't care about performance, i don't care about looks. Hence why i love the Transit i guess, i'm all about the functionality.

Maybe i'm just dead inside

I had a card on the pinboard in the kitchen 'Lord protect me from that which I desire'.

Nostalgia and desire often don't survive reality*.

I've reached the stage where reliability, functionality and service costs have moved up the desirability charts.

* As Rita Hayworth said 'Men go to bed with Gilda, they wake up with me'.