Something For Lovers of V8s

[TheDeadPrussian]

New website just launched - they've had a presence on Facebook (and Twitter) for quite a while – it’s about all things V8.

There is a profile of my car on the front page...and one of a very good friends’ Road Runner. Worth a look if you’ve got a minute.

The link is here: V8UK

(I have absolutely no affiliation – just a shared love of V8s)

 

[WDB124066]

Something along the same line here in NZL...

V8 ? drag racing, hot rods, muscle cars, car shows ? NZV8 magazine

 

[developer]

That's a smart black S211 in your shots .

 

[Palmball]

Mark...good write up on your car on that site and also a nice car history.

So, how do you think the SLS compares with the GT-R?

I ask because I tend to compare every car I've had to the 997.2 Turbo I had a couple of years back. Whilst I can't say I loved that car, I have to admit it was a sensational piece of kit, the performance of which was slightly unhinged!

After the 911, a plethora of cars followed culminating in an XKR-S which was fastest of the lot, except for that Porsche! But, I reckon in the SLS, I've found the car that for sheer speed and acceleration, is now at least the equal of my Turbo. Having previously driven a GT-R and felt it to be similar to the Turbo, it'd be interesting to hear your views of the differences?

I have many a time tried to talk myself into a GT-R too but alas, after driving 3 different versions I just can't see me getting on with it - these cars are my daily drivers (I don't have the discipline to not use them everyday so stop trying not to!) and the GT-R is just too hard for my liking.

Also, this part of your blog rings very true for me too...

"I distinctly remember thinking to myself and perhaps even saying to my wife ‘one day I’ll have one of those’…and now I am fortunate enough to have made that dream come true."

....although I wasn't in Berlin when I properly saw my first SLS but instead in the AMG facility in Affalterbach after taking my then-new C63 there to have the dash covered in leather! The SLS was so unobtainable at the time and I still can't beleieve I've got one

 

[TheDeadPrussian]

Hi Andrew,

I really enjoyed the GT-R; I owned it for a year and it spent a good deal of that time with me in Germany (where I was working at the time) and so on the derestricted Autobahn it was phenomenal…

The suspension set up is extremely stiff, as you know, but German roads are generally far better surfaced so it was easy to live with. It was, at the time, my daily driver as well. It attracted an enormous amount of attention – something akin to the SLS – and people seemed generally interested in it, I would spend a great amount of time at filling stations and in the ‘Ring car park talking to other drivers about it and having pictures taken. The only people who took exception – and it pains me to say it – were Porsche drivers, who often would try to ignore it or look the other way! It was really quite amusing as I have never really suffered from ‘car snobbery’ before! I think they often thought I was in one because I couldn’t afford a Porsche Turbo…

I have never owned a 911 Turbo, but I have driven a few and I have owned a great many 2 wheel drive variants of the 911 in 997 guise (C2, C2S, GT3 997.1, GT3 997.2 etc) and the GT-R outpaced them all – even the Turbo, just. The GT3 and GT-R comparison is not a like-for-like one as far as I am concerned, as they have very different characters. But both are hugely engaging in their own way; anyone who thinks the GT-R does not have character or a special feel to it has not driven one properly. I still think I will own another in the next few years; I like the GT-R that much. However, I KNOW I will own another GT3 again…
The one and only negative with the GT-R on occasion was other GT-R owners; this is a very sweeping generalisation but, like the Porsche owners I sometimes encountered, the GT-R owners were extremely blinkered in their opinions; if you liked and drove the GT-R you couldn’t possibly admire Porsches of any variant etc. Very negative and not at all how I felt – I love cars of all persuasions. Great engineering is great engineering, and a great car is a great car, I don’t get the whole brand loyalty ‘fan boy’ mentality.

The SLS is different again in character to the Porsches and the GT-R – for me it is a pinnacle of ownership – I may go on to own a McLaren or 458 etc in the future, but I have no burning desire to do so at the moment, but when I saw the SLS I really knew I would own one if I ever could.
The SLS just has so much character, and drama, it is an event all of the time – I love it.

Here is a thread about my experience in the GT-R at Le Mans in 2010. It was a great car and an enormous amount of fun – and still the quickest thing I have ever driven – not bad for £55K at the time, with a 0-62 time of 2.8 seconds and a SatNav system and multifunction display (designed and built by Sony PS3 GT5 game designers) that is still world beating even now.

Le Mans 2010 – Supercar Parade

 

[WDB124066]

Some eye candy from the weekends racing......

 

[WDB124066]

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