Tell us about your first fast car experiences

[artyman]

My first experience of a fastish car was a Mini Cooper S that I was test driving, a good bit quicker than my Austin A40 Farina Mk1, but I decided I couldn't face the cabin noise on anything more than a short run so declined to purchase. I guess the next was my brother in law's Escort RS2000 when they first came out. I remember approaching a roundabout at some speed thinking how are we going to get round this, but it did, I was impressed by the handling.

 

[Darrell]

I do remember the only way to get out was to roll onto the ground then stand up LOL

You need to see my 6’4”, immensely fat, 85 year old step-dad get out of my Porsche.

 

[moodi]

645ci was my first 'fast' feeling car

How times have changed. Rocket ship next I think

 

[Dave Richardson]

Boy Scout Leader owner a wonderful MK1 Lotus Cortina, fast & now one whopping classic

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

First rapid Not E55 fast but plenty rapid in its day and very capable, 1998 Scooby 204 bhp, gold wheels,also my first brand new car too. Quick and tidy handling,Second one in my memory was an E92 330d Coupe,mapped by the previous owner and it was just silly, superb overtaking machine, Jaguar X350 Super V8, doesnt wake up till gone 70 but from there its a missile.

The first generation Impreza was a fantastic car, my favourite of all generations. Super cool to have had such an icon brand new.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Boy Scout Leader owner a wonderful MK1 Lotus Cortina, fast & now one whopping classic

So expensive these days. Never had the opportunity to have a ride in one though.

 

[MCFastybloke]

It was one of the limited run cars too, a Terzo number 208, i did it all thru a broker and the car was source in Inverness,also at theat time the S plate was out, My name is Shepherd, so i sent a day and a half on "Call,engaded,redail" to secure S11EPY from the dvla. I arrange to stall first reg till Aug 1st to use this plate. My Friend, a rep for Frank Thomas rang me from my car in Inverness in the middle of july , GIT!.

 

[ringway]

When I was around 10 years old, my grandfather used to own a Vauxhall Ventora PED 888H.

3.3 litre straight 6 with a manual gearbox with overdrive, similar to the one in the image below. Quite a looker in its day.



I started out with a 1978 works Marina van - JJO 823S.

I've had a few nice cars but not really anything I'd call fast compared to the cars I've bought in the last few years.


All estate cars.

Granada 2.5TD was a good car.
My S210 320CDI is one that I enjoyed driving, as much as my E430.
S202 2.6 was nice.
I had a couple of VX Omegas a rare manual 2.5CDX.
Then a 3'0 Elite auto which I kept for around 8 years. Heavy, but a good car all the same and both were equipped as standard with the Police, Camera, Action! engine growl.

An Audi A6 3.0TDI 242BHP, which was a good car.
My Range Rover 4.2SC is just fabulous.

Not to be underestimated, my 3.0 Vito Dual-liner compact. 204BHP and for a van, it was damn quick.
If I hadn't had the spine injury, I would never have sold the Vito.

Jaguar XF 3.0TDI. A good-looking car that was in Italian Racing Red. 0-60 in circa 6/6.5 secs and comfy too!

Then things started to get faster.

My Audi 3.0 BiTDi was a revelation. Twin turbo 0-60 in just over 5 second and over 50mpg if you wanted that sort of economy. A great car.

Three RS6 Avants.
The first two 2014 cars, 0-60 in 3.7 seconds.
The one below is the 2017 performance model and 3.6 to 60.

They all sound delightfully wicked!




I'm thankful and very lucky to own what I consider to be some lovely cars.

 

[Habil]

My first experience of a fast car was when I was 11. My uncle had a M3 coupe, can't remember what engine though, and he decided to "race" a friend home. Since then I've been a few AMG and in an M5 with the V10 and a Range Rover sport all of them belonged to my uncle.

 

[Merc220cls]

As a young lad I worked on a relatives farm at weekends and Drew ( the farmers son) used to take me to the skating in Ayr Ice Rink on Saturday nights, oh ! Those days when Telstar and Frank Ifield were in the charts along with many others, anyway on the way home Drew would ramp up the Sunbeam Rapier on the new Ayr bypass topping 100 mph for my first time.

First time I topped 100mph was in a customers E Type Jaguar, what a machine.

Nowadays I drive like miss daisy, honestly, well most of the time.

 

[DetailerDan]

My first car which i was lucky to own was a highly tuned escort cosworth which i kick my self every day for selling. But to today's standards it wasn't really that quick., My mate had a stage 3 Rs6 a couple of years back. Now that was quick, a super car killer capable of doing 200 mph+ and the 0-60 was ridiculous, i am talking under 3 seconds.

 

[Jobsworth]

I have been in the motor trade since I was 18 years old, and I have driven plenty of fast cars over the years. Back when I was an apprentice I owned an SD1 Rover with a 3.5 V8 in it and a manual gearbox, quite rare in those. As part of my college project I fitted Vitesse heads, Crane cam, Rhodes lifters and a four barrel Holley carb. It made almost 200bhp on the college dyno, and I gained two distinctions and a credit. It was still slow, and only returned 12mpg after that.
Anyway, around that time I nearly killed myself in a Maserati 428 biturbo. Testing it in the rain I pulled out to overtake at about 70mph... Half way past the turbos spooled up, the rear wheels span and I think I closed my eyes. I didn't die, but it taught me to have some respect!
Other standout properly fast cars that I have built include a series 1 Lotus Elise which I removed the asthmatic Rover engine and replaced with a Honda Civic type R engine, Spoon cams and a Hondata ECU. We exactly doubled the power output the car left the factory with. Somewhere on YouTube there is a video filmed from the cockpit of a Porsche 911GT3RS travelling at 170mph along the Dottinger Ho. The passenger pans the camera round to the rear to reveal a small green Lotus right up their chuff. Same car.
Probably the fastest modern I look after is an R35 GTR Datsun. My pal Garry races it in the Goodwood Sprint series. We have won the Spring Sprint event three times, notably beating the Works Noble driven by Anthony Reid one year. The car is currently running with circa 1000bhp.
I'm very fortunate to get to play with lots of special toys. Couple of recent examples...






And some of the less salubrious...



Noel Edmonds' DB9 Volante



Katie's Beetle.

 

[Dave Richardson]

So expensive these days. Never had the opportunity to have a ride in one though.

Can you believe that he took us camping at a site in St Austell Cornwall & such an enjoyable ride, attached photo of similar car now valued IRO of £70k

 

[DetailerDan]

When I was around 10 years old, my grandfather used to own a Vauxhall Ventora PED 888H.

3.3 litre straight 6 with a manual gearbox with overdrive, similar to the one in the image below. Quite a looker in its day.

View attachment 95448

I started out with a 1978 works Marina van - JJO 823S.

I've had a few nice cars but not really anything I'd call fast compared to the cars I've bought in the last few years.


All estate cars.

Granada 2.5TD was a good car.
My S210 320CDI is one that I enjoyed driving, as much as my E430.
S202 2.6 was nice.
I had a couple of VX Omegas a rare manual 2.5CDX.
Then a 3'0 Elite auto which I kept for around 8 years. Heavy, but a good car all the same and both were equipped as standard with the Police, Camera, Action! engine growl.

An Audi A6 3.0TDI 242BHP, which was a good car.
My Range Rover 4.2SC is just fabulous.

Not to be underestimated, my 3.0 Vito Dual-liner compact. 204BHP and for a van, it was damn quick.
If I hadn't had the spine injury, I would never have sold the Vito.

Jaguar XF 3.0TDI. A good-looking car that was in Italian Racing Red. 0-60 in circa 6/6.5 secs and comfy too!

Then things started to get faster.

My Audi 3.0 BiTDi was a revelation. Twin turbo 0-60 in just over 5 second and over 50mpg if you wanted that sort of economy. A great car.

Three RS6 Avants.
The first two 2014 cars, 0-60 in 3.7 seconds.
The one below is the 2017 performance model and 3.6 to 60.

They all sound delightfully wicked!


View attachment 95455

I'm thankful and very lucky to own what I consider to be some lovely cars.

Now thats a car, awesome

 

[Mactech]

I really only have a couple of memories of going really quickly as a child. The first was doing and indicated 80mph on the newly opened Preston by-pass with my father in his 100E Anglia. I'm sure it must have been downhill with a following wind, and 34bhp....
One of the most looked forward to events as a child was my summer stay in Scotland and the Lauder 'Common Riding' which spawned a number of social events including a 'Treasure hunt'
Shorthand for 'Motor Rally' and I was fortunate enough to ride with a local solicitor and his wife in an MG a twin-cam. That was mad with his wife encouraging him on single track roads with a 'gime a toot an' go by on the grass!'
I had to wait until 1978 and my first year in motorsport to be showed how a skilled Grand Prix driver really does it when my first ever driver Alex Ribiero took me around Goodwood in his BMW road car. Why did he not slow down for those corners?
I'd go on to sit with many great race drivers, and see how skilled they actually are.
Then, I'd get to develop the world's fastest road car of its time and be the first to drive it at over 200mph.

I guess I was an impressionable youth!

 

[Teego]

Took my test in my father's Wolsely 6/110. Argued with the examiner whether one should approach a T Junction in 1st or 2nd gear. I said, you know it's a 3 speed box? Anyway, passed after 6 lessons and 8 weeks after my 17th birthday.
So, the speed thing. A few weeks later, by myself out on the derestricted M1, where drivers had not yet discovered lane discipline. Running down the fast lane at 110mph with all the ****-off lights on.
Amazed that I survived my teenage years.



https://car-from-uk.com/ebay/carphotos/full/ebay692630.jpg

 

[190]

My first memorable "fast car" experience was in a Transit Van - driven by a racing driver. He convinced me that it's not how fast the car is but how committed the driver is. I came away thinking that racing drivers, at least good ones, are in a completely different league to ordinary mortals like me.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

When I retired back in 2000 I returned from working abroad and found myself living alone and in the process of a divorce. Decided in needed a car for transport and to cheer myself up. Went into a Jaguar dealers wanting to try a new XJ 8 Sport but they didn't have one to test drive but suggested that if I tried the 15 month old V8 XJR it had very similar handling . After a couple of miles I tried the throttle out , decided to buy it after about another 200 yards! Loved the supercharger but hated the seats , never comfortable for longer than an hour. Had to sell it when I moved to Jersey . Bought the SLK as I decided to have a bit of V8 fun again before age takes too much of a toll on my reactions

The XJR were ridiculously quick, they looked great too. You just don’t see them around these days, which is a real shame.

SLK55 is on my must-do list. I came close a year or so ago, there was a very high mileage example in a beautiful colour which caught my eye.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

My first memorable "fast car" experience was in a Transit Van - driven by a racing driver. He convinced me that it's not how fast the car is but how committed the driver is. I came away thinking that racing drivers, at least good ones, are in a completely different league to ordinary mortals like me.

I agree, the difference between a very good driver and someone who thinks they’re handy at the wheel is night and day. The level of anticipation and control is next level.

The fastest passenger ride I’ve ever had on ordinary roads (not dual carriage ways and motorways) was in a CLS 55 AMG. The driver was providing advanced defensive driving tuition to my wife and I, and I was in awe of the driver’s skill.

The speed he managed on winding country roads was unbelievable - I would not have believed it possible had I not been in the car. Although it was clearly very fast, at no point did he or the car feel like it was even close to the limit of control. Deeply impressive.

 

[ringway]

Quickest one we've had was the ST220 we had delivered when our daughter was just a few weeks old. Not particularly fast, 0-60 was around 7.6 seconds I think. But being a 3 litre V6 petrol (and brand new) it did sound nice.

7.6 is a decent clip, especially around that time.