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Supercar Sunday, Gaydon, Part 1 - June 2010 |
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Written by Colin and Dan
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Monday, 28 June 2010 22:08 |
 
Supercar Sunday - Gaydon, June 2010
Supercar Sunday at the Gaydon Museum is now an event firmly embedded in many a motor enthusiast's calendar, and for good reason, as it can pretty well be guaranteed that not only will a large number of cars be on display, but that there will be something to see to suit all tastes, with vehicles ranging from the true "supercars" of Ferrari, Lamborghini and other such exotica, all the way down to some much loved vehicles that perhaps stretch the interpretation of the event's title more than a little. In years gone by, the event has had to compete with Fathers' Day for attention, but in 2010, it was scheduled to take place a whole week later than the day when the male of the species might have an even better excuse than normal to indulge in his passion for things automotive., This year the challenge came from South Africa, with an England v Germany World Cup game of epic significance scheduled to start before proceedings at Gaydon were due to conclude. This did not seem to make any difference either to the number of cars on display, or indeed to the crowds of visitors until early afternoon, when, somewhat predictably, both people and cars started to depart. Of course, the event organisers had connected up a large TV screen, and it was possible to watch the national team's rather lamentable performance from the event. Anyway, on to the cars.
ABARTH
Having read the qualification criteria on the event website, where not only "supercars" were invited to apply for display space, but also cars that came in categories of "performance" or "rare and interesting", I decided to enter the Abarth, and was delighted to be accepted. I was even more pleased that when on arrival, I managed to get pretty much pole position in the entire display, with a very central parking spot, and that I could persuade the organiser to leave room for other Abarths from the Abarth forum who had also applied. In the end, only one other such car arrived, and so our two Pasadoble Red Abarth 500s ended up next to each other.
      
Both cars attracted a lot of attention, and I was really chuffed when someone came up to near the end of the event and told me that mine was the "best" car there. He went on to explain that he had recently been loaned one of the Tributo Ferrari models when his Ferrari 360 was in for a service and he had completely fallen for its charms and the fun of driving it. He is now trying to persuade his wife that she does not need her Discovery and to get one of these instead!
There were a few more Abarthisti at the event, but they had to park up in the main car park, and more would have surely attended had there not been other Abarth and Italian car events on elsewhere in the country . Next year, the Abarth Forum will surely put in a bigger presence!
AC
The Cobra was definitely a 1960s super car, much copied with replicas, though the chrome car was definitely an original.
      
ARIEL
This Atom looked like fun, especially on a day blessed with high temperatures and plenty of sunshine.
 
ALPINA
Roadster 3.4S
 
ASTON MARTIN
There is always a strong showing of this most British of marques at this event.
       
The more modern models are best represented, as these have been built in far greater volume than their predecessors, but nevertheless, there were some classic models, ranging from the DBIII convertible to DB6.
    
V8 Vantage
 
This DB7 Volante is one of just 9 cars billed as the Jubilee edition, created to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the marque.
V8 Vantage
The latest V12 Vantage looks very striking, and is quite easily distinguished when out on the road, with its large bonnet vents.
     
AUDI
First car we saw on arrival was an example of the new R8 Spider. It was the perfect day to be driving one of these. Very desirable!
   
Quattro
R8 coupe
S8 - complete with carbon ceramic brakes
 
Late in the day an RS4 had appeared, too.
 
BENTLEY
Perhaps the first "supercar", long before the phrase had been coined, there was this Blower Bentley.
 
BMW
I was more than a little surprised to see that a 118d Convertible had been admitted, as this is not exactly rare, and it is not really a performance car. No such issues with the other 1 series in attendance, though, as the 130i hits both of those criteria, and anyway, it ensure that Piers did not have a long trek to and from the main car park. When he popped open the bonnet, and then revved the engine, there were more than a few surprised people, who perhaps had not realised just what this rather subtle "Q" car really can do!
    
M3
  
There were some Z3 and Z4 models, as well, as you might expect.
      
A rather badly decalled V12 850
 
CATERHAM
Only one lone Caterham, from what the photos and the memory bank evidence
CHRYSLER/DODGE
An absolutely superb showing of roadsters, GTS coupes and a couple of Mark II roadsters. There was even an Oreca racing car replica. Although rather crude in some ways, this car has massive appeal, and the sound of that V10 engine is just wonderful!
              
CORVETTE
1960's C2 and a late '90's/early 2000's C5
    
DELOREAN
All seven of these cars arrived, mid-morning, in convoy, with the gull wing doors open, making for quite a spectacle.
          
DERONDA
FERRARI
Traditionally, this has been an event that sees too few Ferrari, but there were more here than in some previous years. Oldest model was this 246 GT Dino.
 
There were three Testarossa, one of which had been treated to some different wheels, of rather dubious aesthetic value.
  
From the 1990s were these 348 and F355 cars.
   
There were several of the big V12 engined 500 and 575M cars. These remain one of the best looking Ferraris of recent times, in my opinion.
   
456GT
The 612 Scaglietti can hold its head up high, and the noise it makes is just, well, ...... pleasing
 
There was a 599GTB, and it was on duty with the Sporting Bears. It seemed to be the most popular car of all for trips out.
 
There were a small number of the 360 cars, too, including these:
 
FIAT
A lone example of the ever popular Fiat Coupe was at the event.
 
FORD
Lots of Mustangs. There were a couple of lovely early '60's versions and a wide variety of the much later cars including a GT500' Super Snake' and a 'Bullit'
              
F150 - not a supercar, but it does have a 5.4 litre V8
A solitary Mark I Focus RS
There were examples of both the recent GT and its earlier namesake, though in fact that earlier car was a Safir replica and not the original Ford car.
   
The Cougar Owners club put in a strong showing, just as they did last year. Many of their cars had been somewhat modified, but there were a few that were as originally supplied.
  
HONDA
There were far fewer NS-X cars at the event than last year, but there were still plenty, with examples from throughout the production life of the car, showing how the styling did not change but some of the details did.
            
JAGUAR
This XJ220 was kept busy taking lucky passengers for a ride, under the aegis of the Sporting Bears charity scheme.
    
There were plenty of XK8 cars on display.
      
JENSEN
There were 2 of these cars, a CV8 and an Interceptor. With their large American V8 engines, these cars certainly capture the spirit of the event's theme pretty well.
   
KTM
Perfect weather for an X-Bow, surely.
  
Now read Part 2
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Last Updated on Friday, 02 July 2010 20:24 |
Discuss (4 posts)
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Supercar Sunday, Gaydon, Part 1 - June 2010
Jul 02 2010 06:59:27
Report of an awesome day out is finally ready. Delayed by too much work (!), issues with Photobucket and then finally so many pictures that the completed article would not load. So, make sure you have a look at Part 2 to see Lamborghini to Westfield and the Bikes.
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#22783 |
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Re:Supercar Sunday, Gaydon, Part 1 - June 2010
Jul 02 2010 19:47:27
Great pics, as usual, Colin. You did well to get the Abarth on display. it does seem to be the star of the show wherever it goes.
Of course, the older cars appeal the most to me, the Bentley Speed Six (not Blower  ) being the one I would take home.
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#22803 |
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Re:Supercar Sunday, Gaydon, Part 1 - June 2010
Jul 02 2010 20:27:43
Great pics all round there guys. Thanks for doing the final fettling there Colin. I was getting frustrated!
I've now added the BMW pics that I some how managed to completely delete with one press of the Enter button!
It was an excellent day, my head was peeling today though!
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#22805 |
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Re:Supercar Sunday, Gaydon, Part 1 - June 2010
Jul 04 2010 08:59:26
Jolly good stuff.
I thought this was actually one of the better shows yet, despite the irresistible attraction elsewhere of the football... It was certainly clear that there was no room for any cars to be displayed that hadn't registered in advance. An E-type and an XKR were both turned away ahead of me when I was driving in.
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#22826 |
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