Automotive

Here are a few more car pics from The Quail event/Concorso Italiano events....

McLaren F1

Mercedes-Benz had two very interesting cars.  Lots of 300SL's displayed around the event too!

BMW M1

MB SLR

This Lambo Espada had a intricate custom dash installed just in time for the event

-MW

A Ferrari that I've never seen before....

A unique Lamborghini.....

-MW

This message has been edited by DRMW on 2009-09-01 00:05:55

No message body

No message body

I also remember seeing an amazing SUV a long time ago... yeah I am that old...

They had a black Lambo SUV at the Concorso Italiano, and it's a cool car!  Let me see where my pics are of it.  Interesting thing is that the door hinges were mounted on the outside of the car, weird huh?

-MW

lamborghini also built/builds marine engines:

No message body

No message body

Hahaha..
Never seen such a fluffy n cute Ferrari. Even a Dino is not fluffy !
Thanks for your previous post with yellow Dino n interesting num ber plate!
Sorry for late response, I was away.

Cheers,Linda

Glad you liked that 'unique' Ferrari!    Hope you had a good vacation and will share your pics with the rest of us!

-MW

Hi Ming,
Guarantee you will feel like dropping all on hands and fly to Bali right away!
Superb weather and superb food.
Superb sea and beach and sun and ......
LoL
Ok do wait for few days as currently my memory cards are in process.
I definitely will keep the memories for long but hate to keep the kilos ! LoL
I always keep the kilos longer than the trips itself! Sigh..

Cheers,
Linda

Hello Linda!

I heard Bali is beautiful and would really like to see your pics when you get a chance to process your pics.  Food pics too?  Now I think everyone will be interested in that!!!! 

-MW

Hi Ming,
I'm afraid the pics I took are mostly food and scenery! Less people, definitely.
I remember vividly.... Aaaaah...Balinese foods are yummilicious!
Yes, CH is in charge of bringing my memory cards for processing so it takes few days
usually (",)
So, gotta wait.
We spent more times going around town than lying on the beach haha..
Too many foods to try, cannot waste time!

Cheers,
Linda

My friends and I were driving from Monterey, after a day at the races, and we saw a Lamborghini a just up the road. As we got closer I saw the tractor on a trailer and jokingly said "Look and the Lamborghini tractor" and as we passed it I was very suprised to see it was a Lamborghini.

Good times in CA.

JerryW

No message body

I remember not being that into the original Spyker models I saw several years ago at a car show, but I've got to say -- the C8 Aileron Spyder is delectable.

Thanks for the great photos!
Daos

Hello Daos!

The Spyker is much cooler in person than in pics, plus those scissor doors really look great.  Thanks for the compliments!  I really had a great time up in Monterey.

-MW

You have very unique taste Daos! This car is truly a very special car. In many ways, I truly think this car is actually a very beautiful car, although its styling is somewhat unusual and features many flat surfaces without a large amount of curvaceous body work; the vehicle gives an understated elegance coupled with large amounts of chrome accents and a sheer wow factor.

The story within is completely different. The entirely handmade interior transports one to an entirely different realm of craftsmanship and handiwork. The interior of this car, and the entire concept of this car is purely original and utterly unique in this segment.

Although the car is special, the engine is not an in-house engine. The engine is supplied by Audi and emanates a very impressive exhaust note that sings a mixture between an Italian Puccini and a German Wagner. The car is Swedish, actually. The sound of this car is very good. There are a few squeaks and rattling in the interior (leather rubbing on leather), so avoid bumpy roads or else you'll have another soundtrack.

I had the liberty to drive the C8 Aileron coupe version and I have to say I wasn't able to experience anything too fascinating about the performance of the car, and the brakes seem to fade with just mildly aggressive driving. Very impressed with everything about the car except for driving it. Steering feel at initial turn-in seemed artificial while having inconsistent resistance, automatic (!) transmission not as responsive as it should be, and brakes were completely faded. But to give the car credit, the car I drove was a prototype car, meaning they haven't gotten all the kinks ironed out at the factory.

Lastly, it's difficult to get in and out of the coupe version. Look at this poor person trying to get into this car. I normally like my sports cars with fixed roofs, but I'd definitely prefer this one in the Spyder (=convertible) version.

Did you know Spyker was one of the first car companies and originally used engines from Maybach!

This message has been edited by patrick_y on 2009-09-01 20:21:51

Thank you for the review of the Spyker.  It is a very interesting car.  I doubt I will ever own an exotic car, as my pocketbook would likely never support such an indulgence, but I do enjoy their beauty.  I suspect I'd sooner spend 100s of thousands on a fantastic new watch than a fast ride.

Cheers,
Daos 

No message body

Hello Stefan!

Which one is your favorite?  McLaren, M1, Spyker, Bugatti? 

-MW

No message body

drooled all over my keyboard, and shorted the PC.  LOL LOL

No message body

Hi Ming, what a gathering that is ... WOW !! The SLR makes a ridiculous sound (just youtube it), i don't understand how they could do that. The looks of the car are amazing but in combination with sound it's a Donald Duck car IMHO. I went to a car show too last weekend; though the level was a bit low ... Cheers, Filip

No message body

I had the opportunity to drive the SLR Roadster this year at Pebble Beach, and it is perhaps the scariest sounding vehicle I've ever driven.

Most vehicles, the driver and the vehicle occupants don't hear much of the sound, because the exhaust system channels the sound towards the rear of the car where the tailpipes and mufflers are. Thus; bystanders, animals, and the local foliage will hear your car's sound as you drive by and feel a bit intimidated because of the outrageous sound made by the car. However, as the driver, you're still enjoying a relatively serene ride.

However, on the SLR, the mufflers are on the side of the car, directly ahead of the driver's ears. This means the sound is exiting through very short exhaust gas pipes on the side of the car (which further enhances the sound) and is also in a better position for the driver and passenger to hear the car. Thus, needless to say, when one has a heavy right foot, the sound can become very overwhelming audible very quickly. Then, for bystanders and the local animal population, the short pipes regarding the SLR's exhaust gas system means there is more sound, which makes the car even noisier to the local area.

Needless to say, I was very impressed with the SLR I drove. The car was nearly perfect in every respect; it's extremely reliable, serviceable, ironically practical in some ways, and truly very exotic. This would probably be the best every-day car to drive among world-class supercars!

After I drove the SLR for half an hour, I invited an amateur racing driver friend to drive the vehicle for half an hour. His impressions of the vehicle are not as glowing as mine, but if I can get a chance to speak with him and formally quote his remarks, I'll make a review of this fantastic machine with two very different perspectives; one of a grand touring driver with some sporting intentions (i.e. myself) and the other of a truly talented track driver who drives Laguna Seca in an all-wheel-drive Porsche 911 Turbo (996 series) with a passenger and spare tire in 1 min 39 seconds.