ROAD TRIPS
/Today we took a rare day off and managed to get away from the workshop for a few hours. With no real plan we fired up the California, put the roof down and headed off to Sussex. Annoyingly we soon found ourselves having to slowly plod through the 50 mph variable speed limit which the M27 has become. I’m not sure if these new ‘smart’ motorways have been named correctly. We regularly travel to Dover and what used to be a trouble free journey now takes ages. Anyway, as we headed past Chichester we started to see signs for Goodwood which gave us an idea. Leaving the A27 we rumbled through the country lanes towards the circuit, passing Rolls Royce en route. As we pulled up outside the main gates we were met by two nice chaps in their distinctive white Goodwood overalls, made all the more famous by the excellent revival events. It turns out there was some sort of corporate media event on but as we had turned up in a nice shiny red car looking a million dollars we were allowed to park up and have a nose at what was going on. Lucky for us we had managed to gate crash a supercar media day with all the major players. With Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin and McLaren all represented it was amazing to see people stopping and taking photos of our car as it sat next the main straight. After having a cup of tea in the sunshine and watching a number of people with big smiles rag very expensive cars around the circuit we headed off on the next part of our journey. As we waited to pull out onto to the road a very nice orange McLaren pulled up next to us. Once again we found it strange to attract more attention as we puled away and the exhaust came into play. Its worth mentioning that Matt at Fastfit in Basingstoke does a great job with the exhaust and I would never have guessed that it was possible to get such a great sound out of an aging Z3. After thirty minutes we found ourselves slowly cruising along Brighton seafront and onto Madeira Drive. As we drifted along I was suddenly aware of a scooter right up behind us, weaving left to right. As we both turned around to see what was going on the rider, who was a very happy Italian man said “OH MY GARLIC, I LOVE YOUR CAR”. He continued on behind us for a few minutes videoing with his head cam as he did. We didn’t have ages to spent on the cost before heading back to reality so a quick burger in the American Diner and we were on the road again. I have to say where ever we go in the car it attracts attention and I know it is just a tribute to the 60’s but it feels like you are driving something very special. The sun catches the bright red paint, and sparkles off the chrome door handles and hinges and the sound when you come to a stop turns heads where ever you go. We have also recently had the time and finances to complete the interior so the new leather looks and smells great. At this point I will mention Autotrim in Reading. Paul does a great job and just gets on with what ever we throw at him. With the Summer on its way and the days getting longer I think there will be plenty of days out and some excellent photo opportunities.
Goodwood in the sunshine
Surprising how many pairs of boots and bags one lady can get into the boot.
My apologies for any grammar or spelling mistakes, it’s all been a bit of a rush