Supercar Driver Magazine Issue 42 by Supercar Driver

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Copyright ® Supercar Driver Limited, Unit 1 Meadowhall Riverside, Meadowhall Road, Sheffield, S9 1BW. All photographs, advertisements and editorial content has been used with permission of the owners and may not be copied, duplicated or reused without written permission. Magazine created and edited for and on behalf of Supercar Driver Limited. Content including words and photographs remains copyright of the original author/photographer and used with permission. Prices and information will be correct at time of printing.

THE TEAM Adam Thorby Founder

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Luke Earnshaw Creative & Online

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Media & Photographer

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Natasha Holland Accounts

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Jonty Wydell Tours

Summer is on the horizon, but it’s been a busy winter and this issue is full to the brim with features and memories from the first quarter of 2022. We catch up with partners and friends both new and old, including a track day with Johnny Herbert thanks to DTO Motorsport, Ignition GP bring the noisy days of ‘90s F1 back to the masses, and five SCD members share their stories of ownership, from a stripped-back Ariel Nomad to a one-off MSO McLaren 600LT. And in case you missed that sea of red on the cover, this issue’s main feature comes from our Corsa Cavallino tour, which saw an jaw-dropping group of Maranello’s finest echoing through the sundrenched French Riviera to celebrate 75 years of the Ferrari prancing horse.

jonty@supercar-driver.com

IN THIS EDITION Tom Jaconelli

Director at Romans International

Tom@romansinternational.com

A reason to drive A reason to explore A reason to socialise A reason to visit

Matt Cowley Suspension Secrets

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V Engineering

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Believe the Hype - Romans International 125 Years of Berry’s Jewellers

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FOUR DAYS OF FERRARI HEAVEN ON THE FRENCH RIVEIRA

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Tom Jaconelli of Romans International discusses the ups and downs of the elusive hypercar market over the last few years. Written by: Tom Jaconelli

Whilst hypercars will remain a distant dream for many, as a petrolhead, you can't help but be intrigued by their market and enjoy the increasing amount of opportunities to get up close and personal with them. For those that can afford one, you’re in an exclusive club, but with today's and yesterday's era of hypercars becoming increasingly collectable, there is more money flowing into the market than ever before. We have seen some remarkable movements in values in a short space of time, and with an electric future, collectability and values look set to keep increasing. It’s no secret that the entire market has seen increasing values over this past year or so, with Covid, Brexit, chip shortages and most recently factory closures in Ukraine wreaking havoc on new car sales. What we hadn't seen though, was how the collector’s market and hypercar values were being affected, which by their very limited nature, tend not to be impacted by new car supply issues.

The noteworthy shift in desirability for the more analogue driving experiences has been for all to see, resulting in the likes of F40s, F50s and Carrera GTs seeing substantial surges in value. The notion that ‘they don't make ‘em how they used to’ is carrying more weight than ever, and whilst rarity remains incredibly important, the love and cult following of how particular cars look, drive and sound can reach even further.

The UK market doesn't appear to have quite hit the heights of the US market which has been going crazy, but we've seen some important milestones with the CGT finally becoming a £1m car, the F40 becoming a £2m car and the F50 becoming a £3m car. Whilst these prices are reserved for the very best examples, those are some big swings from where these cars were just a few years ago.

What we are also starting to see now though is an uplift across the newer generation of hypercars which, let’s remember, feature far more advanced technology, often carry more usability and have suddenly started to look good value against the previous generations. Prices for the LaFerrari seemed to peak back in 2017 before coming down quite sharply and then remained stagnant for the last few years. The new addition of a purchasable two-year Ferrari warranty has alleviated some of the concerns about battery costs so we’ve seen a boost in interest and prices are back on the climb. The 918 Spyder is rarer than a CGT, more versatile, faster and some may argue better looking. These now look like good value against a CGT and are starting to have a second wind in the market with prices steadily climbing. What can be said for the sleeping giant, the Bugatti Veyron? This is the car that rewrote history more than any other car in the last 20 years. With the Bugatti Chiron now said to be sold out and the new partnership with Rimac confirming that all future Bugattis will be heavily electrified, you wonder how the Bugatti Veyron has stayed stuck whilst so many of its competitors have surpassed it in value. Some will point to the maintenance costs and the £15k service bills, the expensive tyres, and if you want a warranty, it's currently an eye-watering £133k for two years, although that does also include two services! Some may point to the lack of tasteful specifications available, but its time must surely come sooner rather than later. What about the next generation? We've seen how difficult it can be to build and launch a hypercar successfully. Both the Aston Martin Valkyrie and the Mercedes-AMG One were meant to be on the road years ago and both have had struggles in production. It makes it all the more impressive what the likes of Ferrari, Porsche and Mclaren have done over the years,

and let’s not forget Pagani and Koenigsegg. The Zonda has arguably become the most valuable hypercar of all, and in some ways is this millennium's McLaren F1. Koenigsegg may have its critics but it continues to push the boundaries of capability and consistently amazes. The one we are most excited about though is the GMA T50. With only 100 examples built worldwide which were all sold out immediately, Gordon Murray’s pet project with a naturallyaspirated V12 and six-speed manual gearbox might just turn out to be the latest generation’s finest hypercar of all.

With a growing amount of collectors and investors in the market and a sense that we are at the end of an era, you can't help but think that the smart money is on this trend of rising values continuing. The bad news is your dream car might become further out of reach, but we can all remain fans and I know just the place where you’re likely going to see more hypercars in one day than anywhere else in the world. It’s a bit of a secret though, but I’m pretty sure you’re all invited, see you in July!

Working together with the world’s most exclusive brands

125 YEARS OF

Luxury Jewellers Berry’s celebrates their 125th year. Written by: Berry’s Jewellers

Founded in 1897, Berry’s is an independent and family-owned top-quality luxury jeweller with particular expertise in fine watches and diamonds, with stores and boutiques across the UK. This year, Berry’s is celebrating a milestone anniversary as it reaches its 125th year in business. To celebrate this milestone, Berry’s will launch an exclusive jewellery collection in May, alongside a number of store openings, events and partnerships. In addition, Berry’s is working with world-renowned watch brands to unveil a range of limited-edition watches, available through the anniversary year only. A widely respected name in the industry, Berry’s has longestablished roots in Yorkshire, with Mr Abe Berens opening the first store in Scarborough in 1897. Further stores in Southport and Leeds then followed, and since then, the family business has enjoyed huge national success.

Berens’ daughter Jeanne took over the business after her father, and it then passed to her son-in-law Jeffrey Walton. Jeffrey, his son Simon and grandson Oliver have been continuing to expand and develop the business ever since, now boasting stores in Leeds,

Newcastle, York, Hull, Nottingham and Windsor, with plans for further growth this year. As well as partnerships with major watch and jewellery designers including Patek Philippe, Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Tudor, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Bulgari plus dedicated Omega and Breitling boutiques, Berry’s own jewellery portfolio features stylish and elegant designs by its team of specialists with an exquisite range of engagement rings, wedding rings, earrings and eternity rings. Simon Walton, Managing Director of Berry’s, commented on the milestone: “Berry’s 125th Anniversary is a time for celebration! We’re very excited to unveil our brand-new exclusive Anniversary Collection in the spring, with limited pieces available from our boutiques. The new collection has been crafted by our expert team of specialist designers to herald a five-generation family business. We’re planning a full year of celebrations with our employees and clients to mark this very important milestone in our heritage”.

As the biggest independent stockist of Patek Phillipe outside London, Berry’s delves into some of the most complicated models in the great brand’s recent history. As Geneva’s last independent family-owned watch manufacturer, Patek Philippe remains committed to the ambitions of Antoine Norbert de Patek and Jean Adrien Philippe, who vowed to develop and craft the world’s finest watches when the company was established in 1839. Patek Philippe is a full-fledged ‘manufacture’, meaning it develops and produces its movements and components using its own resources from start to finish. A benchmark in the world of watchmaking, Patek Philippe has also defined its own criteria, regarded as the strictest in the industry. The Patek Philippe Seal exceeds all other watch industry quality standards and applies to the finished watch as a whole, including the smooth operation of all features, the accuracy of the movements, as well as impeccable service provided throughout the entire lifespan of its products. 5270/1R-001

Keenly attentive to aesthetics, Patek Philippe has always regarded

its timekeeping instruments as works of art, exuding a refinement that reflects the perfection of the exquisite mechanical calibers beating inside. These are creations that find their way untouched through changing fashion trends while losing nothing of their quality, beauty and timeless appeal.

Patek Philippe currently offers a collection of over 150 different models that are crafted in small series — ranging from a dozen to several hundred units — and equipped with an extensive range of entirely in-house movements. From the mechanisms to the designs, watch enthusiasts the world over agree, the stringent requirements imposed throughout all phases of production, as well as the months of work invested in manufacturing and completion, are what makes every Patek Phillipe timepiece a rare and precious creation — a treasure greatly valued by connoisseurs.

5740/1G-001

In the domain of casual elegance, Patek Philippe established a strong position with a watch that has since gained cult status, the Nautilus. Launched in 1976 and sporting a unique style, the Nautilus has an octagonal bezel and a porthole-inspired design which gave this model its name. The first grand complication in the Nautilus collection was the 5740/1G-001 which showcases an analogue perpetual calendar, one of the manufacture’s most coveted classics since 1985. The calendar automatically recognises the number of days in each month, including the periodically recurring 29th of February.

In 2021, Patek Philippe introduced a totally new perpetual calendar with an innovative patented one-line display. The 5236P-001 displays the day, the date, and the month on a single line in an elongated aperture beneath 12 o'clock. To combine this unique feature with crisp legibility and high reliability, the designers developed a new self-winding movement for which three patent applications were filed. A panoramic aperture of this kind is not totally unprecedented in the manufacture’s collections, having already crafted pocket watches with an in-line calendar display for the American market, one example of such is on display at the Patek Philippe Museum — a pocket watch from 1972 (No. P-1450) that features a calendar format ‘à l’américaine’ (month, date, day). Never before though

5236P-001

has the manufacture introduced a wristwatch with a full calendar on a single line as exemplified by the 5236P-001.

To implement this masterpiece of miniaturisation, Patek Philippe had to overcome totally new technical challenges. To assure the largest possible calendar display on a single line with optimised legibility, the developers were asked to design a system with two date discs, one for the tens and one for the units, so the calendar display consists of four discs, one for the day, two for the date and one for the month, all four perfectly embedded in the same plane. A single date disc with 31 numerals would have been too small and less easily legible.

The chronograph has always played a leading role amid the vast repertoire of Patek Philippe complicated watches. Since 2005, the manufacture has confirmed this mastery by developing a complete range of chronograph movements, with or without additional functions, entirely designed and crafted in its workshops. In October last year, Patek Philippe expanded its vast selection of chronographs by unveiling three variations of the 5204, 5905 and 5930 models that illustrate its expertise in the field of complications, particularly in the measurement of short times. Inspired by a one-of-a-kind model from 1940, the self-winding WorldTime Chronograph Reference 5930P-001, combines two

functions: a self-winding flyback chronograph and World-Time, an iconic complication in the history of the Manufacture. The WorldTime function simultaneously displays the time in 24 time zones. When changing time zones, an exclusive patented mechanism enables correction of all displays by pressing the 10 o'clock pusher, without affecting the accuracy of the movement.

Launched in 2016 in a white gold version with a blue dial and matching strap, this new version has reinterpreted the 5930 in the brilliance of platinum with a green dial and strap. The names of the cities are printed in green on the corresponding disc, the green dial centre illustrates the mastery of fine craftsmanship skills with a circular hand-guilloched circular pattern. The applied hour-markers and the faceted Dauphine-type hands in white gold are highlighted by a luminescent coating ensuring good legibility in all circumstances. The entirely hand-polished platinum case is set with a diamond at 6 o’clock and features the ‘wing-type’ lugs typical of 1940s and 1950s WorldTime watches. Patek Philippe’s manifestation of ancestral artisanship is not reserved exclusively for one-of-akind pieces and limited editions. The Manufacture also perpetuates these skills in its everyday work, and with them decorates watch models from its current collection, like the manual engraving that enlivens the cases and dials of

watches such as the 5160/500G perpetual calendar.

This self-winding perpetual calendar with a retrograde date hand in an officer’s-style case is a Patek Philippe tribute to artisans who master rare handcrafts. The centre of the dial, the white-gold case, the hinged cover and the clasp are lavishly decorated with manually-executed engravings inspired by a pocket watch that belongs to the Patek Philippe Museum’s collection.

Looking to invest? Berry’s Jewellers advocate brands on their reputation, heritage and beliefs, and Patek Philippe mirrors that ethos perfectly. Because of this, their relationship with Patek Philippe has grown stronger and stronger since they first connected over 30 years ago, and Berry’s are now the biggest independent stockist of Patek Phillipe outside London.

5930P-001

With dedicated Patek Philippe areas within several of their stores, Berry's offers an enhanced experience when investing in the perfect timepiece, and their watch experts can advise you on how to commence your Patek Phillipe journey or add to your collection.

Contact Oliver Walton on WhatsApp +44 7469 246502 or email oliverwalton@berrysvictoriaquarter.co.uk

5160/500G-001

Our long-time friends and partners at Reep talk about the passion we all share and introduce themselves and their nationwide sites as SCD’s exclusive car care partner. Written by: Chris McDonald — Founder of Reep Automotive Group

You know the old Confucius saying, “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”? It’s a phrase that is sometimes used without much thought. It is however a phrase that could have been tailor-made for the team at Reep Automotive.

Without exception, we are all car people, whether that be classic cars, muscle cars, off-roaders, supercars or anything in between. We share your passion, we admire the flowing lines of an Aston Martin, the sound of a V10 at full chat, the experience of driving a Ferrari, the technology in F1 that eventually makes its way into the cars we drive on the road — win on Sunday, sell on Monday. Cars are not just a lump of metal. They are as close to a living being as can be, an emotive purchase that makes us feel alive. We love the way they sound, the way they smell on a summer’s day and the way they look in a reflection of a large window in Mayfair. Hands up those who check out the reflection of their cars in a shop window!

We clean them, we personalise them, we think about them, we turn around for a second look when we lock them and walk away, and if you don’t do that, you bought the wrong car. They are part of us; they have a way of connecting with us through our fingers, our feet, our ears, our noses, our backsides through the seat, and most of all, through our hearts. It’s only fitting that we should also protect them to ensure that they stay looking as good as they did when we first collected them from the showroom.

Cars are not just a lump of metal. They are as close to a living being as can be, an emotive purchase that makes us feel alive.

Passion is a word we often use across the whole of the Reep network, and it shows in all that we do. We train our staff to understand their role and help them to deliver a world-class finish, whether that be detailing a car or applying paint protection film, and we ensure that they have access to the best possible facilities, tools and products. Our partners share that passion too, helping us to understand new technology and deliver the best service to our clients.

We are proud of how far we have come; we have a nucleus of loyal clients, staff, partners and suppliers, and Supercar Driver is an organisation we have worked with for many years now. Reep and SCD share many characteristics; we love the lifestyle we have chosen linked to our passion, we love the relationships we have with the friends we work with, we enjoy meeting new people and we are absolutely aligned on being the best we can possibly be. That’s why we are the exclusive car care partner to you and SCD. We have also introduced Gtechniq to the club for 2022 which is an exciting development. They too partner with Reep and have done so for many years, helping us to achieve amazing results for our clients. Reep has a nationwide footprint now. It wasn’t easy to achieve that and we have had a few bumps along the way, which may be why no one else has managed to achieve the same thing! From Scotland to North Yorkshire, our flagship site in the Midlands and now two locations in Surrey, Bristol, and we have two partner locations in Hatfield and Fareham in Hampshire.

We have a super loyal client base and many of them are longstanding members of SCD. We also work with main dealer groups to ensure that the PPF and ceramic coating installation is completed prior to collection of the vehicle. We have the most comprehensive insurance coverage which has a higher annual premium than most of our competition turn over in a year because it is important that you are confident that we have you covered, and to the fullest extent. Our sites will also help you maintain that new car feeling wherever in the UK you may be.

2022 sees us sign a long-term agreement with SCD as their exclusive car care partner once more and we are excited by what the future may bring for all of us. We are happy to talk to you about your new car, your existing car or even other cars within your stable — we don’t just protect supercars! Our studios have been designed to welcome you for a chat too. We enjoy meeting you, whether you are new to us or you have been a Reep client for a long time, the kettle is always on. One thing you can be sure of is a warm welcome and an instant realisation that this is not just a job to us, it’s a passion, and we share that passion with you. 0800 048 5787

SCD@reepautomotivegroup.com www.reepautomotivegroup.com

WAY MORE THAN JUST VEHICLE STORAGE. WWW.HENRYSCARBARN.CO.UK

M c M ur t r y Au to m o t i v e Bringing a fan car into the 21st Century

We dive deep into racing history and fan car lore as Thomas Yates, McMurtry managing director, explains how and why McMurtry Automotive ended up making the most surprising car of 2021.

The fan cars of the 1970s were obviously a huge inspiration. We read about Jim Hall’s Chaparral 2J which raced in 1970 with a snowmobile engine powering fans lifted from a military tank...

In terms of overall size, it is similar to something like a Lotus 18, which of course was the fastest car in grand prix racing in its day. We really did fall for this period of motorsport, when the handbuilt British car ruled, governed only by first principles and raw daring! The Spéirling was also designed for grand prix circuits so many of the fundamentals which Colin Chapman, Gordon Murray, and Ken Tyrell pioneered in the 1960s and ‘70s still hold true today and apply perfectly to our little rebel.

TELL US MORE ABOUT THE FAN-POWERED ‘DOWNFORCE-ON-DEMAND’ SYSTEM, ITS LAYOUT AND PERFORMANCE BENEFITS.

FIRST THINGS FIRST, A QUESTION EVERYONE MUST ASK WHEN THEY SEE THE CAR IN THE FLESH. WHY IS IT SO SMALL?

It’s small because that makes it fast! When chasing the holy grail of outright track performance, you need high downforce and torque combined with low drag and weight. By having a small, single-seat car using fanpowered downforce, we didn't need to build a huge car, so can take advantage of the small footprint to make a light and slippery car, which also maximises top speed and range too. It’s a virtuous circle that the trailblazers of the golden era of motorsport would be proud of. The McMurtry Spéirling is executed with an F1 level of design engineering detail and the result is a bespoke car that is carving out a novel way to generate sustained high G forces and the accompanying lap time benefits.

It’s a sealed to the ground system akin to the Brabham BT46B F1 fan car system that dominated the Swedish GP in 1978 with Niki Lauda, and then got subsequently withdrawn (banned) due to having far superior performance compared to its rivals. The Spéirling has an intricate network of ducting and filters connecting through the body to the underfloor, and an ingenious composite skirt that kisses the ground to create this huge and constant downforce from standstill to over 200mph! The two actual downforce fans sit behind the driver and resonate through the bulkhead giving a unique undercurrent of excitement when they are spooled up. Honestly, it’s fantastic. It’s worth expanding on the fact that the fan system gives a permanent and significant level of downforce at all speeds, so minimum corner speeds are vastly enhanced compared to a passive downforce car, especially in low and medium-speed corners. This is where lots of lap time is earnt.

Then, the slippery body shape gives you further speed gains all the way to the next braking zone, where you get another performance benefit, as downforce is maintained whilst the car slows. Furthermore, traction is also greatly enhanced,

so you really can deploy all the instant torque from the electric motors without suffering wheel spin. In summary, the acceleration, braking and cornering are all extremely noteworthy — it’s game-changing.

WHERE DID THE FAN CAR IDEA COME FROM?

The fan car idea had actually been simmering with us for a while. We were asking ourselves, “What would motorsport be like without rules?”, and, “What cars would we have today if fans hadn’t been banned?”, even before we started this project, and Sir David McMurtry, our founder, had been keen on the idea of fanassisted downforce for a long time. Finally, it seemed like the right time to do it.

It all fell into place from there really. We knew from the outset that we would need an alternative to conventional aero devices, large wings, diffusers and the like, due to the size of the car, and this infamous technology could give us downforce that was independent of speed, that could even be created while the car was stationary. It would be perfect; how could we not try it?

The fan cars of the 1970s were obviously a huge inspiration. We read about Jim Hall’s Chaparral 2J which raced in 1970 with a snowmobile engine powering fans lifted from a military tank, and the previously mentioned Brabham BT46B. Both were incredible cars, and we are proud to be continuing their legacy and taking the fan car in a new direction.

A lot has changed in motorsport engineering in the 40-plus intervening years, new materials, manufacturing methods, analysis techniques and so on, so although we still faced some of the same challenges as our predecessors, their solutions are now a tad outdated. David and the team had some initial designs to get them going, but there was still a long and uncharted road ahead of us to bring the fan car into the 21st century.

Watch a world first “Fan car debut at Silverstone”

HOW ON EARTH DID YOU MAKE IT WORK?

Through a lot of hard work! We built a lot of prototypes of various parts of the system to try to work it all out, we towed skirt samples along behind cars on public roads, we built a trailer to test out various fan designs, and eventually, we installed a downforce system in an old ambulance. We drove the fan-bulance, as we called it, around race circuits such as Thruxton, swapping various prototype parts in and out, gathering data to take back and analyse, and baffling local paramedics. After seeing it staggering under the weight of downforce, we were pretty confident it held some sort of record at that point! Practical testing combined with advanced simulation led us towards the highly optimised design that we fitted to the Spéirling, and that version is amazing, hugely powerful, super compact, and as noisy as all hell! It truly is a oneof-a-kind car and packs incredible technology, there is nothing else out there like it. Where else can you find an electric hypercar that actually has enough grip to deploy all of its power and is light enough to give an agile and engaging driving experience and enough range to make it worth using?

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE WITH THE FANS RUNNING?

The fans change everything, it’s like night and day. The car squats right down and feels more planted, more stable, so driving faster just happens naturally. The downforce helps make the insane power of the car controllable so you can use more of it; it’s an even more exciting drive with the fans on. Obviously, the noise of the fans makes a huge difference to the driving and spectating experience as well, something you won’t get in many other electric cars. It really has to be experienced to be believed as it’s so different from anything else.

WHAT WERE THE MAIN CHALLENGES WITH THE REST OF THE CAR DESIGN?

The first challenge was fitting everything and the solo driver into this nostalgically small footprint! Some changes since those days have been welcome, in particular the safety advancements, so the Spéirling was designed to conform to the strict chassis regulations imposed on modern Le Mans prototypes to protect the driver. Further, we took care to ensure that the driver’s comfort did not suffer from the squeeze, designing the cockpit to easily fit drivers up to 6’7”. In

fact, many people have said that the interior is actually more spacious than they imagined. In the same vein, one serious challenge we took on was electrification. Although the natural choice in the 21st century for speed and excitement, the high-capacity electric powertrain had to be gently coaxed into the Spéirling’s historic proportions requiring a not small amount of ingenuity, and exacting its revenge in various technical headaches!

At the end of the day though, the Spéirling’s size has been a blessing. We were pushed to rethink every detail, draw up an all-new design and create bespoke components and assemblies for every system on the car, which has resulted in a unique and uncompromised marvel. The car is amazing on track, the driving experience is like no other, and its innate efficiency maximises the electric range. Although some grey hairs remain, the headaches were worth it!

RIGHT, LET’S CUT TO THE CHASE. HOW’S THE PERFORMANCE?

The target is to approach single lap pace on par with the pinnacle of motorsport and we are having a great time finding out. At our first visit

to Silverstone in March, we were making GT3 cars look like they were standing still and we outpaced an early 2000s Bentley Le Mans car, but our aspirations and projections are even beyond that.

As you may know, we launched the car at Goodwood Festival of Speed last year and went to a number of display events throughout the summer including the SCD Secret Meet at Donington Park and Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace. Autumn and winter were spent testing, ironing out early issues, and then starting to push the new systems. Now spring is here, we are looking forward to those epic sunny days on track that we all long for when we buy or build a track-capable car in order to develop the car and ourselves to get closer to the end goal.

We have been pleased with the performance so far at local circuits and proving grounds, and now the Spéirling is in the capable hands of ex-F1 driver Max Chilton, who came on board in February, we will be taking the Spéirling to the GP circuit at Silverstone more frequently to hone it in its natural habitat. We have high hopes of delivering some seriously futuristic performance.

FIRST DEREK BELL, NOW MAX CHILTON, HOW DID YOU GET THESE DRIVERS INVOLVED?

It’s great to have two household motorsport names from different generations on board with the programme, and it was fate that all our paths crossed. Derek actually went to the same school as me, although in somewhat different year groups, and we were introduced through a contact there. Working with him was really exciting, he was great fun to be around and had loads of stories from his Le Mans-winning days. He really helped us out. He’s a very busy man but we have got plans to get him back in the car later this year. We had a chance encounter with Max at Goodwood FoS last year. He was really interested in the project so we kept in contact. He came to a test later in the year to compare the Spéirling to his fresh Indy Car and Formula 1 driving experience, and I think it’s safe to say he was impressed with the car’s potential.

He became lead development driver a few months later and immediately got stuck in with the team. His recent racing experience in high-downforce Formulas makes him the perfect development driver for a vehicle like the Spéirling. It’s been great to have his input and we’ve made massive progress during each test with him so far, unlocking serious speed with every lap.

It’s worth saying that the beauty of an electric car with such power and downforce at the flick of a switch, is that by selecting different modes, the car can be dialled in for other drivers of differing experience than Max or Derek. The end product out of this will be a car that can be set up and controlled by a mere mortal who has reasonable track driving experience and is seeking a new dimension for their kicks and car collection.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR MCMURTRY?

First, we are developing this exclusive and eminently collectable world-beating track special to demonstrate our technology in its most extreme form. The Spéirling will be pursuing world records over the next two years in the UK and abroad, and after that, we will produce extremely compelling, compact highperformance road cars using the same cuttingedge engineering philosophy.

Interestingly, the narrow overall width of a McMurtry single-seater is an exciting prospect for a future road product, as you are suddenly given autonomy of where you will place your car within your lane of a beautiful B-road. It gives another facet to a spirited Sunday drive, crosscountry commute or track session.

Some say electric cars can’t be fun, but we aim to prove them wrong! Just ask Max or Derek! @mcmurtryautomotive

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OR CONTACT JANINE EDWARDS:

01676 530606 07785 295341 janine.edwards@sjpp.co.uk www.janineedwards.co.uk We work in conjunction with an extensive network of external growth advisers and SME specialists, such as Elephants Child, who have been carefully selected by St. James’s Place. The services provided by these specialists are separate and distinct to the services carried out by St. James’s Place and include advice on how to grow your business and prepare your business for sale. Janine Edwards Wealth Management Ltd is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products. The ‘St. James’s Place Partnership’ and the titles ‘Partner’ and ‘Partner Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.

YOUR ONE-STOP SHOP FOR PORSCHE TRACK TYRES, UPGRADES & CONSUMABLES Visit our website for more information

ark P n gto bert n i r n Do ny He ay. t a d ng John rack er i n r t d rk mo rt an ate Matt Pa a o im y: s nd orsp e ult ritten b e t p h W tt s Mo for t a M DTO h wit 33

I’ve written before that some emails from our noble leader Adam are more eagerly received than others. “Can you give this text a once over for grammar?”, hmm, go on then. “Can you interview this guy about his car collection?”, yeah, sounds interesting. “Are you interested in driving this for a video?”, you bet I am. Then there was the one that led to what you’re about to read about. “Do you fancy doing one of DTO Motorsport’s track days at Donington? You’ll drive a few cars with an instructor, go over your data and have hot laps with Johnny Herbert”. Yes Adam, I fancy that!

In their own words, DTO exists to provide the best motorsport driving experiences, driver training programmes and race coaching possible. Basically, you can experience their fleet of cars from a track-prepped BMW M140i to a McLaren 570 GT4 (we’ll touch on the rest of the lineup later), have a cracking time and improve yourself as a driver while you’re at it — sounds like a bit of me! DTO is offering these days at preferential rates for SCD members, but in case you don’t know what they’re all about, being the nice guy I am, I’m going to be the guinea pig for you. As the day approached, DTO’s events manager Georgie kept me in the loop with the running order and what I needed for the day — just myself and my driving licence, with a jacket strongly advised.

Driving licence and jacket packed, I headed for Donington bright and early to a warm greeting from Georgie. I reluctantly turned down her offer of a bacon sandwich with Colin Chapman’s mantra of lightness in mind. The next person I met was one I grew up watching in Formula 1, three-time race winner Johnny Herbert. I did see him at a distance about 10 years ago on a flight to Dubai for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, but I’m not sure that counts as a meeting! What a down-to-earth and friendly guy, he was super approachable and seemed to take a genuine interest in those of us gearing up for the day ahead. After a quick chat, the

troops were rounded and Johnny gave us an introduction to the day ahead followed by the usual safety briefing to make sure we were all comfortable and ready to go. We then chose our helmets complete with intercom and were introduced to our instructors. I was paired with Adam Smalley, 2021 Ginetta GT4 champion and winner of the 2022-2023 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Junior Driver award, so keep your eyes peeled for him in the Carrera Cup this year.

Knowing I was in good hands, we hit the track for some steady sighting laps in what would be our first car of the day, the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4, the recently released PDK version no less. These laps gave us chance to get further acquainted and make sure I was carving something like the right lines at sensible speeds before the real fun got underway. DTO has a team of engineers stationed in the pit lane for technical support, and they got me tightly harnessed into the GT4’s carbon bucket seats ready to head out. It was a very busy track with everyone eager to get plenty of laps in early, with an eclectic mix of everything from stripped-out Clios and MX5s to track-prepped M3s, an AMG GT R, 600LT and the usual smattering of Porsche GT cars.

My instructor Adam helped me use every bit of the track to get on the power early and eke out extra tenths wherever we could, and got me to try a little earlier turn in for Redgate at the end of the start-finish straight, carving a straighter line through the apex and keeping the car more settled. The intercom system is invaluable to be able to hear each other even at full chat, and by the end of

the 15-minute session, I felt totally at home.

The GT4 was everything you’d expect. Grip levels are mega with a slight tendency towards understeer if you chase the throttle too eagerly on corner exit, but that does help instil patience with your right foot as you unwind the steering and use all the track. It’s so approachable so it was the ideal car to start the day in, the standard steel brakes felt strong and dependable, and as a whole it felt as bombproof as you’d imagine. Once Adam had ran me through the data analysis from the session on the computers in the garage, I grabbed a snack from DTO’s all-you-can-eat stockpile and headed for a walk around the paddock before meeting Adam back in the pits for my second session in a somewhat familiar but totally new car, the BMW M2 CS Racing. I thought there might be some resemblance of my road-going M2, but once you’re inside, only the DCT gear selector remains. Other than that, this is an out-and-out racing car with serious bucket seats, a steering wheel and displays resembling a PlayStation game, plus it would be my first time driving on full slicks.

Heading out of the pits, the cold slicks gave me their first warning as the rears lit up at half throttle, but Adam assured me that they’d be good to go the following lap. My confidence grew as they warmed through but it’s interesting how long it took me to have real faith in them being so used to road tyres, and the other drivers I spoke to said the same. Have some faith though and the grip is incredible at both ends; you can bully it into corners and as soon as we touched the apex, Adam shouted “Go!”, and eventually my brain obeyed, getting later on the brakes and earlier on the throttle with every lap. I could have stayed out in the M2 all day getting faster and leaning on it more, plus it was just such an intoxicating drive with that racing car feeling and so much noise that I could hardly hear Adam over the intercom — it was a real rush. The analysis of this drive showed that I needed to be later and harder on the brakes, bleeding them off all the way to the apex then getting straight on the power as I had a second or so of dead time where I was neither accelerating nor braking on corner entry, so something to work on in the next session.

Said next session required a totally different driving style after learning to bully the M2 as we swapped a racing car on slicks for a 720bhp supercar on road tyres, a McLaren 720S Apex Collection. Adam said it’s faster than his Carrera Cup car in a straight line, and it’s all about getting it straight, feeding in the power and keeping the thing under control as you end up braking from such high speeds. Just as I was really getting into the groove of the 720, a Golf racing car lost it pretty spectacularly up ahead, doing a full 360 across the grass and covering the track in mud and gravel, so a red flag cut my fun short. When we got back to the pits though, the team said they would get me out in the 720 again after lunch to ensure I got the full time, so nothing lost.

Lunch was served in the DTO garage and was very nicely presented in neat boxes with branded bows. I imagine Jonty would call it “reyt posh”, with a lovely sandwich on a ciabatta roll, cheese and chutney, then a couple of little sweet treats and some token blueberries, because health of course.

The lunch break gave me chance to enjoy the simulator in the garage, not before Johnny Herbert set his time. Being of the gaming generation, I managed to just pip his time, but I’d later find out that the same wouldn’t apply in a real car!

Fed and watered, it was time for round two with the 720S after I was cut short by the pirouetting Golf, and I really gelled with the car on this run. You have to respect just how fast it is and be aware of the speed at which you approach braking zones, but I love how it communicates with you and rewards smooth inputs, plus the way it reels absolutely everything else in down the straights is astounding.

To finish off the day in true style, I was sincerely hoping my lunch had properly settled as I jumped in the passenger seat of a Ginetta G55 with Johnny Herbert at the wheel. Probably trying to make me nervous, he said it was his first time driving a Ginetta and that it was on road tyres, but you’d never believe it. The sheer amount of grip and his commitment through the turns of Donington made for such a thrill. There’s nothing quite like being on board with a proper racing driver, and what a name to say I’ve been out with! I can’t think of a better way to end my morning than being shown how it’s really done, and what a morning it was. I got to experience three very different driving styles in three very different cars, I improved my driving and met some great people too. The whole team at DTO and Johnny were all so accommodating, the day was well organised and you can really tell they’re petrolheads through and through. As I said my goodbyes, Georgie even offered me one final pick of the snack stash for the road. As ever with these things, I’d have loved a bit less traffic in front of me and more time behind the wheel, because I could have kept going all day. Thankfully, you can book a full day!

This day will live with me for a long time and Adam’s advice has made me super keen to hit the track again and put it to use, so whatever level you’re at, if you’re wanting to hone your driving skills in a friendly environment, or even just drive some different cars on track without risking your own pride and joy, I would highly recommend a day with DTO. In fact, if you fancy the coolest team-building day you can possibly imagine, they also run corporate focused events for companies of all sizes for some healthy workplace competition. Just make sure your lunch has settled for your hot laps!

DTO DRIVE (TRACK EXPERIENCES)

26th April Brands Hatch Indy 18th May Brands Hatch Indy 25th May Donington National 7th June Brands Hatch GP 14th June Donington National 15th June Donington National 20th June Goodwood 4th July Brands Hatch GP 13th July Spa Francorchamps, Belgium

T H E R AC E E D I T (1-2-1 DRIVER COACHING)

16th May Silverstone GP 29th May Silverstone National 8th June Silverstone GP 13th July Silverstone GP 22nd August Silverstone GP

CELEBRITY HOSTED EVENTS (TRACK EXPERIENCES)

Damon Hill 12th April Donington Park GP Karun Chandhok 10th May Donington National SCAN TO SAVE OUR CALENDAR

Damon Hill 18th July Brands Hatch GP (Drive & Dine) Johnny Herbert 17th August Goodwood (Drive & Dine) To book please email contact@dtomotorsport.com

D TO M OTO R S P O R T. C O M

F O L L OW U S O N I N S TA GRAM F O R G R E AT M O TO R S P ORT CONTENT

Golde

ianskeltonphotography.com

n Era We catch up with racing driver and co-founder of Ignition GP, Jonathan Kennard, to find out how they’re bringing back the Formula 1 cars of the ‘90s. Written by: Matt Parker

We all love them, they sound fantastic, V8s, V10s, V12s and we just thought it was a great idea to bring them back properly.

I’m sure many of you are like me and grew up watching ear-piercing V10 Formula 1 cars racing wheelto-wheel, driven by our heroes with Murray Walker screaming over the top of the action. For me, those were the days, and that’s something SCD director Adam and ex-F1 test driver, Jonathan Kennard agree with so passionately, they’ve made it the focus of a new and exciting partnership to bring back the iconic F1 cars of the ‘90s.

We caught up with Jonathan to find out more. “Ignition GP was started by Adam and I because we could see that there was a big demand for people to come and see ‘90s F1 cars, but it was really born out of a real passion for the era, the cars, the drivers, the teams and the stories”, he tells us. “My background is in racing. Going back a bit, I raced in Formula 3, competed in the GT1 World Championship for Lamborghini, I’ve done Le Mans twice, most recently in 2020, and I did a bit of testing for Williams in Formula

1 back in 2008 and 2009. So my background is the driving side, and over the past six or seven years, I’ve been driving a lot of historic cars as well and I think that is what has led me down the path to starting Ignition. Adam’s father was actually my engineer in Formula 3, so that’s quite a cool tie-up, and he was obviously surrounded by racing cars with his father when he was young so we have a real shared love of these cars.

“We thought it was a bit of a crying shame that the only demonstrations of these cars weren’t organised particularly well and it could be done better with a far wider reach to people who might not have seen these cars in period, to show a bit of a history of the sport to a new generation of fans. We all love them, they sound fantastic, V8s, V10s, V12s and we just thought it was a great idea to bring them back properly”.

Photo: Nick Dungan

Photo: Thomas Stoner

Photo: Nick Dungan The passion certainly isn’t lacking between Jonathan and Adam, but I want to find out what makes Ignition unique, and why they can raise the bar for historic Formula 1 displays. “We operate a community of Formula 1 car owners in a very similar way to how SCD operates with supercar owners. I don’t believe that has happened before, and the reason for doing it is that, all through lockdown, we knew that everyone was also missing the people, missing the banter and the social side as well. “After lockdown, it was like the first day back at school after the summer holidays. Everyone was so happy to see each other again, and we thought that’s what it’s all about, a mix of on-track events, off-track events and socials. So how does one become a member? Well, as you might imagine, the joining list is a little more strict than SCD’s! “You can become a member if you have a Formula 1 car, and once you become a member, you can opt into the four on-track events we

have which are Goodwood, Paul Ricard, Donington and Silverstone Classic, but in addition to that, you can also sign up to socials that might be Formula 1 factory tours or any other places around the UK that might be interesting to our members. That’s what we’re aiming for and I think that’s what makes us different”.

Jonathan mentioned the shared passion he and Adam have for this era of Formula 1, so what is it that really makes the ‘90s special for him? “I think it’s the stories that go behind it, it’s the characters like Nigel Mansell staggering onto the podium, you had Senna then Schumacher, and on top of that you had Murray Walker commentating. What more do you want? “It’s also how raw the racing was with the lack of driver aids, power steering and electronics. In 1992, they were starting with the active suspension and then in ’93 and ’94 with traction control although they shouldn’t have been, but other than that, it was just down to the driver.

...you could actually see the driver working the wheel and fighting with it — it felt like you were watching modern-day gladiators at work! “Obviously, we all want safety to be improved and that’s the right way to go, but the positive side of those cars was that you could actually see the driver working the wheel and fighting with it — it felt like you were watching modern-day gladiators at work! I completely respect the drivers of today; I’ve raced against quite a few of the current F1 drivers and think they’re some of the best there has ever been, but you want to see the drivers really working the wheel, and that’s what you got in the ‘90s”, Jonathan explains. Now, when people ask me what my favourite car I’ve driven is, I usually respond with three or four of them. For us petrolheads, choosing a favourite car is like a parent trying to choose a favourite child, and right enough, I asked Jonathan to tell me his favourite car that has attended an Ignition event, and he said, “There are probably four we’ve had so far that really stand out”, and the first happens to be my favourite from last year’s SCD Secret Meet, the 1993 Williams FW15C. “It’s easy to forget that is a 1993 car; it was so advanced for its time and it just wiped the floor with everything else. It had active suspension and even ABS, and then at the end of the year, they tried a CVT gearbox.

That car was a phenomenal achievement, and with Prost and Hill, no one could catch it. It was amazing to have that car on the grid at Donington for the SCD Secret Meet and we’ll be hoping to have it running again this year.

“Another favourite is the FW17 which is the 1995 Williams. It came second in the championship to Schumacher but it was still an absolutely stunning car designed by Adrian Newey. Then we’ve had a McLaren MP4/7 with a Honda V12 which was driven by Senna in 1992. That car is a work of art, and if you look at it up close, the attention to detail is unbelievable. The fourth car would be Schumacher’s 1999 Ferrari F399 which was a real honour to have, and that will be running later in the year too”. After such a roaring start, I’m keen to ask Jonathan what the future holds for Ignition. “We have the four on-track events and we’re probably going to keep it at that four, although we have had people approach us to see if we’d be interested in taking the cars to other events. It’s our first full year and we don’t want to run before we can walk, and they’re all really good events we have there.

“We’ve been delighted by the uptake of members so far, so we will keep plugging away and make sure that we’re delivering for those members who are signing up, that’s the key at the moment”.

So we know the men behind the venture and what they’re all about, but ultimately, we all just want to see the cars running, so how can we do that? “We’ve had a lot of members of the public saying this is just fantastic, how do we get to see it? The event at Goodwood is a Members Meeting so you have to be a member of Goodwood to get a ticket for that. Donington is the SCD Secret Meet, so members of SCD will be able to come and watch there. Paul Ricard is the Historic French GP so you can just buy a ticket through the event organisers if you’re in the south of France at that time, and then the Silverstone Classic is fully open to the public too”. I’m sure those of you who attended the Secret Meet last year loved seeing those cars and all the others as much as I did. Be sure to join us again at Donington this year and support Ignition at their other events too, because for me, there’s nothing quite like having memories of standing at Copse corner as a kid with my fingers in my ears revived by these incredible cars, so here’s hoping we see a lot more of Ignition GP going forward. ignitiongp.co.uk Photo: Thomas Stoner

@ignition.gp

Photo: Thomas Stoner

MEMBER’S CAR: LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO SE

In a world of paddleshifers and driving modes, SCD member Mark’s latest purchase has taken him back to the days of the gated manual supercar, and it looks like it’s here to stay.

What was your poster car growing up?

I never really had one poster car as I was into lots of cars, but the ones that spring to mind are the F40, F50 and Diablo. I remember these being my favourites in the ’90s, and then as I got older and passed my test in the late 2000s I was drawn more to the ‘attainable’ cars, like the 6.2 C63 and M3s of that era.

Tell us about your car history.

My first car was a 2007 Peugeot 207 1.4 petrol with 90hp which served me well before I upgraded to the 1.6 diesel version with 110hp!

The weirdest car I’ve owned would be a Smart Roadster that the previous owner had lowered, remapped and fitted a blow-off valve to. It made the most comical sounds from the tiny turbocharged 0.7-litre engine but was actually a ton of fun for very little money. You could drive that car flat out and only be doing 50mph — it was great.

My first sports car was a Mazda RX8. I had the six-speed 230hp model which had absolutely zero torque but revved to 9,000rpm so it was quite fun. It only lasted six months though before the engine blew. It got replaced under warranty but then I parted ways with the car. My 997.2 Carrera 4S is what gained me entry to SCD, but I don’t really see it as a supercar, so my first real supercar was a Lamborghini Gallardo LP570 Superleggera. I picked that up in July 2018 and owned it for just over 3 years covering about 7,500 miles. I don’t regret selling any cars as usually they’ve been replaced with something better. The only exception being my 6.2 C63 as I sold that and nothing replaced it. I simply had no need for it anymore, but I do miss that car at times with it’s epic 6.2 engine which you’ll be familiar with!

When did you join SCD?

I joined SCD in March 2018. I distinctly remember parking up at Wetherby services for an Oliver’s Mount drive and being amazed when not one, but three brand new Huracan Performantes rolled into the car park along with an Aventador S, numerous GT3 Porsches and a couple of V12 Astons. I had followed SCD for years before having a qualifying car, so to finally join was like I had achieved a goal. Being a member, you are always surrounded by incredible cars, so it makes you see what is possible. It serves as a lot of inspiration for me. I probably wouldn’t have purchased my first Lamborghini if I wasn’t an SCD member as it wouldn’t really have been on my radar. It’s also great to meet other petrolheads who share the same passion. I’ve met people in the club who I’d probably never cross paths with if it wasn’t for the cars.

My most memorable events would have to be the Secret Meets since the event was moved to Donington with the live track action. Each year they seem to get bigger and better and it’s really the highlight of the year for car events. I’m looking forward to the 2022 event!

Why did you sell the Superleggera?

I sold the Superleggera for a few reasons. First off, I’d had it three years so felt like I had done plenty with it and wanted a change. Also having purchased a Porsche 991 GT3, I felt like that car showed up all the flaws in the Superleggera. Whilst the Superleggera was an event to take out, when you compare it to something like a GT3 from a driving standpoint, the GT3 just does everything better from handling and even arguably the sound as the GT3s just sound amazing.

It’s not that the Superleggera is bad, it’s a great car, a ton of fun, but for me owning the GT3 took the shine off it a little. I ended up selling the Superleggera for a second-generation Audi R8 V10 Plus (2016 model) as I wanted something that was a supercar but more usable day to day.

I daily drove the R8 for three months before I got bored and started looking at Lamborghinis again. I didn’t regret selling the Lamborghini, but the Audi was definitely missing something that the Lambo had.

I’d love to do one of the Europe tours. I haven’t had the chance yet due to having two young children, but once they get a bit older I’ll definitely be looking into these events.

The Road To... What drew you to the Gallardo SE?

The 5.0 engine and manual gearbox are what drew me to it for sure. I also now prefer the Gen 1 looks over the later LP560 cars which is not something I would have thought a couple of years ago. There is something old school about it which I like. I considered a Gen 1 Superleggera but I really wanted it to be a manual and I’ve heard there are only 10 manual Gen 1 Superleggeras in the world, so finding one of those was probably highly unlikely and would no doubt have been a lot of money. The manuals do seem hard to come by but I think I got very lucky. I saw it on Auto Trader and recognised the car from a Collecting Cars auction, so I made an enquiry and we agreed on a sale pretty quickly. The car was for sale at a small garage down south. It was actually the owner’s car and he purchased it from the Collecting Cars auction a couple of years earlier. He loved the car but decided Lambos weren’t really his thing so decided to sell it again via his own garage.

Tell us about the spec.

The colour is Giallo Midas which is the same colour my LP570 Superleggera was. The car is the SE which is 1 of 250 cars, mine being car number 80. I know some of the options at the time were the introduction of a valved sports exhaust and split leather interior to match the exterior colour.

Other than that, I don’t really know of any options, the car is fairly basic which is a nice change to some of the modern stuff like my R8 where you are constantly adjusting modes to try and find the ‘perfect’ setup. In the Gallardo, you just get in and drive it.

The only modification is the exhaust system. I had a system custom made by Brooke Race Exhausts which is fully Inconel and incorporates a double X pipe design. The standard cats have also been removed and replaced with Inconel pipes as these are a weak point on the 5.0 and they can break up and get sucked back into the engine. It sounds amazing and is a one-of-one exhaust system on this car.

...I don’t really know of any options, the car is fairly basic which is a nice change to some of the modern stuff like my R8 where you are constantly adjusting modes to try and find the ‘perfect’ setup. In the Gallardo, you just get in and drive it.

What is it like to drive?

You’d expect the newer LP570 to be the nicer driving car and I certainly expected that but I’ve found the older 5.0 car to be a nicer driving experience and more compliant on the road too. It certainly helps having regular seats whereas the LP570 had the carbon bucket seats, but the suspension in the 5.0 car seems better damped as well for UK roads. The LP570 suspension was fairly hard and on a country road it would follow all the bumps, you were constantly fighting the wheel to keep it going straight, the 5.0 doesn’t seem to do that as much. It could just be in how the cars are set up but the older 5.0 I feel is a nicer driving car on the road.

The newer 5.2 V10 engine is a very distinctive engine I think because it’s been used in so many platforms over the last decade from the LP Gallardos and R8s right up to the latest Huracan, but the 5.0 is a much more special engine in my opinion. Video clips comparing the 5.0 and 5.2 will never do it justice. The 5.0 engine is even firing and the sound is more akin to that of a Carrera GT or LFA being higher pitched than what you find in an R8 or Huracan which is an odd firing engine. The LP570 is definitely the quicker car, but the 5.0 Gallardo is faster than I’d expected it to be. I think being a manual you get more of a sense of speed and upgrading the exhaust has given a noticeable performance gain. It’s certainly fast enough for UK roads, but not too fast that you can’t use all the power. I’ve had some good sounding cars over the last few years, but this 5.0 Gallardo with the custom exhaust is like nothing else.

The manual gearbox makes it so much more engaging and involving. I saw a YouTube video recently of a well known automotive YouTuber (Seen Through Glass) saying he thought the E-Gear suited the Superleggera better, but that’s from spending probably less than an hour driving it. When you have lived with the car, given the choice, I think you’d always choose the manual box. I certainly would anyway. The E-Gear is only really enjoyable when you are driving it flat out, which requires you to be in a certain mood since it’s so brutal. E-Gear certainly has character but it’s also very flawed, especially when you get used to driving cars with modern PDK gearboxes. The manual is a joy to drive and makes that satisfying sound when shifting. It also makes it feel a lot more special having a manual in a supercar which these days is such a rarity. The pedal box is quite tight, so you do have to think a little about what footwear you’ll drive it in. The 5.0 Gallardo being manual is the perfect contrast for me. I don’t find myself comparing it to the GT3 like I did with the LP570 as it’s so different and unique that you can’t compare them.

...For me it’s the 5.0 engine and the fact that it’s a manual car. Also, there’s nothing else like it that is remotely close in price.

What is it like to live with?

I’ve not had the car very long and it was away over Christmas for about five weeks getting the new exhaust system made so I’ve not had the chance to do that many miles. It’s a car for the weekend rather than using it day to day.

There have been no servicing costs yet but I have a good local specialist who will look after the car and looked after my LP570. The only costs have been some sensors that needed replacing when the old exhaust system came off the car. It is definitely more usable than the Superleggera which I mostly put down to the gearbox and the seats. The E-Gear is clunky and is not nice to drive slow, the manual you can drive it however you want and appreciate it more at slower speeds.

I’ve not had it long enough to comment on the reliability but the LP570 Superleggera was extremely reliable. I can only remember having two issues with that car, a faulty sensor that caused the engine management light to come on but didn’t affect performance and an oil pipe that had rubbed against something and broke, but apparently is a common thing. Apart from that it was bulletproof.

Anything you don’t like about it?

I am sure as I live with the car I’ll learn more about it, but at the moment nothing really stands out. The infotainment system is dreadful but also identical to that on the later LP570. I plan on upgrading this to a modern apple car play unit so it will make it more usable for longer drives and road trips.

Any plans with the car going forward?

If I can find a set of Gen 1 Superleggera wheels I would be tempted to put those on. Apart from that the exhaust was the only planned modification which I’m over the moon with.

It will be too loud for the majority of tracks and that’s not what I bought it for, but I will definitely be bringing it to plenty of SCD drives and meets.

Is it a keeper?

Yes. For me it’s the 5.0 engine and the fact that it’s a manual car. Also, there’s nothing else like it that is remotely close in price. The only other even firing V10 in a manual I know of is a Carrera GT, and since these are probably close to 10 times the value of the Gallardo, it’s not something I’d be in the market for anytime soon! I haven’t bought it as an investment but I think it will inevitably go up in time, or at the very least hold its value. I believe the 5.0 engine is underappreciated as everyone seems to opt for the later 5.2 cars, but anyone who has driven both a 5.0 and 5.2 car knows how special the original 5.0 is. The manual should help the values as I believe they are not only better to drive but also more reliable than E-Gear cars. I’d like a manual GT3 such as a 991.2 however it’s quite nice having the PDK car since I now have the manual Gallardo. Aside from these two, there is not much else I’m interested in. The majority of new supercars don’t really do it for me, I’d rather have something a bit older before all the emissions rules came into play. I think I need a V12 next!

You seem to like NA engines. What are your thoughts on the future of the supercar?

I’ve not driven a lot of modern turbocharged cars to be honest, but I’m not a fan of the ones that try and disguise that they are even turbocharged. I’d much rather drive a turbo car that makes the turbocharger a feature. I think having some turbo sounds and a bit of lag is fun, but most of the time I’d prefer a naturally-aspirated engine. It seems to me that the only way manufacturers can make EVs exciting is to give them ridiculous power figures which quite frankly would be unusable on the road anyway. I’ve got zero interest in owning an EV sports or supercar.

I hope that manufacturers can put some more research into synthetic fuels so that we can keep on enjoying real engines in the future.

MEMBER’S CAR: MERCEDES-AMG GT BLACK SERIES

We catch up with SCD member Chris for an insight into owning the ultimate track-going Mercedes, the AMG GT Black Series. How did you get into cars?

I’ve loved cars since as far back as I can remember, so I guess it’s in my DNA. I couldn’t wait to get a motorbike, I couldn’t wait to learn to drive and it just went from there. I just loved mechanical things and I got my petrol fix from motorbikes before I could drive, but then as I started to drive, aspirations started to appear and my earliest desire and ambition with cars was to have a Cobra as I really got enchanted by the AC and Shelby stories.

I’ve always had that interest in the ‘60s Le Mans stories with Ferrari, Cobra and GT40, and I actually had a Cobra built many years ago, a DAX by Graham Goode Racing who did touring cars in the ‘80s, then I was fortunate enough in the late ‘90s to get one of the AC Cobra Mk IV Lightweights which I’ve had ever since.

Tell us more about your car history.

Well my first car was an Escort van! As for supercars, I guess it depends what you call a supercar. I suppose the first car I had that I thought was a bit of a supercar was back in the early ‘80s. I had a 1976 Corvette Stingray, and believe you me, that felt like a supercar in those days! It would be quite pedestrian now against today’s cars, but it was the first thing that really frightened me.

Shortly after that, I had an Escort Mexico which was a fabulous car, but the Corvette was really my first footstep into supercars, and not much turned heads like it or gave you a run for your money at the time.

In 2000, I got interested in racing and bought a Sunbeam Tiger to race. That grew and in 2004, 2005 and 2006, I raced in British GT in a Marcus and then bought a couple of historic racing cars — a Lola T70 and one of the two Tigers that raced at Le Mans in 1964. I got into historic racing and that was my fix on motoring for quite a few years. I had a couple of Astons and some other nice cars for daily use, but it wasn’t until recently that I really started looking at what was out there in terms of modern supercars. The first thing I bought getting back into this world was a Mercedes-AMG GT C, and that started the path to the Black Series. We had a history with Mercedes and I also have a 1957 300SL, and the guy at the local Mercedes dealer in Leicester was really interested in getting someone on the list for a Black Series, so he went to head office and put forward my case. They bought into the story of me having the 300SL and the racing history, I then got the opportunity to buy an AMG GT R Pro, and following that, the Black, and I have to say, it has lived up to every expectation. It is a quite incredible piece of engineering.

Tell us about the speccing process.

They announced very quickly and very fairly who was going to get cars and it was a very good process, you were always kept in the loop. They had a few problems with delivery because of Covid with supply and transport issues, but it wasn’t a huge delay, so I think from being accepted to taking delivery of the car was probably nine months.

Colour was easy. When the launch photos came out of the car in AMG Magma Beam Orange, it was a done deal, nothing to even consider. And that’s really the only choice you have, colour and whether you want it more track-orientated with the roll cage. For me, I definitely wanted a trackfocused car and I definitely wanted the launch colour. There’s not a lot to think about, the car pretty much comes as it comes.

What is it like to drive?

I took it to Silverstone on a track day, before it was properly run in so I just self-limited the revs, because straight-line speed isn’t what it’s all about on a race track, the thrill on a track is from the braking, the cornering and the grip, so it didn’t really take anything away from that, and it was enough to completely understand the car.

It was so quick and easy to get to grips with because it does exactly what you would expect it to every single time. Working out braking distances, turn-in points and grip levels didn’t take long at all because the car is just so positive. It’s an incredibly well-balanced and well-sorted car, and there aren’t many cars you’d get in and have that level of confidence so quickly.

There’s some criticism of the sound and I say it is what it is. We’re all moving on into a different world and we’re going to have to get used to it. If you think back to Formula 1 five or six years ago, your ears used to bleed, now look where we are and it’s become acceptable. I know some people change the exhausts and things like that, but I think when you buy something as special as this, there’s always a very good reason for all the things the engineers have done and have had to do, so I’m always very reluctant to start making changes at this level. Compared to the other GTs, the first difference is that the gear changes are rapid. They’re not slow in the GT C, but they’re just rapid in the Black. The next big difference is the brakes, the brakes on the Black Series are just phenomenal. Some people might argue that you can’t possibly feel it, but for me, even on the road, four-wheel steering changes the dynamic of the car and that’s something that’s been carried through from the GT C all the way to the Black. It’s a noticeable part of the car’s character and contributes to that positive feeling.

On the road, the GT C has a lot less road noise than the Black Series, but on a track, you obviously wouldn’t get the same results and feedback when you start to push, because it isn’t meant to be a track-going car, but they’re very similar in character.

Anything you don’t like about it?

Nothing!

Any plans with the car going forward?

Definitely, lots of specialised track days so Spa for the weekend, Nurburgring for the weekend, those sort of track days. Not necessarily a wet Tuesday at Mallory, but I’ll do Silverstone and intend to do plenty of track days. It isn’t going to sit in a showroom collecting dust, it’s going to earn its living, but respectfully so. I don’t think I’ll be taking it on any European tours like I did the GT C. Travelling to and from a race track is fine, but it’s not really the car for a road trip. It’s definitely here to stay, and my son already has his name on it as a hand-me-down!

When did you join SCD?

I heard about SCD through Reep Midlands many moons ago when I had an Aston Vantage which I still have, it’s a lovely little car. They did the PPF on it quite early in their existence and they were hosting SCD for a breakfast meet. I couldn’t go, but Pete at Reep went on and on about how great SCD was and what it was all about, then a friend of mine coincidentally joined and went on one of your drives around the countryside, so we decided to join and see what it was all about. We went to Shelsley Walsh for the hillclimb event, we did CarFest North and we did the Secret Meet at Donington. They’re the three events we’ve done and they’ve all been great fun. At CarFest North, we didn’t know what to expect, then before we knew it, we were in the middle of it all doing track runs, it was quite incredible.

I’ll definitely do CarFest North again and the Secret Meet if we’re here, but we’re quite busy and the ones I want to do, I always seem to be away for, like Zach’s Garage, that sounded great!

It’s definitely here to stay, and my son already has his name on it as a hand-me-down!

...My fascination for cars is broad; it’s not just supercars, not just racing cars, it’s just cars!

What other cars are in your garage and are there any more to come?

I have an 812, possibly the last of the V12 Ferraris and I think, what could replace that? I was also lucky enough to get a new Ford GT which has that rawness and sort of rounded off the old Le Mans story when they went back in 2016. It doesn’t have to be a supercar though, I have a 1925 Ford Model T and adore it! I stand there and look at that thing thinking it’s been around for 100 years, how the hell did they do that 100 years ago? My fascination for cars is broad; it’s not just supercars, not just racing cars, it’s just cars! I’m happy with where I am because I like to use the cars. I don’t like them to sit and collect dust and I already have more than I can really use, all set out in different areas that match the cars. I’ve built a little showroom, so I’ve got it all how I want it. Plus, looking into the future, with hybrid supercars we’re going away from the rawness which still exists with the likes of the Black Series. So all my desires and interests are catered for in the cars I’m lucky enough to have, so no I’m not really after anything, plus my wife is sat next to me!

01737 363 700

sales@romansinternational.com

CURRENTLY FOR SALE

2018/18 PORSCHE 911 991 GT2 RS WEISSACH Crayon with Black Leather & Alcantara

2015/15 BUGATTI VEYRON VITESSE Black & Blue Exposed Carbon with Orange & Black Leather

2015 PORSCHE 918 SPYDER Dark Blue Metallic with Onyx Black Leather

2016/66 FERRARI F12 BERLINETTA Grigio Silverstone with Bordeaux Leather

2018/18 LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR S LP740-4 Blu Nila with Black & Blue Sportivo Leather

2021/71 ROLLS ROYCE WRAITH SERIES II ONYX Black Diamond with Arctic White Leather

2021/21 LAMBORGHINI URUS Nero Helene with Nero Ade Leather

2019/19 ARIEL NOMAD R Pearl White with Black Interior

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2022/22 MASERATI MC20 Nero Enigma with Nero/Blu Cielo Leather & Nero Alcantara 349 MILES

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McLaren

£274,995 750mi

1 of 50 Examples Ever Made

2020 (69) 600LT Spider

2021 (21) Taycan Turbo S

£309,995 4,100mi

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2016 (16) 911 991.1 GT3RS

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AMG GT R V8 Roadster Mileage: 4,640 mi

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GT Mileage: 9,920 mi

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All viewings by appointment only

MURCIELAGO LP670-4 SV 2010 - 5,000 miles

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FERRARI F430 SCUDERIA 2016 - 7,000 miles

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HURACAN EVO LP640-4 2020 - 5,700 miles

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MCLAREN 720S 2019 - 7,500 miles

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MURCIELAGO 2002 - 24,000 miles

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VVS have been locating and providing the finest high performance vehicles for the most discerning international customers for over 15 years with a particular specialisation with the Lamborghini marque

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Drive defines us. Meet the Panamera at Porsche Centre Sheffield. Introducing the sports car for four that effortlessly combines impressive performance with family comfort. We started with a simple question: should a performance saloon really look like a saloon? The Panamera answers with an emphatic no. Athletic and streamlined, it boasts clear contours and powerful curves. Contact us today to arrange a test drive.

Porsche Centre Sheffield Sheffield Road Meadowhill Sheffield S9 2FZ 0114 256 4455 info@porschesheffield.co.uk www.porschesheffield.co.uk

Consumption (WLTP)* Fuel consumption combined* (model range): 24.8 – 27.7 mpg CO2 emissions combined* (model range): 258 – 232 g/km.

PERFEC T FOR TR ACK D AY E N T H U S I A S T S Step into the Pirelli world and take part in the UK’s P ZERO™ Experience – a top class driving event for supercar owners.

The exclusive track day event combines a 360° Pirelli brand experience, encompassing all of the driving emotions on the most renowned tracks and roads all over the world. Spend the day fulfilling your track day

desires in your very own car, as well as testing the performance of some of the world’s most powerful supercars. Complete your day of entertainment and adrenaline by taking a pit stop in our hospitality lounge.

HISTORY OF P ZERO™ EXPERIENCE Pirelli has introduced the ultimate track day event all around the globe, each time making the occasion bigger and better than ever before.

With motorsport forming a huge part of Pirelli’s heritage, it is perfect that P ZERO™ Experience has and continues to take place at some of the best, world-renowned and widely-recognised tracks in existence. The highly-impressive back catalogue of P ZERO™Experience comes from events having taken place at some of the most iconic venues around the world, including the Italian automotive and motorcycle circuit, Mugello Circuit, originally built on an area of approximately 170 hectares in 1972 as an initiative of the Automobile Club in Florence. In 1988, Ferrari purchased the circuit and an extensive restructuring project began in order to ensure it was equipped with only the best infrastructure.

On the other side of the world, P ZERO™ Experience has made itself at home in Abu Dhabi at the Yas Marina Circuit, a track surrounded by an abundance of tranquil waters with 21 curves, 5,554m of extension and a world-first pioneering tunnel passage to host the pit exit lane. Yas Marina is a dream destination for many track enthusiasts.

Taking another trip around the globe, P ZERO™ Experience has also landed in Germany, specifically at the Hockenheimring. The famous circuit in the Hardtwald, near Hockenheim, has an extensive history and was built back in 1932, famed for its never-ending forest straights for 70 years.

Joining the list of iconic venues is the Red Bull Ring, at the centre of the fully-functioning Spielberg amusement park. The 4.318km circuit is categorised as ‘Grade A’ by the FIA, and with the inauguration in 2011, high-class racing events such as the ADAC GT Masters, Formula 1 and MotoGP have all been thrilling motorsport fans ever since.

Take a break from the high-octane track action and enter the world of Pirelli as you relax in the Hospitality Lounge.

RETURNING TO THE UNITED KINGDOM

In 2022, the exclusive P ZERO™ Experience returns to the United Kingdom for not one, but two adrenalinefilled events. Don’t miss out on this opportunity for the unparalleled thrill of driving your own car out on track.

Join Pirelli at the world-renowned Silverstone Circuit on 17th and 18th May 2022 for a truly unforgettable experience as you bring your own supercar and get out on track. You will also test drive the latest models from the world’s top car manufacturers, complete with lunch in the BRDC Clubhouse. Silverstone is of course one of the most prestigious motorsport venues in the world and is widely recognised as the home of British motor racing after first hosting the British Grand Prix in 1948. This is your opportunity to experience Silverstone like never before, and thanks to Pirelli, you will be driving the full Grand Prix circuit, right from the Heritage Pits.

...your opportunity to experience Silverstone like never before.

WHAT TO EXPECT

All participating drivers will also have the chance to be a passenger when test driving the very best high-performing models from some of the world’s most prestigious car manufacturers for whom Pirelli designs and develops custommade tyres.

No Pirelli event is complete without five-star hospitality and as such, all drivers and their companions will be able to stay close to the track action and enjoy lunch with fantastic views from the BRDC Clubhouse – a very exclusive venue, usually closed to the public. Special guests have previously included David Coulthard with Red Bull Racing.

The Pirelli team will of course be on-hand for any product advice and tips, plus you can even get organised ahead of time and arrange to have your tyres changed on the day!

DON’T MISS OUT

Top off a great summer and join us at Donington Park, England’s very first permanent park circuit and one of the most historic racing tracks around, as it hosts P ZERO™ Experience for the very first time on 20th and 21st September 2022. Be sure to stay up to date as more information and booking details will be made available soon!

Experience some of the most iconic circuits in your own supercar thanks to Pirelli. Exclusive one-day VIP passes are £850pp, with companion passes also available for £150. Know someone with a passion for supercars that matches yours and would love to take part? Why not purchase a gift voucher and share the track day enthusiasm!

Secure your place for Silverstone today at pzeroexperience.pirelli.com

With manufacturers confirmed such as Lamborghini, Pagani, McLaren, and Dallara, you will get to test the performance of some of the world’s most powerful vehicles.

To celebrate the new partnership between SCD and Demon Tweeks, we visited the exceptional collection of the Minshaw family to chat cars and how the business has evolved while remaining in the family for over 50 years. Written by: Matt Parker

Whether you’ve bought racing gear from them, had their catalogue slam on your doormat or just recognise their iconic liveries from racing cars, you’ve most likely heard of Demon Tweeks. For me, I got to know them very early on as my dad drove me about three hours from Sheffield to Wrexham as a kid to pick out my race suit and helmet for karting, before online ordering was a thing!

Today, Demon Tweeks is known as one of the world's leading suppliers of motorsport and car tuning products, but we're about to sit down with owner Jon Minshaw and his son Jack for a Q&A to delve into the history of the company which has remained in the family for over 50 years since it was founded by his father, racing driver Alan Minshaw.

TELL US ABOUT THE HISTORY OF DEMON TWEEKS.

My father founded the business in 1971, so it was our 50th anniversary last year. He started racing in the late ‘50s and he raced until he was in his late 70s. He was a salesman for FRAM Filters and a massive motorsport fan and petrolhead, but he couldn’t afford to go racing on the salary he was paid.

He saw an opportunity in the market to supply performance suspension which is what we focused on to start off with, and before mail order was really heard of or in fashion, he was selling shock absorbers from home, packing them on the freezer top and going down to the post office to send them out. He was probably the original innovator of mail order in the motoring world. Alan was a true petrolhead who knew what was needed to make a car go faster but he was also a salesman and knew how to engage the customer. He was putting adverts in the back of car magazines, the phone started to ring, and within a reasonably short space of time, he decided to open a shop/garage which his wife Ann would run while he was still working at FRAM Filters, and it just grew.

My father competed in the British Touring Car Championship under Demon Tweeks Racing throughout the ‘80s, finishing second in the championship in 1983 and racing alongside Roland Ratzenberger in the famous Demon Tweeks E30 M3 in 1988. I took the running of the business over in the early ‘90s, picking up from where dad had got it

to. My wife and I bought an old redundant farm in Wrexham and we moved Demon Tweeks into the old farm buildings which gave us the warehouse capacity to really grow the product offering. Within three years, we had outgrown it and bought a proper warehouse to ramp it up again to another level.

Over the years, we were a catalogue-based company, and at one point I think we had something like 20 or 30 salespeople sitting there waiting to take calls, give you advice and process orders. Over the last 15 years, that has moved very quickly online. Covid really accelerated things and we saw about five years of natural transition from traditional to e-commerce condensed into about 18 months while everyone was sat at home and couldn’t travel, so that has converted a lot of people into online shoppers and it’s important for us to keep developing our online presence.

We do still produce our motorsport catalogue and we very much believe it still has a place in the top of the mechanic's toolbox at a race circuit because it’s so easy for them to flick through the pages and find specific parts in there.

HOW DID YOUR AMAZING COLLECTION COME ABOUT?

Being born into a family with a car enthusiast where all he wanted to do was go racing, I really didn’t have a lot of a choice and inevitably, I just like cars. Most of my social life is spent in the car world and meeting car people with common interests.

WHY SHOULD SOMEONE COME TO YOU?

Right the way through from 1971, our DNA has been motorsport. Through the evolution, we’ve now become probably the largest racewear retailer in the world. I don’t know of any company globally that offers the range or volume that we sell. We supply the parts you need to go racing, whether it be consumables, racewear, helmets. When you’ve

bought the car and think right, what do I need? That’s our marketplace.

What we feel sets us apart is our stock holding. We say yes so much more frequently than our competitors, and motorsport and track days are very much about, “Crikey, I’ve got a problem and I very much need that today or tomorrow”. A lot of companies will have access to the same product, but might not have it in stock, so will have to order it from the supplier and wait for it to be

delivered, while we can get it to you tomorrow morning.

Also, our expert advice can be very valuable if you’re unsure on any points and we still have a number of experts on the end of the phone who can ensure you’re buying the right parts. We have salesmen here who have been here for 40 years, and every single one of the team are petrolheads, whether they’ve built cars, been involved in various championships or track days, it’s all motorsport experience.

I’m looking at the cars now and I think of them almost like automotive sculpture. I can see three Porsches that I’ve never driven, but I think they’re beautiful, they’re works of art, and instead of a nice painting, I’d much rather buy a nice car that I can sit in and drive if I want to.

The cars I have are almost like my passport to car events, whether it’s the racing cars that allow me to enter races across the world or road cars which let me do tours and travel Europe, and in between all that, they can sit in the showroom and be admired. There are so many cars I wish I’d never sold, but to get the next car, you have to sell some. I got in at the right time buying some modern Ferrari racers like the 458 and 488 GTE when they were retired at the end of their racing life and started to question why I got them because I was never going to race them, but thinking back now, they’re two cars I should have always kept.

Then I had one of the most famous European Cobras which did Le Mans in 1963. I didn’t particularly like driving it, but it was a beautiful, original car with unbelievable pedigree, but because I didn’t drive it and I prefer driving E-Types, I sold it, but I look back now and think it should still be here in the showroom.

To mention a few of the cars in here today, we have one of the three Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-9 that crossed the line at Le Mans in 1988, we have chassis number 3 E-Type, one of the few cars that actually raced in period in 1961, and a Porsche 935 that did Le Mans three times and a 956 which is a pretty rare car.

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR RACING. Racing is in my DNA and has been ever since I can remember, I was grass tracking from the age of 14 and today I’m racing more than ever at 59. It is like a drug, and once you get a taste for it, nothing else quite compares. The majority of my racing career has been in E-Types but my early years were full of extremely close racing in Fiesta XR2s which was a good place to learn your craft. Then in the last decade I’ve done more modern racing like the 24hrs at Spa where we finished third which was a particular highlight and I’ve been runner up in the British GT Championship in the DT Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for three years in a row — three times a bridesmaid!

This year there are probably five different cars being prepared which I’m going to race this season, including the Silk Cut Jag which we’ve got entered into the Group C race at the Donington Historic Festival in April. Last year, I had a great battle with Martin Brundle at Goodwood Revival, both in E-Types, and that was very memorable, one of my best races. It was nose-to-tail for probably 60% of the race and eventually I managed to get past him, but it was super clean racing, really good fun! It was like playing chess with each other trying to find the opportunity because the cars were so evenly matched.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LOVE TO ADD TO THE COLLECTION?

It’s never finished! I’m looking for an F40 at the moment but prices have gone silly, and I’d like a Carrera GT but that’s the same story (in the couple of weeks between our interview and Riad’s photoshoot, one has been added to the collection!). I’d also like a 365 Daytona and a 250 SWB, so I do still want to add if I can find the right cars.

HOW DID YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH SCD COME ABOUT?

I came across SCD on Instagram, started following and thought I really like the idea of doing some of these visits, but it was the overseas tours that really convinced me to get involved and become a member as that’s one of the ways I want to enjoy my cars. There are cars I have that rarely get used so I’ve been looking for an opportunity to bring them out and you always meet interesting car-minded people at the SCD events. I joined just before the Secret Meet at Donington last year, and I looked and thought Jesus, I should have gone to that! I was kicking myself for the following month, so hopefully I’ll make it this year.

It turned into more of a partnership when I spoke to Adam about my subscription. He said he was going to be up in North Wales and suggested he swing by for a coffee and a chat. That was the main catalyst for the partnership as we could see the synergy between us and SCD as so many members are interested in motorsport and track days and we all share the passion for cars and racing.

We’d like to have members visit and have a tour of our facility and see the collection. I’d be a bit nervous about the fact that we’re not a fancy car dealer; really we’re a shed that sends parcels out so that might burst some people's bubble, but if people want to see the amount of stock we have, see how we operate and see all the cars, they'll be more than welcome. We’re also excited to have the SCD Yaris GR with us for some tweaks too!

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR DEMON TWEEKS?

We want to keep looking after our customer base and continue to offer a great service, keeping stock on the shelves and ensuring we can get it to you tomorrow. That principle has been with us all the way through so we need to stay true to that, and we’re really quite happy remaining a proper familyrun business keeping those core values true.

We’ve had plenty of people knocking on the door wanting to buy us or merge, but that’s not what we’re here for. I’m an enthusiast and I want to continue servicing the customer the way my father started doing in the early ‘70s.

Quality & Quantity SCD member Richard takes us on a journey of his frequently evolving car history and his time with SCD, with a lot of cars and a lot of stories packed into the last four years. Written by: Richard W

MEMBER’S COLLECTION

For as long as I can remember, I have loved cars. There was no car in our household until I was 14, so every trip in a car was an event throughout the ’70s. It wasn’t that we couldn’t afford a car; my dad was a very keen cyclist and spent the sort of money most folk spent on cars on his collection of bikes and tandems with Reynolds 531 tubing and Campagnolo gears. If anyone visited us in a car, my mum would always ask them to take me for a ride around the block. In 1977, my friend Martin’s dad took us to the Birmingham NEC in his Datsun 120Y for the motor show which was amazing, trying to collect as many brochures as we could and catch a glimpse of real-life Ferraris and Lamborghinis. I think a Porsche 928 brochure was my best catch of the day. Martin and I spent many hours re-adjusting our imaginary 10-car garage. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage was usually in first place and there would usually be a Mercedes 450 SEL 6.9, a Renault 5 Gordini and a Lancia Beta Montecarlo on the list too. I would also spend all my pocket money on Autocar, Motor and Car magazines.

In 1985, we managed to arrange a tour of the Aston Martin factory in Newport Pagnell. It was amazing to see the Lagondas and Vantages being built by lots of men in greasy overalls in a poorly lit shed with the sound of metal bashing in our ears. Interestingly, one of the first SCD meets I went to after joining in 2018 was back to Newport Pagnell. It was great to revisit again after 33 years, and I think it was that SCD visit that probably led to the purchase of my new Mariana Blue Vantage in March 2019 from HWM in Walton-on-Thames.

My first car was a 1972 VW Beetle 1302S in metallic blue which was unfortunately written off when I did a 720 into a ditch on a greasy bend! Over the years, I had various company cars culminating in a lovely silver 1997 E36 BMW 323i Coupe. In 2005, I made my first bit of proper money in the rag trade, and after furnishing my wife, Marie, with a 3-litre V6 Renault Espace (we have four children), I ordered a brand new Porsche 997 Targa 4S manual from Porsche Silverstone which I collected from Stuttgart with my dad in February 2007. I will never forget the factory tour and the car being presented to me at the end with a photograph for posterity — Porsche did it very well. We had lunch in the director’s restaurant and I am pretty sure Hans-Peter Porsche was on the next table. It would be great to say we went off to do an Alps tour but we headed home as I was very short on time. Having really got into the Porsche thing and consuming all the Porsche mags of the time such as 911 & Porsche and GT Porsche, in 2010 I purchased a beautiful Ocean Blue 993 Carrera 2S manual with hard-back sports seats and only 15,000 miles on the clock from Paul Stephens which I still own today. What a great two-car garage — 997 Targa 4S and the 993 C2S — but I was working hard and was very time-poor. The years have rolled by, and because of air-cooled values and having now only done 19,000 miles, the 993 ended up being a garage queen/investment car. Not how it was supposed to be, although to be fair, I did 300 miles on a very wet SCD Pre ’95 Drive back in May 2021 finishing at Shelsley Walsh. The car is 25 years old In April so I will treat it to a detail and maybe a birthday cake!

Back in 2010, I could have got the 993 Turbo for a little bit more money but I love the rear-wheel drive and lighter weight of the 2S. It’s been fun to see the 964s get more popular as well. In fact it has probably been the more desirable model in the last few years, but I think the 993 is coming back and I think the next generation of buyers will appreciate it as the ‘restomod’ that it really is. It’s quick, and with the reworked rear suspension of the 993, it drives like a modern car in a retro body. I picked up on Tom Hartley Jnr’s comment in his lockdown Zoom meet when he stated he was investing in 993 stock.

In 2013, we moved to a new house with a triple garage and I soon added a carport for four cars as we have lots of trees on the driveway so cars need protecting from debris and sticky sap. Of course, that meant that I could increase the car collection from two cars. Later that year, it was time to upgrade the 997 Targa for a 991 C2S Cabriolet PDK. It was a good car but it had rattly speakers which meant it kept going back to the dealership. On one occasion, I remember being ‘outraged’ when I was given the keys to a 2.7 poverty spec manual Boxster as a courtesy car, but within five minutes, I had a big grin on my face! It was better than the 991! A bit underpowered which meant you had to really drive it, foot buried into the carpet.

I soon swapped the 991 for a Boxster S then subsequently a Carmine Red GTS which I could not wait to purchase after seeing Henry Catchpole’s ‘The Greatest Driving Road in the World’ YouTube video for Evo which features the same car (but manual) set in Majorca. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend you do. I was fortunate to have a selfie with Henry at the Goodwood FOS in 2021. He is very tall and I am very short! I purchased the 981 GTS from Porsche Belfast with 300 miles on the clock, so it was great fun to fly over and have the car waiting for me at the airport as I only had 45 minutes to get round to the ferry back to Liverpool. The Carmine Red 981 GTS has probably been my favourite car and I was going to keep it forever so I purchased the 981 R plate for it. It just drove so sweetly, had the most amazing soundtrack, the perfect size and brilliant usability. In total, I have owned five iterations of the 981/982 platform including the GT4 and Spyder. I’m so glad they gave me that poverty spec Boxster as a courtesy car!

While I had the 991, I bumped into SCD member Kieran Hickey with his amazing red Aventador Roadster at Waitrose. We had a chat in the car park and he said I should join SCD. I did have a look online but never really followed it up as I wasn’t looking for any distractions from my work back in 2015, but that was the first time I had heard about the club. A friend of mine used to pop to our offices in his F355 Spider with Capristo exhaust. I thought I have to get one of those, so in 2015, I purchased a red 1995 pre-airbag manual GTS with a black vinyl targa top which I loved — most owners painted it body colour. I love the thought of old cars but the reality of most of them is that they have squeaks and rattles which do my head in! With the F355, it was the sticky switches, the gearstick rattling in the metal gate and general servicing costs. My business partner, Steve, purchased a Red F355 Spider when I had the GTS.

After I purchased a GT Silver Porsche GT4 Clubsport from Dan at TOP 555 in 2017, he invited me to an SCD meet at the dealership. Steve and I rolled up in our red F355s and I think we caused a bit of a stir. Lots of talk of “Jonty would like these”, and we got some great photos of the cars that evening too. In 2017, it was time to move on from the F355 with the help of Nick Cartwright. I already had a mid-’90s car with the 993 and I had ticked the Ferrari box too. Between 2016 and 2018, I sold three businesses so this finally gave me the time and a bit of money to indulge in my love of cars. Initially, I planned on doing the Caterham Academy, but after a track day at a miserably wet Donington Park, I decided a Lotus Exige S 350 might be more me, so I purchased a nearly new one from Lotus Silverstone and did some track days. It was a great car and surprisingly compliant on the road too.

In January 2018, I purchased a really nice BMW Z4M Coupe with the amazing S54 naturallyaspirated straight-six from the E46 M3. It had the OEM side skirts and the BBS wheels, plus I did a bit of fettling myself with the Bilstein suspension kit and Evolve carbon air intake — it sounds absolutely fantastic under load. They really are under-appreciated compared to the E46 M3; a noughties modern classic, quite raw but with heated seats. The government obviously think it is badass too as they charge me £600 a year to tax it!

In early 2018, I decided 100% not to do the Caterham Academy and I thought, let’s give SCD a go instead. I had recently sold the GT4 having not really driven it — “nowhere to go in it”. I kept taking out the 981 GTS or the Exige. I spoke to Matt at SCD and said I don’t have anything on the qualifying list. We discussed the car history and he remembered me from TOP 555 with the F355 and I was duly allowed in.

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I was really impressed to get a call a few days after joining to say that he had noticed I lived five minutes from Bruntingthorpe and that I should come to the Secret Meet which I did in the Exige. It was quite daunting as I did not know anyone and I remember thinking everyone has a McLaren! I was now on the hunt for a proper bonafide ‘supercar‘ and the AMG GT S had caught my eye. I had walked past Riyad Mahrez’s GT S in the LCFC car park many times and thought that was pretty cool for a footballer. So, I searched out AMG GT owners at the Secret Meet and was soon talking to Jon Hilton and Andy Palmer.

Highland Hoon 2018

In April, I purchased an Iridium Silver AMG GT S from Mercedes-Benz Newcastle with 500 miles on the clock, and then I was properly set to take part in SCD activities. In October 2018, I did the Highland Hoon with my car nut friend, John, as co-driver. Again, it was quite daunting turning up at the Gleddoch Hotel and not knowing anyone! We soon sat down for dinner, and then the next day we were off on our travels to Skye, Applecross and the Old Military Road with Jonty up front and a running commentary from Sandi on the radios. We had a great time and met some fantastic club members. As soon as I got back, I went on the wait list for the Tartan Florio the following May which I was soon signed up to. One of my favourite parts of SCD membership is seeing the fantastic photos and videos you get of your car after a meet or tour. The very best pics adorn my garage walls as posters — well done Riad, Dan and Tom. For the photos for this article, we had a great day at Kilworth House Hotel in Leicestershire with photographer Riad. The hotel was nice and quiet, we had a dry, sunny day and the hotel staff were very helpful. Fired up with enthusiasm, I started looking for an upgrade for the GT S. I wanted the GT C with the wide body, four-wheel steering and a bit more power. It’s quite a rare car with most folk going for the GT R with the big wing. It soon became clear I could get into a brand new Aston Martin Vantage for the price of second-hand GT C which duly happened in March 2019. After a few teething problems, the car was ready for the 2019 Tartan Florio in May. Again, I had a fantastic time and met great like-minded members, such a great crowd and lots of fun including the notorious airborne Lotus front splitter incident.

Tartan Florio 2019

Tour Des Alpes 2019

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2019 was a busy SCD year, and in September I was on the Tour Des Alpes with my wife, Marie. We had the Aston shipped down to Geneva and met up with fellow tour members at the fantastic Abbaye de Talloires on Lake Annecy. We had an amazing time winding our way down to Monaco on sunny, empty roads and again the people made it, plus fellow member Lee gave me some tips on how to get a new Boxster Spyder!

The cars on the tour were epic too. Unfortunately, my wife was not expecting the same holiday as me. She had brought a few books to read as we meandered through the Alps. That’s not how SCD tours work! There were three groups led by James, Jonty and Adam. Marie and I were soon in our own fourth group at the back but we still had a great time and we were usually only a few minutes behind the third group. We were always very grateful for Riad and Dan waiting just a few minutes longer to take our drive-by pictures! Marie was so close to joining Luke in the luggage van on many occasions!

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Marie says I ‘mis-sold’ the Tour Des Alpes, but I am so glad she came at least once. She said never again and came home with a bad back from pushing the imaginary brake so hard. Unfortunately, we managed to fill the Aston with some contaminated fuel which led to cutting out issues on the afternoon heading down to Nice and Monaco as we nursed the car in. Amazingly, Marie and I are still married!

By the time I got home, I was itching to upgrade the ‘forever’ 981 GTS for the 718 Spyder. This had been brought on by following Royd’s lovely PTS Voodoo Blue 981 Spyder around the Alps. By November I had put my principles to one side and got my order in for a lovely Gentian Blue 718 Spyder. Covid curtailed SCD events and delayed my Spyder for many months in 2020, but I managed to get a black interim Spyder in June with the Spyder Classic Bordeaux interior and red roof, and this helped me perfect the spec for my car which has been described as ‘Spiderman spec’ — someone asked if I have matching

pyjamas! My first brand-new Porsche in 13 years arrived in November 2020, a ’GT’ car to boot, from Porsche Silverstone.

As many of you will know, the arrival of a new car means lots of work to do; PPF at Reep Midlands, then a visit to Suspension Secrets for setup, and at some point, I will fit a JCR exhaust to improve the sound. I love the size of the Spyder and the 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated engine with a manual gearbox. It’s basically a 2012 car that’s been refined so it has physical buttons on the dash but still has Apple CarPlay. Another added bonus of Spyder ownership is the extraordinary group of passionate owners which has been a lovely surprise. In the Autumn of 2020 I decided that, after 18 months and some great SCD tours, it was time for the Aston to go. We were entering a lockdown winter, the new Spyder delivery was imminent and due to a shortage of stock, decent money was being offered for it. I’m very glad to have owned an Aston and they were absolutely

fantastic with the fuel issue in France, both with recovery and fixing the problem.

In July 2021, Marie finally agreed to join me at another SCD event, this time at the Grantley Hall garden party. It was a stinking hot day and we really enjoyed ourselves, so much so we went back for our wedding anniversary in March this year. We drove up in the Spyder but it was too hot with the roof down! It was on this trip we realised that we were missing the Aston, a nice front of hotel car with cooled seats for Marie. After test driving a Ferrari 599 at Dick Lovett, we decided to get back into the AMG and again searched for a high spec GT C. While looking, we came across a super high spec Iridium Silver GT S with 6,000 miles, one owner, ceramics, adaptive cruise and all the carbon packs which we picked up from Mercedes-Benz Doncaster in September 2021.

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So, as we stand, we have the 718 Spyder for proper driving as it proved to be perfect on the SCD Porsche GT Tour in Wales with co-pilot Kevin, the AMG GT S as the motorway, hotel, cars and coffee or taking the wife out car, the Porsche 993 2S which is beautifully put together and the perfect 20th-century car, and the BMW Z4M Coupe, the modern classic.

Ultimately, I am a Porsche kinda guy, but I am not exclusive. I am very pleased I have flirted with Ferrari, Lotus, Aston Martin and AMG, and 2021 also turned out to be the year I purchased my first Japanese cars. Firstly, the Mazda MX5 ND (thanks Joel) which was sent to BBR GTi to be fettled to be used on track days, AutoSolo and bumbling around south Leicestershire, top down and traction control off. Then, the mighty GR Yaris arrived which is my daily with 4,000 miles clocked up so far. So that’s six cars plus our two

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four-wheel-drive Porsches and our daughters’ Minis takes us to 10 cars on the spreadsheet — quite a lot of admin.

What next? An RS Spyder. I don’t think I have enough Porsche credit to get one new but the thought of that platform with a real GT3 engine in it, wow! I am 60 in a few years so I’m thinking I might do the whole Ferrari thing. I took up the SCD offer to drive the Ferrari Roma at Millbrook in November 2021. It was a lovely day and Ferrari do the hospitality so well but I honestly preferred the AMG GT S over the Roma when I jumped back in after the test drive, and I am not keen on the sound of their 3.9-litre twin-turbo. To my mind, I think peak car was probably back in 2018 and cars since then haven’t been quite as good with the particulate filters, exhaust valve software and hybrid drivetrains not to mention more and more driver aids coming.

Maybe a change of strategy could be an idea, having fewer cars but more exotic cars like a Ferrari F12, a 458 Spider or try a McLaren Spider. There’s plenty of fun to be had on Auto Trader in the evening with a glass of red and a packet of Twiglets! And with a EuroMillions win? It would have to be the GTO Engineering 250 SWB restomod I saw with SCD last May and a Singer DLS I saw at the FOS in 2021, or a Guntherwerks creation.

As for plans, I am back on the Highland Hoon in an Aston Martin Vantage this Autumn codriving my friend Kevin’s new F1 Edition, and I am hoping to finally make it to Le Mans for the first time in June.

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To celebrate 75 years of the Prancing Horse, SCD members joined us in a spectacular array of the most special Ferraris of the modern era for a oncein-a-lifetime tour through the French Riviera. Written by: Matt Parker

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Corsa

Cavallino

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ew brands in the automotive industry evoke passion and loyalty quite like Ferrari. In fact, I’ll kick that up a notch and say I’m not sure any brand in any industry does. The first ever car to wear the famous Prancing Horse on its nose, the V12-engined 125 S, set things rolling for Enzo Ferrari in 1947, and the rest, as they say, is history, lots of history!

To celebrate 75 years of the most emotive cars on the planet, we wanted to bring together a group of SCD members along with their Ferrari lightweight specials, all adorned with that same Prancing Horse, aka the Cavallino Rampante. A route along the most incredible roads on the French Riviera was planned, stopping at some of the region’s best venues along the way, and Corsa Cavallino was born. The idea of a Ferrari lightweight tour actually came from SCD member Lee who took his 360 Challenge Stradale on Corsa Cavallino, and we had it all

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planned out in Italy in 2020. That had to be shelved because of you-know-what, but two years later, a group of 10 members was raring to go in a spectacular selection of Modena’s finest.

Another 360 Challenge Stradale joined Lee’s in a similar spec of Rosso Scuderia with the painted stripe, the next generation was represented by both a 430 Scuderia and its drop-top sibling the 16M, then we jump on another generation with a stunning triplelayer yellow 458 Speciale Aperta, and the last of the mid-engined V8s came in the form of two 488 Pistas, a coupe and a Spider.

Then we have the V12s, with the front-engined bruiser, the 599 GTO up first, and then the cake was topped with three cherries, three generations of ‘F cars’ if you will, an F50, Enzo and LaFerrari Aperta. That’s the sort of lineup you’d hardly see on a kid’s bedroom wall, never mind at a static event, and especially not snaking through the hills of the south of France, being

driven as intended and heard for miles around. It was a truly special spectacle to celebrate a truly special occasion for Ferrari.

Now, the bad news, for me at least, is that I wasn’t there. I drooled over Riad’s photos each day with a fair degree of envy, but I’m not really qualified to tell you what it was like to be in one of those special cars, on one of those amazing roads in a group of fantastic people, so I had a chat with a few of the members who did exactly that to find out why they love Ferrari so much, a little about the car they took on the tour and if Corsa Cavallino was a reasonable enough way to spend a week.

Watch the video on YouTube

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Challenge Stradale OWNER: Spencer PURCHASED: 2020

I’ve always been completely and totally a Porsche fan until I went on the SCD Alps tour in 2019 when I followed James in his 360 Challenge Stradale giving it a right good hiding. I thought wow, that car is nearly 20 years old and it’s taking a right old pounding around here and doing really well, so I fell in love with it on that trip and it took me eight or nine months after to find the right one. It’s not so much about the driving, it’s about the theatre. The noise, the clunky old F1 gearbox, it’s nothing like a modern-day car at all, but for 20 years old, it holds its own and it’s a special thing. I did the 2019 Alps tour in a Porsche 991.2 GT3 RS and this is obviously completely different.

There were Pistas and some other properly fast cars there which it obviously couldn’t live with on the straights, but around the twisties it was really good. It sounded amazing on the red rock road, and going through the tunnels was just mental. You can hear the exhaust sound bouncing all around the mountains, it’s lovely.

For me, the highlight of the tour was probably following the F50. To see right through the back end, through the rear grill and see the suspension working, I never realised just how raw they are and it was quite a pleasure to follow it for about an hour, and when do you ever get that close to them? I went on one tour and came back in pursuit of a Ferrari and I came back off this tour in pursuit of another. I went after a 599 GTO after seeing the one on the tour and the one I’ve managed to get hold of is one of Jay Kay’s old cars so buying it from him has been nice having a few chats. I’ve bought a Speciale as well but I don’t want to sound like a cock having bought two cars! I was down for the Porsche GT tour this year, but to buy the two Ferraris, I sold my 911 R with 32 miles on or something stupid like that. I never got chance to enjoy it as it was such a collector’s item, but I can do a few thousand miles in the GTO and it shouldn’t really affect it.

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OWNER: Arthur

PURCHASED: 2021

I am in the motor trade and was the brand manager for McLaren Sydney from 2015 to 2021 and I was responsible for running the dealership, which is funny because I am a very big Ferrari fan. I now work for myself and specialise in buying and selling highperformance, collectable blue-chip cars and sending them back to Australia. I have loved Ferrari ever since I was a young boy and the 355 Spider in navy blue was my ultimate dream car. When I was about seven years old, I saw an interview with the cricketer Shane Wayne where he took the reporter for a drive in his 355 Spider, which was navy blue with tan interior. Ever since then, I was hooked on Ferrari, and I now actually own a navy blue 355 Spider because of it.

Last year, I saw a 599 GTO advertised. It was a right-handdrive, 3,000-mile car that I thought

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was really good value, so I bought it. It is Rosso Corsa with a Grigio Opacco roof from factory and I think it’s the perfect spec for the GTO. My favourite thing about the car is the noise, the downshifts are brutal!

My favourite moment of Corsa Cavallino was actually when Jonty drove my car. Not knowing anyone before the tour, I didn’t know what to expect from people’s driving standards. I have spent a lot of time at race tracks and consider myself a good driver, but after the tour, I would say I probably need some more practice. Those guys are quick!

Apart from the driving, the group was so much fun to hang out with. We had amazing dinners and great banter. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely do it again.

OWNER: Pete

PURCHASED: 2017

I think the reason I love Ferrari so much is that they do everything other manufacturers do that little bit better, and for me, some of their standard cars are better than a lot of manufacturers’ halo cars. I bought the Aperta in 2017. I had a 458 Spider at the time which I thought was fantastic, but everyone was going on about the Speciale, then when I had a go in my mate Rob’s Speciale, I just knew I had to have one. I still wanted the convertible so I started looking for a Speciale Aperta. I found one on Dick Lovett’s website and when I rang them up about it, they said it had sold, but don’t worry, we’ve got another one coming in and we’re doing the photos now. He sent them to me over WhatsApp there and then, and while I was still on the phone I said right, I’ll have it! It had about 150 miles on the clock but it was that one-of-one spec that did it for me, and I’ve subsequently specced my Pista Spider in exactly the same spec. The launch colour for the Aperta was Giallo Triplo Strato (triplelayer yellow) with the blue and white stripe, but this has the Italian Tricolore stripe which is even carried on underneath the car on the DRS flaps. The inside has the Tricolore stripe on the seats and on the steering wheel, and the button surrounds are in the Tricolore colours too. The guy who specced this car really knew what he was doing. A lot of people say I spec some of the best Ferraris,

but really what I’ve been doing is following that guy! He laid down the foundation for me to follow.

I was originally going to take my Pista on Corsa Cavallino before I decided on the Speciale Aperta. To me, the Pista is a better car in the sense that it’s quicker, but not in terms of power delivery and noise. I prefer the more linear and usable approach you get with the Aperta. Another reason I took the Aperta is that I had only ever put about 1,400 miles on it so it was a bit of a waste, and I’m a big believer that cars need to be driven, so after this trip, it’s been bumped up to about 2,800 miles and I’m going to keep blasting it. I think the roads we did on the very last day going to Monaco were the best of it all. The scenery was perfect, the weather was absolutely gorgeous, and that convoy of us going through Nice, Antibes and Cannes then arriving in Monaco all together, that was a properly cool memory that will stick with me for the rest of my days.

I thought the whole tour was super well executed, the locations and hotels were fantastic, I don’t think you could ask for a better group of people, and believe it or not, the absolute perfect pace car in the GT3, it was the star of the show for me! I’m gutted I’m missing out on the Dolomites and Alps tours, but I can’t wait to get on more and more of them, it was fantastic.

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OWNER: Andy

PURCHASED: 2021

For me, Ferrari is simply an iconic brand that makes beautiful as well as fast cars. I purchased my Enzo a year ago. As a long term F40 owner, the Enzo or F50 were always a natural next step, but this special Rosso Scuderia Enzo was too hard to resist when it became available. Besides the tour, I haven’t used it much since, but it’s scheduled for appearances at various events in 2022.

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As one of the larger and older cars on the trip, it was challenging to drive amongst the likes of Pistas and Speciales, but it was so enjoyable to use it for the first time at speed on non-congested roads. My highlight of the week was the spectacular views and experience of driving on ‘Red Rock Road’, a spectacular stretch en route to Monaco.

...a group of 10 members, raring to go in a spectacular selection of Modena’s finest. 122

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OWNER: Elliot

PURCHASED: 2014

What’s not to love about Ferrari? I think the history of the brand obviously plays a big part, and when you’re growing up, to own a Ferrari is always one of the most aspirational things you can think of. I bought my 1997 F50 in 2014. It was a UK-delivered car when new which is quite nice as not many came to the UK, and most of the ones that are here now were imported. I’ve always liked F50s, and I’ve always had a thing for what I deem to be ‘underdog cars’. Everybody raved about the F40 which wasn’t a view I necessarily shared. I like the F40, don’t get me wrong, it’s a very cool thing, but for me, the F50 is a more interesting car. Also, perhaps controversially, I really like the looks too. A lot of stripped out ‘racing cars for the road’ aren’t really, they’re just road cars with uncomfortable seats, but the F50 was built like a proper race car, and how cool is it

to have a detuned V12 Formula 1 engine behind you? The first thing I did to the car was change the exhaust. The standard exhaust is actually pretty quiet and quite restrictive, so we changed that for a Quicksilver exhaust before even collecting it.

Corsa Cavallino was the first time I’ve had the car in Europe but I do use it quite a lot — I think I’ve done just over 20,000 miles in it. I think there are too many amazing moments from the tour to pick just one, but one of the things that stood out to me the most was the scenery, when we were driving through these caves and doing burnouts through them, that was particularly cool. For the whole week though, I had an absolute blast.

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OWNER: James

PURCHASED: 2021

I love the Ferrari brand and the history in racing as I’m a big Formula 1 fan. I’m not necessarily a fan of the newer turbocharged cars, Ferraris have to be naturallyaspirated for me, so I had a Speciale before and now the LaFerrari Aperta.

I bought the car about six months ago, it’s one of 16 UK cars, only two of which are in triple-layer yellow. There are 200 LaFerrari Apertas worldwide so it’s the lowest production F car ever made — there were 493 Enzo in the end, 349 F50 and over 1,300 F40 — so it’s nice that it’s so exclusive.

I was slightly hesitant over the price gap between this and the coupe, but once you take the roof off and use it, you see the value, well, you don’t see the value, you hear the value! It’s been tucked up over winter and this was the first time I’ve been able to properly use it. It had 400 miles on it when I bought it, bearing in mind it’s five years old, and I put 600 miles on it on the trip. It’s rumoured that half the LaFerrari Apertas still have delivery mileage, so 100 are just sat in garages and have never been used, which is such a shame.

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It was bonkers to drive the car on the trip, but it’s very compliant and isn’t as daunting or scary as you’d first think. It’s like a big 458 Speciale really. The beauty of the V12 is that it sounds great in all rev ranges, there are deep notes and burbles low down, and then it revs all the way to 9,000rpm, and some people might argue that the hybrid detracts from the experience, but where the engine could be a bit lazy low down, the hybrid smooths all that out, so you end up with a flawless V12. One of my favourite moments of the tour was going through Monaco listening to the noise of the cars. There were some kids on the side of the street shouting, “rev it”, so I revved it up and it was just insanely loud echoing through the streets of Monaco.

I was just so impressed by how compliant and usable the car was and it didn’t feel super big on those roads either. I’m sure the guys in the F50 and the Enzo weren’t quite as comfortable as I was with the luxuries of Apple CarPlay and all that sort of stuff. I would definitely do it again and I’ll be doing the Porsche GT tour in June in the 918.

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MEMBER’S CAR: MCLAREN 600LT

SCD member Dean gives us the rundown on his unique McLaren 600LT and the transformation it went through to reach his perfect spec. Written by: Dean

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With one car, the 675LT, McLaren created the halo LT range that would be ‘the ones to have’. I had no prior experience with McLaren when the 600LT was subsequently launched, but I was first attracted to it because of its unique and extreme LT-only features; those top-firing exhausts coupled with all those aero parts, the louvres, the massive diffuser and, of course, that fully working roof scoop.

I just fell in love with the spec when I saw this car. It had all the key features that I wanted with the added bonus of the fantastic MSO blue carbon. When I saw the car in person, it looked great under the showroom lights, but I wasn’t convinced by the blue carbon fibre alongside the Vega Blue paintwork. The two colours didn’t offer any contrast and the fabulous blue carbon fibre just got somewhat lost. I really wanted to love this car, so I started thinking about how I could do real visual justice to such a unique vehicle. The answer was the peelable paint product being offered by Logic VPC, with which I could have the bodywork repainted in any colour whilst also having the car PPF’d.

After much deliberation, I chose to repaint the Vega Blue bodywork with MSO Fistral Blue, a pale blue which really accentuates the darker blue carbon fibre. Working with the team at Logic, I gave them a shopping list of all the other features that I wanted — the pinstripes on the diffuser and aero parts, as well as that central racing stripe. The entire work took such a long time to complete, but almost everything was changed. The brake calipers were also another shade of blue that just didn’t work with all the other blues, so I changed those to the traditional McLaren shade of Papaya. Finally, I changed the wheels to a dark blue that was colour matched by the Logic guys to the blue carbon fibre. I think the final spec is stunning!

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The driving experience has not changed of course, and it remains the full, razor-sharp 600LT experience, with the additional drama offered by the superb roof scoop. Not only does it look like a mini Le Mans race car, but hearing the airflow overhead and the additional pops and bangs from the engine really does increase that engagement with the car. Using the harnesses to pin you into the carbon Senna seats just completes the illusion. The car is relatively easy to live with for what it is too. When you are sat inside, the Senna seats are amazingly comfortable, even over long distances, the car offers excellent visibility, and when coupled with great steering that feeds back all the road information you need, you feel really confident to press on. I’ve also had no reliability issues or maintenance costs so far.

I took it to the SCD meet at Henry’s Car Barn a few months ago and did the photoshoot for this article with Riad afterwards. I joined SCD back in September 2017. I love any of the drives or meets, and I particularly enjoy the Shelsley Walsh events, track days, and I did the Tartan Florio Scotland tour last year which was phenomenal in the Vantage AMR. This year, I’m planning to do the Porsche GT Euro Tour in the 718 Spyder and head back to Scotland again for the Highland Hoon later in the year.

What I like about being part of SCD is meeting so many friendly, like-minded enthusiasts and just talking cars together for so many hours on end! Also, the opportunity to really learn about so many different marques from the guys who know them best.

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MADNESS We go for a wild ride with SCD member Craig to find out what it’s like to own one of the craziest road cars out there, the Ariel Nomad. How did you end up owning something as crazy as a Nomad?

I was looking at a number of different options. I’d always wanted a GT3 but had no history with Porsche and felt ultimately aggrieved to pay a premium, then I was making other enquiries, but it was a conversation with my brother that made my mind up. Whilst looking, my daily driver was a BMW M4 Competition, and it was wonderful! His comment to me was along the lines of that most of what I was looking at, in real-world terms, wouldn’t be that different to the M4. In a way he was right (all very subjective of course), and so I wanted to find something more unusual and extreme for a real driver’s car experience. I had always known of Ariel and had made enquiries about a vehicle for a few years, but never actually committed as other projects got in the way — namely redeveloping our family home — but I would follow all their articles and social media releases to keep the dream alive. Then, one morning, I was flicking through Facebook when I saw they had released the Nomad R, and the description of it blew my mind! I quickly emailed Tom at Ariel and asked if any were available and he said they were all pre-sold but being confirmed that very day. A few hours later, he called me back saying, “Do you want one?!”.

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MEMBER’S CAR: ARIEL NOMAD R

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As soon as I’d put my deposit in, I caveated it with the need to come down to the factory and have a demo in the press car (the only R in the world at that time), and as soon as I was able to I went down to see Henry Siebert-Saunders who took me out for a spin. I took my dad and brother along with me and actually ended up at a local campsite at a pub for the night!

Seeing the car in the flesh was amazing, as was the rest of the Ariel set up. I climbed in and got a feel for the car and then Henry took me out as a passenger. Now, it’s proper motorsport this thing; you have to warm it all through properly before you go for it, so for a few miles he was just cruising along and the anticipation was building further. Then, all of a sudden, he unleashed it! The initial response just took my breath away. It’s so visceral, the noises, the lack of any bodywork, you can see everything going on around you, but then you realise just how compliant it actually is, how it’s built for abuse, and then I just began to laugh out loud — there is nothing else like it out there! Originally, only five were supposed to be released, but then they had more demand so they sold the press car and built one more for a total of seven, so I was very lucky to get the chance! It took nearly a year from deposit being placed to receiving the car, and mine was actually the very first Nomad R on the road. I picked it up on Jedi Knight day, May the 4th 2021. The best part of the buying process, but also the scariest, was speccing the car. With nothing on the road to compare to, getting the colour combinations right gave me sleepless nights!

Colour was key, but really everything you see was an option, including a windscreen, handbrake and even a lock on the fuel filler cap, but it was good fun agreeing on the spec. I had to upgrade to the Ohlins TTX coilovers which are fully adjustable in every way, so you could really screw things up! I could have gone on, but I think I got it just right, in my biased mind anyway.

Have you owned anything remotely like it before?

I don’t think anything really compares to this to be honest! I’ve never been fortunate enough to own what you’d typically class as a supercar (yet!), but I’ve had some fun cars. The M4 was superb and I had a C63 coupe with the 6.2 V8 (what an engine) but also a fun weekend Westfield. I love driving and going for a blast down a great road, so having something dynamic and involving was important, hence wanting something like a GT3 or 600LT.

I do have a motorbike as well, a KTM Duke 790, which is also loads of fun! My daily is a Renault Megane RS 300 Trophy which handles wonderfully but is now up for sale as I’m going electric through work. Nothing exciting though, probably a Tesla Model 3, sorry!

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... They are famously reliable, plus it’s a Honda engine & we know what they are like!

What has it been like to own?

I’ve just gone over 2,000 miles since I picked it up in May and I use it as much as I can, sometimes just out on my own for some escapism, but also friends and family love to get in it, particularly my eldest daughter who some of you will have seen at a number of SCD events. She’s becoming a proper petrol head! It hasn’t skipped a beat in that time. They are famously reliable, plus it’s a Honda engine and we know what they are like! The biggest cost was getting it insured as no one had any idea what it was! I expect/hope that cost to come down on renewal but we shall see. It had a running in service at Ariel after 500 miles (mainly bedding in the clutch) that was £175 and otherwise it’s every 12 months or 4,500 miles for a service at Ariel. It will drink fuel if you are constantly pushing, which you will be, but I’m sure it’s nothing compared to some of the machines we have in the club.

What is it like to drive?

FUN! That’s the key to this car. Because of how open it is, it feels fast at any speed. The Nomad R runs a 2.0-litre Honda Civic Type R naturallyaspirated lump revving out to approximately 8,600rpm, which is then bolted to a supercharger so it’s pushing out over 335bhp in this form, in a car weighing around 650kg. The noise when the charger is on song is awesome as it screams through the rev range.

0-62 is around 2.8 seconds, but it’s all on you as there is no launch control, traction control, nothing. Nail the getaway and fire through the shifts and the surge is relentless. In reality, the top speed isn’t anything to get excited about — probably around 140mph — but the way it gets there takes your breath away and really tests your mettle!

Handling is all about setup. I deliberately put on some semi-off-road tyres which have made it more lively compared to the Yokohama AO52s, although I do plan on a second set of wheels with some sticky track tyres this year. You can easily break traction and have it sliding around, but to be fair, the demo car had the AO52s on and it stuck like the proverbial to a blanket. With the Ohlins coilovers, you can adjust everything. Currently I’m on a road-biased setup so you get decent comfort and a great flow, but for track, I need to work on finding a tighter setup to fire through bends like a single-seater.

The most astonishing bit of kit on the R has to be the gearbox, though. It’s a Sadev unit straight from a WRC car, a pneumatically-actuated sequential, so you have a clutch, but it’s only used for setting off and low-rev shifting. Once you are moving, you pull the paddle toward you to upshift, and push away to downshift — it only has one lever (a big carbon blade) on the right-hand side like a rally car. It shifts up in 40 milliseconds and down in 50 milliseconds with an amazing noise as the bolt action shift fires through, it’s a miraculous piece of engineering! You have to get used to it though; if you come to a complete stop without any pressure in the system, it won’t shift, so don’t get to an island in fourth gear, stop and try to shift down to first. you need to get in gear ahead of time — it’s a car that makes you think. I haven’t driven it off road, it’s been road and track only. The R is badged as a ‘tarmac rally car’ and that’s how I specced it. It would be epic off road, a gravel track or the likes, though I’d want to go back to Ariel and add some more underfloor protection (which is actually a small cost, but adds weight) to protect the charge cooler and rads, but I’m too precious about it and the thought of all the gravel rash makes me wince, so for me it’ll be staying on tarmac!

The biggest challenge to drive fast is in your head with this car. Everything feels fast, so you’re arriving at corners thinking you’re peeling the rubber off the tyres, but in reality you could be adding way more speed into it. The brakes are phenomenal too, again recalibrate your brain, the spot where you think you’ve outbraked yourself is still another 20 metres up the road. With such little mass, you can stand it on its nose, and when you’re feeling confident, you left foot brake to get the nose to bite in and feather the throttle back on to launch out — it’s addictive! It makes every journey an event. Everyone can see you and (so far!) everyone has responded really positively. No nasty comments, just lots of smiles and waves from people which is a great feeling.

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Do you think Riad enjoyed being a passenger for the shoot?!

Other than my wife, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t loved every second, although she is getting used to it and the intercom setup I’ve installed has helped, so I know Riad was loving being in it and around it. It just makes you happy!

Anything you don’t like about it?

Not using it enough! I’d love to be in it all the time but of course there are practical issues with that. It’s designed as an experience toy, but having said that, I’m absolutely going to do some touring this year. North and south Wales, and one day I’d love to hit the Alps, but I need to think of logistics with that!

Any other plans with the car going forward?

I’m eyeing up a good number of SCD drives this year, particularly the North and South Wales events, season opener at Bicester and of course the Secret Meet. I’ve been invited to run at this year’s Supercar Fest runway event having done the hillclimb event last year at Shelsley Walsh, and I’d like to get a couple of track days in this year having had a play at Donington last year. Other than that, just nice sunny day cruising around the Cotswolds is a must being on my doorstep.

Is it a keeper?

I’m a fickle creature but I LOVE this car and I’d be mad to ever move it on. It would have to be a ridiculous offer that would make my head turn! My wife always laughs at me. As soon as I get a new car, I’m on the online configurators looking to the next one!

One that really caught my eye recently was the new Porsche GT4 RS. I contacted most dealers in the UK trying to get one of those, but my lack of buying history meant I got a pretty firm rebuttal and a, “Perhaps sir would consider a Macan...”! They do look amazing though with the Weissach pack, yes please! I will have to get a ‘proper’ supercar one day. I’m not fortunate enough to be able to have a proper collection, although I’ll keep working on it, so that would mean to scratch my GT3 or 600LT itch, I’d need to move the Nomad on, but then I’m back to why would I? See, Fickle!

... Other than my wife, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t loved every second, although she is getting used to it...

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Can you daily drive a Lamborghini? JBR Capital hear from James Calderbank, CEO of Warwick-based gym franchise Transform Hub Group, on how a love of supercars inspired him from an early age to achieve business success and buy his very own Lamborghini. Written by: Angus Frazer for JBR Capital

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When I was about twelve, I saw a firstgeneration Audi R8 V8 come rolling down the street, and I’ve been fascinated by supercars ever since. I went through the whole thing, with posters of Lamborghinis on my bedroom wall and everything, then finally, I got the real thing when I bought an Audi R8 V10 Plus a year ago. I did try a couple of other companies before approaching JBR Capital, but they were slow to get back to me, whereas JBR Capital turned around the quote in 24 hours. Quick decisions are essential, especially when supercars are in such high demand, and I am not the sort of guy who wastes time. I like answers quickly. That’s how I run my business, we move fast and can't be dealing with people dragging their feet.

I dealt with Furkan Kubilay at JBR Capital when I financed my R8. Furkan has been really helpful since day one. We chat on WhatsApp, and whatever I need, he just sorts it out. We just have a really good relationship, so when it was time to finance my Lamborghini, I went straight back to Furkan and JBR Capital without hesitation. It’s great to do business with someone who makes the effort to find out exactly what I want and need and tailors a package to suit.

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I drove the ‘normal’ Huracán LP610-4, and to be honest, it felt like a similar drive to the Audi, but the Performante is entirely different. It’s got a bit more brute force to it and you’ve got to be more careful to prevent the rear end from kicking out. You feel like you are in more of a race car than the R8. The build quality and the multi-media system are very similar, but the Lambo cabin's carbon finish is absolutely mind-blowing.

Can you daily drive a Lamborghini Huracán? That’s an interesting question. If it's a Performante, you might rue attempting that after about 20 minutes, never mind a week, thanks to the bucket seats in it. Seriously though, I could drive my car every day, but I choose not to. I just take it out at weekends, maybe Friday night, Saturday day sort of thing. The R8 was definitely more useable and more comfortable to drive, but it didn’t have the same thrill as the Lamborghini. JBR Capital sent me a link to SCD, but I haven’t got round to it yet because we are setting up three new gyms with the Transform Hub Group, moving house and buying a new car. I have a trip to the Lake District planned with the Lamborghini Club and then to Spain in the summer. When you go to these events, you meet people who are into the same things as you, into cars and business, so you can have some fun and make new friends.

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People who aren’t into cars think it’s about ‘look at me in my new car’, but for anyone that's pushed hard to get the car they have always wanted, it's a symbol of hard work, determination and fulfilling ambitions, which is not the same as showing off at all.

My company’s gyms were shut for a lot of the last two years during the pandemic. As a precaution, I had to cut back on many luxuries and lived on virtually no money for 18 months, but now I am building back stronger. I genuinely believe that, if you can afford it and are not financially stretching yourself, you should go for your dream car. What are you wasting time for? Striving for your dream car can motivate you to work harder, achieve more and get you out of bed in the morning. If you feel a million dollars getting into that car every time you drive it, then why the hell not?

When I was young, I dreamed of just getting to sit in a supercar, so whenever I see a kid with their mum and dad looking at my Lamborghini, I always let them sit in the car and have their picture taken. Supercars inspired me to work hard, and I like to think that if a child gets to sit in one, it might encourage them to do big things and get what they want out of life.

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SCD’s Official Racing Partner Praga gets set for another big year, and talks about how you’ll be able to get up close and personal with their cars and drivers at SCD events. Written by: Praga Cars UK

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2022 is another big year for Praga. In addition to launching the Praga Cup, our own one-make racing championship, we’ll be continuing as the Official Racing Partner of SCD, which will see us take to the track at a number of SCD events and try to tempt you into coming racing. In between Praga Cup race meetings at some of the world’s most famous circuits, we’ll be transporting our R1 race cars and their drivers to

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the exclusive settings of the 2022 SCD events calendar.

Fresh from the grid, we’ll be showing two new Praga R1 Gen 5 cars — our lightweight, aerodynamic racing machines. The cars’ presence at events allows performance car enthusiasts the opportunity to get up close with our Czech carbon creations, and even climb in and try them out for size.

L-R: Aleš Jirásek, Jay Morton and Ben Collins

SCD members will also be able to talk to the R1 drivers, and this year we welcome back our celebrity line-up for the 2022 Praga Guest Driver programme. Ben Collins, the former Stig from BBC Top Gear and now one of the world’s most sought-after stunt and performance drivers, will be with us at SCD events to talk about his extensive supercar experience, as well as the skills of mastering the R1 on circuits like Silverstone and Oulton Park.

Ben will be joined by his co-driver, Jay Morton, the former SAS operator, television presenter, author, and luxury brand ambassador. Jay debuted in racing via the Praga Racing Academy, which fast-tracked him from beginner in a Clio to double race winner in an R1 in 2021. Having taken the chequered flag twice in an R1 in 2021, he continues to hone the mental and physical skill set of a professional racing driver in the Praga Cup 2022 — the epitome of the Academy’s unique ambition.

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L-R: Jimmy Broadbent and Gordie Mutch

Now recognised as one of the world’s most famous sim racers, Praga Guest Driver Jimmy Broadbent became Britcar Rookie of the Year 2021 in his R1 appropriately named ‘Goldie’. He has had an incredible journey with Praga; moving from the sim racing world, where he drives in the most demanding virtual races, to the real-life Praga, Jimmy proves that the R1 is the perfect entry race car for novices, and his professional co-driver, Gordie Mutch, is as proficient in the Praga R1 as he is in Romain

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Grosjean’s sim racing team, R8G, and an ideal mentor for the amateur driver.

If you have dreams of becoming a racing driver, we encourage you to come and chat with our all-star drivers and talk to us in more detail about the Praga Racing Academy and joining the motorsport scene. You can also follow all the news from the Praga Cup by visiting www.pragacup.com

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RPM Technik may be the go-to specialist for your modern GT Porsche models, however they also offer a huge depth of air-cooled expertise for bespoke air-cooled project builds, factory perfect restorations and technical engineering services. Written by: RPM Technik

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Ollie Preston founded RPM Technik in 2001. In the early years, the air-cooled models were the backbone of the workflow for the service workshop and engines/transmissions room. As the water-cooled models started to find their way into the specialist network, this extra pipeline of work encouraged the move to their current 12,000 square foot HQ building in Tring, Hertfordshire.

The continual evolution and growth of the Special Projects department has resulted in the expansion into an additional dedicated building for aircooled restorations. This space is equipped with two ramps, a rotisserie and a raft of period system testing equipment such as flow benches and a huge Bosch motor tester and gas analyser. “We are something of a rarity” says Ollie. “New replacement parts aren’t available and there are very few people who know how to repair the period components. We stand separate to many specialists as we have both the knowledge and the testing equipment to get these old girls running again”.

The Special Projects department also shares access with the company’s engine and transmissions shop and Beissbarth geometry facility. On-site machining equipment allows RPM Technik to overhaul cylinder heads and a state-of-the-art tumbler refinishes engine cases and other components kindly and without risking contamination of the oil pathways that other media blasting techniques can risk. RPM Technik’s Special Projects and Air-Cooled department has completed some interesting builds in recent years and here are three examples.

THE LEGEND – PORSCHE 959 The levels of attention to detail are matched by the investment in original workshop manuals and model-specific maintenance tools. Such tooling has allowed RPM Technik to recommission and restore not one but two 959s. The basic shape might look like a 911 but the level of tech in these models is staggering when you consider the concept was first worked on in 1981, over 40 years ago! The 959 had centre-lock magnesium wheels and tyre pressure sensors – technology that only made it into mainstream Porsches with the 991 GT3 over 25 years later. Both 959s needed engine rebuilds, a task that required a very high level of perseverance and ingenuity. Engine components for a 959 just aren’t available anymore. As a result, both turbochargers were rebuilt, a custom wastegate fabricated and a specialist motorsport subcontractor used modern alloys to create identically light, but more robust, replacements to the fatigued titanium valves.

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The white 959 was delivered to RPM Technik after being released from a bonded warehouse where it spent two decades standing idle. The car and the period electronic systems have been extensively tested and a detailed mechanical recommissioning job sheet has been created. To maximise the provenance and to highlight the interesting backstory to this example, there are no plans to repaint the bodywork. Instead, it has received a very timeconsuming decontamination and deep detailing exercise that took 10 man-days!

THE RESTOMOD – 964 BACKDATE There is a certain well known Californian builder of resto-modded 964s that has a lot of column inches on this type of project. However, RPM Technik had a client that wanted his perfect incarnation of a 911 to be narrow-bodied with some very specific details to bring the car to his perfect specification. Being an artisan in his field of jewellery, he had a clear vision of how he wanted the interior and exterior of the car to look, but RPM Technik were given free rein to do all the mechanical and technical designs to make this something that would be the very best of its type. The spec is vast; the build has a carbon roof, uprated suspension and brakes, rebuilt gearbox with motorsport synchros and limited-slip diff, power-assisted steering delete, genuine 2.7 RS LWT panels, bespoke rear grill, electric heater system, heated front windscreen, bespoke carbon fibre bumpers, trick oil cooling system and backdate gauges. One of the masterpieces of this build is under the engine lid. The capacity of the original 250bhp 3.6-litre engine was raised to 3.8 litres and so started a long R&D exercise that is only just now coming to its ultimate iteration. This Alpha variant of the engine developed 385bhp @ 7500rpm and had the option of three different engine maps to suit the application in hand. The current engine is expected to dyno at more power yet will be a more responsive and useable engine for town driving.

This final evolution has even more bespoke engineering. This includes CNC-flowed cases and cylinder heads, custom rods, custom barrels and pistons, GT3 crankshaft, bespoke cams, individual throttle bodies and a carbon fibre air box. These engines are available for £75,000ish as a crate engine, run in and complete with their own ECU and wiring loom. This engine will fit most air-cooled models.

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THE RS PROTOTYPE The 964 RS NGT was designed as a Cup racing car from the 1990s, allowing both gentleman drivers and professionals to race across the world in 911s that looked very similar to those that could be bought in your local showroom. The chassis number of this particular example was different to any other 964 RS the owner had ever seen, and it was suspected that it could be one of 11 factory prototypes. Jürgen Barth, ex-Porsche factory driver, Le Mans winner and brainchild behind the Porsche Carrera Cup programme, was invited by the owner to inspect this RS to confirm or deny the provenance he long suspected. Jürgen was able to access Porsche Museum records and, along with his encyclopaedic knowledge of these early cars, he was able to confirm that the car was indeed a genuine prototype and press car — an amazing moment. The restoration the Special Projects team undertook was sympathetic to this fabulous piece of Porsche history, a job they are very proud to have completed.

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As Good as New Supercar servicing specialists V Engineering talk us through their solution to drastically reduce the cost of repairing one of the McLaren P1’s most common faults. Written by: V Engineering

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An issue we are starting to see more of is the failure of the McLaren P1 Hybrid Drive Assembly seals. The ‘HDA’ unit is a beautifully engineered piece of work made by Xtrac. Sitting between the engine and gearbox, the HDA’s job is to provide both the mounting for the E motor, and the drive gears that feed the air conditioning system compressor. The total power output of the P1 is 903PS, 750PS of which comes from the twin-turbo 3.8-litre V8, with its massive turbos providing huge boost.

The downside of having such large turbochargers is that they take time to spool up and provide boost, but this turbo lag is taken care of by the E motor providing up to 150PS of ‘infill’ power during the lag periods. This is a key feature of the P1 and the Hybrid Drive Assembly is key to transmitting this power. It goes without saying that the HDA sits in a very harsh environment with massive temperatures and pressures, and failure of the seals is now becoming more common. Previously, the procedure was to remove both the engine and gearbox as a complete unit and then remove the gearbox from the engine to access the HDA, but thanks to some very clever spanner work and our bespoke suspension/rear wing bleed rig, we can now simply remove the gearbox on its own, halving the labour time.

The HDA unit is bolted directly to the front of the McLaren Graziano Gearbox, and as recently as 2020, it was necessary to replace the entire HDA unit if the seals were leaking at a cost of circa £25K. The most common area of leakage was from the two large O rings that seal the clutch control pressure housing. McLaren launched a seal only kit in 2020 at a cost of £2,500, but this kit only replaces the E Motor and gearbox first motion shaft seals. We have sourced all of the seals and O rings in the HDA unit and can now offer a complete HDA refurbishment (unit only) for just £1,500. All six seals (gearbox, e motor, AC drive pulley and O rings and clutch housing O rings) are replaced, along with a new AC pulley drive belt.

After the HV battery, the HDA unit is the biggest concern for all P1 clients and prospective purchasers. The V Engineering HDA reconditioning program is the ideal solution for the second biggest concern in P1 ownership, and we have successfully refurbished quite a few now! www.v-engineering.co.uk

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A Neutral Balance is Just A Shim Away In our previous contributions to SCD, we detailed the benefits of a good suspension setup, and in this issue we’ll be looking at how precision designed camber shims could possibly be the best upgrade when looking to transform your great handling car into one that handles excellently. Written by: Matthew Cowley

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hen driven hard, supercars have a tendency to understeer. This is due to car manufacturers erring on the side of caution when it comes to the handling of their top-tier models.

For owners however, this can be frustrating and costly. Not only do you experience understeer, particularly during the middle phase of a corner, where your steering feels numb and imprecise, but you also find that the outer edges of your tyres are being worn out at a worrying rate. The main source of this frustration is simply a lack of negative camber across the front and rear axles of your supercar. The toe settings of supercars are often very conservative too, which is done in order to give additional stability at high speed, and in adverse weather conditions such as heavy rain, or snow. Unfortunately, these conservative settings translate into a supercar that is somewhat hamstrung in terms of offering its full cornering capabilities.

Negative camber is an essential component of an axle’s geometry on a performance car, yet it is often found to be lacking on most supercars when they leave the factory. This is partly due to the fact that Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche and others sell their cars globally. As a result, their cars must be set up in order to accommodate the varying quality of roads from country to country. For example even minor roads in Germany are very well paved, offering a smooth and grippy surface perfect for supercars. Compare this with a neglected, frostbitten B-road in rural Wales and the need for a conservative suspension setup is understandable. Think again about road conditions across every continent on Earth, and then you can really begin to understand why manufacturers are so reluctant to install advanced geometry settings.

The second reason for the ‘baked-in’ understeer is due to the wide range of experience levels of potential owners. Some drivers may get a thrill from a car that is edgy and that needs to be controlled with confidence, whereas others may prefer a car that is more approachable and accommodating. In the interest of safety, manufacturers often make their cars easy for most drivers to enjoy which unfortunately means including understeer as part of a chassis’ handling characteristics to act as a safety net, informing drivers when they are pushing their luck a little too much.

We spoke to a test driver at a high-end manufacturer who explained that, when developing the driving dynamics of their cars, the drivers would first work to find a good neutral balance for the chassis and then, upon achieving this, they would work with engineers to make the chassis ‘safe’. This was achieved by introducing understeer into the car’s setup before it was signed off for production. Whilst manufactures’ commitment to approachability is commendable, it can be frustrating to still have to put up with unwanted understeer. To combat this, we’ve designed a wide range of camber shims to suit a variety of supercars and a variety of applications.

A camber shim is a thin piece of stainless steel that is slotted between the chassis of your supercar and the lower wishbone of the suspension assembly. When inserted, the shim pushes the wishbone outwards, creating essential negative camber. Shims are especially useful for supercars, as many of them do not offer camber adjustment as standard, making shims the only way to improve the negative camber values across the front and rear axles. Negative camber is when the top of a car’s wheels tilt inwards towards the centre of the chassis. This helps to generate more grip during hard cornering as a larger portion of the outside tyres’ surface area is used as the weight transfers onto them. This greater surface area helps to improve grip, reduce understeer and to give far more steering feedback.

This is why our shims are such an influential upgrade for your car. They are easy to install, you simply loosen a few bolts and slot them between the wishbone. Our shims are also designed to be ‘fit and forget’, meaning that they add a fixed amount of negative camber which doesn’t change once fitted. As camber shims fit seamlessly into your supercar’s existing suspension assembly, you can fit shims of varying thicknesses depending on the application. From road shims, which are the thinnest and offer a small amount of additional negative camber, all the way up to race-spec shims, which are chunky enough to offer an excellent amount of negative camber for track day or racing applications. We’ve also designed our camber shims so they can be strategically fitted into the suspension assembly in order to achieve additional positive caster which improves steering feel and dynamic camber gain. With shims installed, your supercar will feel like a completely different machine. The ‘baked-in’ understeer we mentioned earlier will be greatly reduced, particularly during the mid-corner phase. The added steering feel from the additional negative camber will give you far more sensation through the steering wheel, allowing you to steer your car with greater confidence and accuracy.

As camber shims are applicable to a car’s rear axle, you will also experience much better corner-exit traction and stability as the tyre works with the car rather than against it.

Finally and crucially, thanks to the additional negative camber on both the front and rear axles, you will experience less uneven tyre wear, meaning you’ll get far more hard miles from your tyres between replacements. We make shims for a range of supercars including: McLaren, Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi, Ferrari and the AMG GT R.

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