Now this should be exciting - McLaren versus Enzo on 5th Gear...

[mr bridger]

Originally Posted by Patster

Thanks Tim for your pics!

a stunning collection Mr. Bridger... how do you rank your rides? assuming that the F1 is #1, whats next?

...hello patstar, all round the zonda is "easiest" to live with, the enzo is probably 2nd, the F40 & F1 are pure adrenelin...just the way i prefer them!, thanks, mr bridger.

[mini magic]

Hi Mr. Bridger, you have a rather nice collection. What is your opinion on the F50 and 288 GTO? What about the Veyron?


Cheers



Chris

[chernobyl]

Originally Posted by mr bridger

.....that said, curiosity may eventually get the better of me!!, regards, mr bridger.

From what you have been saying here i honestly dont think a veyron will do much for you. You seem to be looking for the ultimate 'raw' driving experience[which would be a factory prepared Ferrari F1 car] but as for the veyron, its very tame..polite even.

Another issue which doesnt seem to be mentioned much is the Turbo Lag. Its not as bad as Gordan Murray made it out to be, but if you are a fan of NA engines then it will appear very poor. Low end grunt is where the turbos are poor and on public roads, low end grunt is everything.

You mentioned the Zonda F. You cant really go wrong. Again, going back to the raw experience that you look for, you can have a 'clubsport' option on the F. Lighter, more power, more fun ultimately. But you already had a Zonda, so what can the F really offer? Only a test drive can answer that

You also want a car that will not depreciate in value. Considering that you are willing to spend a £1m, want a car that will possibly appreciate and look for the insane road experience...i would say a CLK GTR. V12 original with full racing spec Gearbox. A/C as standard

Good luck with your purchase.

[mr bridger]

Originally Posted by mini magic

Hi Mr. Bridger, you have a rather nice collection. What is your opinion on the F50 and 288 GTO? What about the Veyron?


Cheers



Chris

....hi chris, the veyron i answered briefly on an earlier post, but to recap, probably too heavy to handle IMHO (2 tonnes), residuals "may" suffer due to lack of current racing pedigree (similar to zonda), NO luggage space at all so a bit impractical to use even as a weekend away car, in short, a semi civilised dragster??!!....the F50 i like but never "ached" for 1, although a friend of mine has 1 & loves it dearly,..he tells all about its formula 1 derived engine etc, but i"ve never heard of a 4700cc formula 1 car!.. i prefer the F40....288GTO is 1 of the most beautifull cars ever made, its still up there even today in performance terms, although its power delivey on boost is very similar (if not worse) than the F40..ie/ use extreme caution!!...thanks, mr bridger.

[mr bridger]

Originally Posted by chernobyl

From what you have been saying here i honestly dont think a veyron will do much for you. You seem to be looking for the ultimate 'raw' driving experience[which would be a factory prepared Ferrari F1 car] but as for the veyron, its very tame..polite even.

Another issue which doesnt seem to be mentioned much is the Turbo Lag. Its not as bad as Gordan Murray made it out to be, but if you are a fan of NA engines then it will appear very poor. Low end grunt is where the turbos are poor and on public roads, low end grunt is everything.

You mentioned the Zonda F. You cant really go wrong. Again, going back to the raw experience that you look for, you can have a 'clubsport' option on the F. Lighter, more power, more fun ultimately. But you already had a Zonda, so what can the F really offer? Only a test drive can answer that

You also want a car that will not depreciate in value. Considering that you are willing to spend a £1m, want a car that will possibly appreciate and look for the insane road experience...i would say a CLK GTR. V12 original with full racing spec Gearbox. A/C as standard

Good luck with your purchase.

...hi chernobyl, not so much raw, more "connected"...the turbo lag is/can be a problem, but dont forget once the car is up & running its more a Q of keeping the car in boost, ie/ correct gear & revs...my zonda was to "clubsport" spec, but the F clubsport is now to 650bhp whereas the S was "only" 600bhp, also there is now the option of carbon brakes on the F, not offered on the S...i sat in the F on last visit to factory, i liked it a lot although the interior of that particular car was a bit OTT for my tastes....CLK GTR, the flying car, literally!...a bit too big dimensions wise for me, similar to the XJ220 in that respect, thanks, mr bridger.

[mini magic]

Thanks for re-capping, i missed the earlier post. I agree with the power delivery on the GTO, a good friend has one and he is a skilled driver (has been doing various types of racing for a long time) and even he said he's almost lost it a few times. Its an awesome car though. The thing that sticks in my head most about it is the sound. Then again, i've not been in an F40 or F50. I still prefur the naturally aspirated cars though.

Thanks again

[Patster]

on the topic of carbon brakes on all your cars that have em, is it a lot of work to get the brakes up to 'working temperature' for everyday road use, or are these 'road-use carbon brakes'... if there's such a thing? thanks...

[ArchangelGTR]

The "carbon" thats on road cars are a composite, carbon-metallic or carbon ceramic. Pure carbon brakes cannot be brought up to operating temps on regular street use and are made for racing only.

[Patster]

ahh gotcha... so part of the GTR conversion for 'road-use' would be to get rid of the race-spec CF brakes and re-fitted with CC brakes instead? thanks...

[mr bridger]

Originally Posted by ArchangelGTR

The "carbon" thats on road cars are a composite, carbon-metallic or carbon ceramic. Pure carbon brakes cannot be brought up to operating temps on regular street use and are made for racing only.

...well said archangel, you beat me to it...i also like them because there easy to keep clean...no dust!!, thanks, mr bridger.

[rr_ww]

Hi Mr Bridger. We are lucky enough to have contact with 2 owners of F1s now which is a great privilege given many people never even see 1 car let alone speak to an owner. So thanks for sticking around.

Since we are in "interrogation mode" Can I ask some random questions?

Gordon Murray
--------------

Have you met him as part of F1 ownership and have you sampled any of his other creations notably the Rocket and the SLR?

Other owners
-------------

How many have you met? And do their experiences vary greatly from your own? "Flemke" for example, says on Pistonheads that hes not overly impressed with the setup of the car from standard.

Cheers for reading

[mr bridger]

Originally Posted by rr_ww

Hi Mr Bridger. We are lucky enough to have contact with 2 owners of F1s now which is a great privilege given many people never even see 1 car let alone speak to an owner. So thanks for sticking around.

Since we are in "interrogation mode" Can I ask some random questions?

Gordon Murray
--------------

Have you met him as part of F1 ownership and have you sampled any of his other creations notably the Rocket and the SLR?

Other owners
-------------

How many have you met? And do their experiences vary greatly from your own? "Flemke" for example, says on Pistonheads that hes not overly impressed with the setup of the car from standard.

Cheers for reading

...hello ITWW, i have met several people connected to the design/build of the car, whilst on visits to the factory & at GFOS, Gordon signed 007 for me, P.Stevens i spoke to at GFOS about the design of the car, & P.Rosche likewise the engine...i am just awaiting delivery of a Rocket from C.Craft, although not sure on its final colour yet, possibly Mclaren orange with black carbon wings?? (any other ideas boys?)...Gordon to my knowledge was involved early on with the SLR, but as the final product moved away from his "ideals" i gather he was less & less involved, eventually culminating in his departure to pursue other projects more in keeping with his single minded approach....i have met some other owners, 1 a former employee of Mclaren (harrods car), & again at GFOS, a rather prominent musician (red GTR), the owner of 007 now, who i think is known to you all here, & some others who i have met briefly at various race meetings ( a rock band manager & a son of an ex F1 champion)...Mr Flemke to use his "post" name...i have not read all the posts on the subject (& maybe i should before i say things) but i dont really see why he didnt purchase a GTR (stiffer set up etc) in the 1st place & have it re-trimmed inside to suit his personal tastes if that is what he seems to be trying to achieve..my own personal experience with what seems to be the issue is this, the (road) car initially understeers (as most road cars do for safety) before a sudden snap oversteer...primarily i think this is caused due to the fact most people "on it" are arriving at the corner probably far quicker in an F1 than they expect, this causes a heavier braking (slight panic!!) than normal causing weight to push the car forward (understeer), more lock is quickly applied to make the turn, causing the rear to come around (oversteer)...in short, a road car WILL always be a compromise no matter what its performance, especially when the car is put on a circuit...only my opinion though!, thanks, mr bridger.

[Le Man]

Hi Mr Bridger,

Colour Scheme ideas for your Rocket. If you are into retro, BRG with white stripes (old Coopers,Vanwalls etc) plus flying hat and goggles!! Or modern, liquid gold/orange with carbon guards.plus Simpson super bandit helmet.

Regards Le Man.

[rr_ww]

Cheers for replying. I have to say I feel for Gordon. He was employee number 1 at Cars when it started in 1988. And to be usurped by a relatively faceless corporation must gripe a bit.

[cabrio92]

Hello,

very interesting discussion about great cars especially zonda, F50, F40 & GTO. I hope, mr Bridger, you are not boring with all our questions It's a great pleasure to us to speak with others real car enthusiasts !

sadly there are no roads that long (& empty) that i know in the uk

You would come in France on highway A5 between Paris and Troyes. I think we can reach F1 and maybe Veyron Vmax But I heard the Veyron nearly flies at 250mph ! It's why they limit it at 233mph I think.

It's not easy to replace a Zonda who is the little sister of the McLaren today, so here a list (you will laugh I think !)

Pagani zonda F clubsport
McLaren F1 roadcar
Ferrari 599 (more civilized)
Ferrari F60 (not on the market )
Porsche 911 GT1 (only drawback : not NA)
Ariel Atom

someone on PH should come at Le Mans with his zonda, is it you ?

Ciao
Phil

PS : I don't forget the pics