The cars and bikes thread!

[crownpuller]

I would rather host a convention of VW owners.

Count me in. ... though getting to you will take a bit of planning.

[crownpuller]

Oh yes, the B6. I misremembered earlier, the B6 was the same in Europe as it was here, it was the following generation that split. I was always a fan of the B6 design, very handsome car.

I was actually looking for a Volvo V70 when I happened upon this one, and like you say, better looking and of course it's blue (always a winner for me); Volvo colour options are drab at best.

[geoffbot]

Mine?

Trust me, after a week of listening to these overcompensating rich dudes rev their first gears at stop lights, I would rather host a convention of VW owners.

Aww don't be salty! I know you could probably afford a supercar, but choose not to, but if I could I would, and I wouldn't be overcompensating for anything (trust me on that one bro ) I just love cars

[Raza]

Meanwhile in Sussex.... Attachment 124468

One of only 60 ever made corsa convertibles

Way rarer than any of your lambos or ferraris rob

That one Ferrari was out of 36.

[Henry Krinkle]

Mine?

Trust me, after a week of listening to these overcompensating rich dudes rev their first gears at stop lights, I would rather host a convention of VW owners.

As a guy who knows ALL the vintage Vee Dub owners here, they are definitely more fun than your average supercar owner. Not necessarily less precious, but more fun.

[skywatch]

Well, Mrs. Skywatch convinced me to brave the traffic to the "Exotics on Broadway" event this afternoon, and then to the North American Ferrari Owners Association party nearby. The Exotics was a massive event with over 50,000 people attending. We walked two kilometers after parking, just to get to the shuttle to take us to the event. At the entrance to the event, they were taking people on rides in McLarens with backfires that had me wishing for earplugs. Pagani was sponsoring the event this year, and I think there may have been more Huayras in one place than the value of several nations' GNP. I was getting totally bored with McLarens, Ferraris, Porches, Paganis, Lamborghinis. I mean, for heavens' sake, what I am supposed to purchase to impress the ultra-rich? I decided maybe Koenigsegg would be my choice, because I'm a bit funky like that. But really, I would probably go vintage, like the cool Maserati we saw at the Ferrari collectors club (don't ask - I don't know.)

A typical scene from the street:



One of several stunt doubles for the James Bond Aston Martin, complete with smoke, fake guns, bullet screen and tire shredders





Here's a modern, less fictionally lethal Aston Martin. I like the lines.



A more racy green Aston



Bugatti looks muscular



New company advertising - I never heard of Drako



How many Dodge Vipers are there? This wasn't part of the show, just in the back when we were trying to escape the crowds.



Ford showed up in deep purple



I will post more photos in the next post

[skywatch]

Koenigsegg feels a bit special. A single owner with a vision, handmade cars. Bespoke from start to finish.







Lamborghini used to sound like the most advanced in my teenage fantasy, but they seemed a bit conservative in this extreme context.





Maserati rarely disappoints



McLarens were everywhere. I like the lines but didn't appreciate the backfire noises





I think this is also a McLaren, but a bit different to say the least



I would be happy to drive this Mercedes



More coming

[skywatch]

Almost done with the Exotic Show. Pagani was head sponsor this year. I only learned about the company a couple years ago. Most impressed by the quality of the details and interior finish. Nothing left un-lux. All lux, all the way through. No compromise, but why would you compromise at $4M a piece?







Porsche seemed at a disadvantage, lovely nevertheless; but their exotics were probably available for purchase without waiting three years.



But we mustn't forget the luxury land yachts, built for something other than speed.



Where do I veer in these these muscular temptations? I found myself attracted to this vintage Porsche parked nearby.



So, on our way back south to Carmel from the more gritty town of Seaside, away from the throngs of exotic car enthusiasts, we stopped off at the mellow and cordial annual gathering of the Ferrari Owners Club of North America. Notable at the first parking spot, I think this old Maserati lands in my top five favorite cars of the day. I enjoyed that they offered it a place of honor in their event.



I confess, if I were to ponder the idea of ever owning a Ferrari, it would be this model:



I took this photo just for Raza, who has made his feelings about red Ferraris quite clear. Sorry, I couldn't find a lineup of yellow.



One of my favorites, the tiny Dino. Such a treat.



More next.

[skywatch]

Last of the Ferrari report. A rather special vintage race car.



Even Ferrari makes a plug-in hybrid now. When they started the engine, it sounded very Ferrarish, not humming at all.



Rear engine go vroom



It's a really pretty convertible



Certain decades were not kind to designers. Even Ferrari makes ugly cars sometimes.



And (to my eyes at least) I don't think this rear end stands the test of time.



OK - Tomorrow we spend the day at the official Concours d'Elegance. I might need an extra day to compile photos to show. Maybe you'll all be sick of this by that time.

[Raza]

Awesome pictures!!!

Though I echo your sentiment; modern super cars, only affordable to the people who could never even hope to crack 10% of the car’s potential, do get properly boring after a while. Especially as they’re all essentially the same. They all sort of have similar looks, they’re mostly mid-engine, usually a V8, sometimes a V10 or V12, and now, increasingly, hybrid or electric (which makes them even more boring), with an automatic transmission, so the owners get paddles that make them feel like race drivers when they’re pootling around town in automatic mode looking for their next ex-trophy wife. I could see myself indulging in one of those monsters, had I the means, but, again, it is the vintage ones that appeal to me much more.

https://youtu.be/fPS02EFgdfE

Yes, I know, it’s a guilty pleasure film, but I feel like his point stands even more now. And in Cage’s film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, he puts his money where his mouth is, driving a Ferrari 400i, which is, frankly, a very dated 80s-style wedge shape with sharp angles and isn’t very pretty at all, but it had an appeal as a more luxury-focused Ferrari. But you know exactly what I’m talking about—you photographed a white one and called it ugly. And I can’t say I disagree with that sentiment. At the very least, in the eyes of someone born after the car was designed and on the market, it does look very much not exotic—had you told me it was Volvo’s attempt at a luxury GT in the 80s, I’d probably have believed you.

Oh, and there have been a fair few Dodge Vipers made over the years. It’s funny, looking at them, you see now that the power wars were the problem. Partly in response to regulations making lighter cars less possible to make, the power got higher and higher. When the Viper hit the market, it was a car made in a shed that was brutally fast and simply brutal—it had a 400hp V10. 400hp. You can get that much or more in a Lexus now. But anyway, that particular Dodge Viper was only born a Viper, and was turned into a Hennessey Venom 650R. 650hp, 0-60 in 3.3 seconds, and 11.2 seconds in the quarter mile. Those are numbers that are still impressive today, only surpassed by cars with AWD and/or hybrid/EV powertrains. And, in 1999, this world-beating power was available for only $165,000, including the base Viper required for the transformation.

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/h...ey-venom-659r/

That very pretty convertible is a 360 Modena, or more precisely, the Spider version. It was a radical departure from the 355 that came before it (which was, at least visually, only a minor change from its predecessor, the 348), when I first saw one, in a music video, I was enthralled. It was replaced by the 430, which I loved, and I think might have been the last properly pretty Ferrari. And, as I recall, the last mid-engine Ferrari to have a manual transmission option.

I’m loving the pics and the discussion! Keep it coming!