Great photos here

Ferrari 612, California, Enzo (black), 458 Italia, F430, 599 at FOC UK National Concours 2010

Ferrari 288 GTO and F40 National Concours 2010 Entrants Ferrari Owners\' Club UK

This year I managed not to lose the convoy at the first set of lights, and it must have looked an impressive and noisy site through the peaceful Sunday morning streets of the capital, not to mention on the motorway too… not something you see every day, and some inhabitants of the small villages we passed through near Cliveden house had slightly bewildered expressions on their faces as yet another brightly coloured and noisy car passed them by.

On leaving this event last year my trusty satnav managed to take me down a narrow country lane, en route to the M40, which became more nightmarish still with the presence of a 6′ 6″ (or 78 inches) width restriction at the wheel level, in the form of a really high kerb to ensure destruction of wheels and side panels, and not just scuff your wing mirrors. With the 348 at 75 inches this didn’t leave much room for error (3.5 cm each side). This year I thought I would fox the satnav by driving about 15 mins in completely the opposite direction, towards Slough, then let it recalculate a different route. The satnav duly obliged and a new route popped up which looked totally different, and seemed to be heading in a new direction altogether. Imagine my surprise when after 20 mins of driving I saw the dreaded 6′ 6″ width restriction warning sign whizz past… arrrrggh! I don’t understand why there isn’t a feature on satnavs to find a route avoiding tight width restrictions, how do lorry drivers and Testarossa owners survive?

Once the Scudrunners were located there was time to admire the great turnout of cars for such an early time of day. There was about 30 Ferraris and 10 Lamborghinis, with the different marques parked on opposite sides of the road, all gleaming in the early morning sunshine and set against the green, leafy backdrop of Hyde Park. The highlight for me was the arrival of a red Ferrari F50, and to keep the Lamborghini fans happy there was also a couple of mean looking Muircialagos. Before leaving for the main event at Cliveden House most of the cars opted to go for a leisurely drive as a convoy through the famous streets of London, taking in such delights as Picadilly Circus, the Houses of Parliament, and of course Hyde Park corner.

With the arrival of a final few cars everyone was set to head off to Cliveden House in a mega convoy of gleaming Italian supercars. The only flaw in this cunning plan is the nature of the streets of central London with the presence every 25m of traffic lights, As soon as we turned out of Hyde Park myself and two other cars got held at a red light so became detached from the others. Our efforts to relocate to convoy failed, so on came the sat nav and we headed out to Cliveden House on our own. Given we didn’t see a single other car from Hyde Park on the way I can only assume our sat nav route was different to the main route of the convoy. It’s a shame the organisers of Scudrunners didn’t inform everyone of the route before setting out, or maybe have a regroup point just outside of London to allow the convoy to reform.

Cliveden House was a great venue for the show itself, with a long drive up to the main house perfect for lining with Italian cars. The house also has extensive grounds, picnic areas, water features, and such like to explore. Ferraris outnumbered Lamborghinis and other marques by 2 to 1 or even 3 to 1, and there were some unusual examples on display from each. All in all a good day out, just watch out if leaving Cliveden House and using a sat nav to get back on to the M40, almost immediately on leaving the house mine took me down a country road with an almost impossible 6’6” width restriction, with no turning area to allow cars to turn back, and restricted at the kerb just to make it even harder to navigate and ensure complete destruction of your wheels and bodywork. At the kerb it was definitely narrower than 6’6”, luckily I had a passenger with me to get out and guide, I’m reliably informed I had about 2cm max clearance each side!

The reason for getting up so early was to meet up with a convoy of approximately 55 Ferraris at the Hilton hotel near Brooklands and then to head into the circuit in a convoy to enter the circuit via Mercedes Benz world, thus beating the rush and jams that can occur at this popular event, especially when the weather is favourable. On arriving at the meeting point we were not disappointed, the entire car park was full of Ferraris, including a brand new Ferrari California in light blue. It’s definitely a departure from the sleek Ferrari designs of the past, with a rather more chunky front and rear end. I’ll pass on giving a my verdict on the design until I’ve seen, and hopefully heard, a Rosso red one in the flesh

Once inside Brooklands there was a great display of a variety of Italian cars, no doubt boosted by the favourable weather forecast. Some highlights included an original Ferrari P3 330 Le Mans racer, the above mentioned Ferrari California, an F50 (rare enough as it is) in an unusual graphite colour, matching Ferrari F430 Scuderia 16M spyder and berlinetta, a Ferrari 365 berlinetta boxer (easily mistaken for the slightly more common but equally beautiful 512BBi), a Ferrari 166 Barchetta (the 44th Ferrari ever made), and a 1930s Alpha Romeo (an original P3?) racer badged with Enzo Ferrari’s prancing horse shield, and a rare Alfa Romeo 8C ompetizione, I have to say it did look good. Whilst eating ice creams in the sunshine and goggling all the great cars on show I looked round to see none other than radio DJ, and avid Ferrari collector, Chris Evans chomping on a cigar as he pulled up with his wife in his £5.4million Ferrari 250 California. If that wasn’t enough he was closely followed by a friend driving a white Ferrari 288 GTO (I presume also owned by Mr Evans!), complete with baby Evans Jr in a baby seat as the passenger.

On top of all the fabulous Italian cars on display the Brooklands museum itself is well worth looking round. Some of the old racing cars they have (from around 1900-1940) are stunning, like the 24 litre Napier racer (yes 24 litre… mpg and CO2 emissions anyone?), and you won’t see cars like these in many other places in the world. There was also a Formula 1 exhibition which had Frentzen’s Jordan car, as well as Senna’s classic Malboro McLaren, this one was a demonstration car that never actually raced, but was used in promotion, so probably had the man himself pose with it for media photos at some point. Also in this exhibition, but sadly temporarily out of order, was a sit in computer simulation of driving the original Brooklands circuit. The driver initially gets a lap in a virtual Formula 1 car, but for the second lap this is replaced by a car with typical handling characteristics of a 1930s racer… we were reliably told that whilst people complete the first lap with ease, most people crash almost immediately on the second lap. Obviously car handling has improved a lot in almost a century

The ticket to the AutoItalia show also lets you leave the Brooklands complex and take the short walk to Mercedes-Benz world. This was the first time I had been and I can say it’s well worth the visit. There are some pristine, classic Mercedes-Benzs on display, including a 300SL Gull wing Coupe, and the 1970s dictators’ (Idi Amin, etc) favourite car, the 600. You can also browse, and even buy, the latest Mercedes-Benz and Smart car range, plus out the back there is a mini race circuit and wet skidpan where you can watch professional and novice drivers putting the cars through their paces. If you are feeling brave you can pay to either be taken round by a pro in an AMG, or actually have a go yourself. Booking in advance may be best if you want to do this as it seemed very popular. For the less adventurous there is plenty of picnic space, and an indoor viewing area in case the weather isn’t so great, to watch the cars from. Mercedes-Benz world is a slightly mad place, it’s a museum, new car show room, and driving experience school all rolled into one!

http://fcars.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=10104

Well after 2 years of fantastic driving, and some unforgettable days out, I have to reluctantly put my beloved 1985 Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole UK RHD up for sale! The reason is I have another Ferrari in the pipeline and I simply need the garage space. It’s a great car that has never let me down and drives like a dream. I will be sad when it goes, and will never forget the distinctive roar of the engine spring to life, angrily gurgling away until replaced by the familiar purr of a warm v8. I guess, like some other things, you never forget your first Ferrari.

If you are interested in experiencing a little bit of Ferrari life then have a look through this blog, check out my YouTube videos, and contact me via the PistonHeads advert, or leave a comment below with your email address. I know everyone says this, but there really is nothing to spend on my Mondial: it’s had new tyres, a shiny new exhaust, new mats, window boosters, and even a new CD/Mp3 stereo, and it’s up for way less than I paid for it. Just whoever buys it better look after it, or else!