London 'Supercar scene'
Discussion
hondansx said:
I rarely post comments on YouTube videos, because those who partake to tend make a Haldex argument on PH look like a tea party. However, i was compelled to comment on Schmee's video of the Aventador crash.
My issue is this: the owners of such cars do it for the attention. Without anyone there to take notice, they wouldn't take such risks. It's therefore a vicious circle, and the ugly side of it just being "enthusiasts enjoying cars" is that there is money involved - cue the reference of Schmee now owning a McLaren.
I would normally say good luck to such a chap, but seeing the link between CRASH! and YouTube hits racking up removed the innocent element for me. Someday, someone could quite easily die as a result of that kind of driving in the middle of London, and like it or not, those who video these ridiculous performances fuel them are part of the chain of events. Sure would get a lot of hits if you got it on camera though...
Completely agree; only last week I said to a friend that it's only a matter of time before one of them kills a cyclist or pedestrian. I would quite happily speculate they regularly do 50mph in very central London, which is more than enough speed to kill someone.My issue is this: the owners of such cars do it for the attention. Without anyone there to take notice, they wouldn't take such risks. It's therefore a vicious circle, and the ugly side of it just being "enthusiasts enjoying cars" is that there is money involved - cue the reference of Schmee now owning a McLaren.
I would normally say good luck to such a chap, but seeing the link between CRASH! and YouTube hits racking up removed the innocent element for me. Someday, someone could quite easily die as a result of that kind of driving in the middle of London, and like it or not, those who video these ridiculous performances fuel them are part of the chain of events. Sure would get a lot of hits if you got it on camera though...
http://bigthink.com/think-tank/the-collaborative-c...
Rifkin the Economist said:
“So what's happened is millions of consumers became ‘prosumers’ with the advent of the Internet. And so they're producing and sharing their own videos, their own news blogs, their own entertainment, their own knowledge with each other in these lateral networks at near zero marginal costs and essentially for free bypassing the capitalist market, in many instances altogether.”
It's a whole new thing TimLambert7 said:
But think of it from the owners' side; what do you enjoy doing in your car, driving through city centres or driving on open roads or race tracks? Why are they doing it.
What makes you think they do not also drive it in anger on a track? They are only here for miniscule periods of their time...When it was just a few it was fine. When t was the Alex Penfolds of this world making ART I was fine with it. The Handycam-ers are what's ruined this IMO.
Make no mistake it is tragic for all concerned.
The spotters because they are sycophants living vicariously through other people wealth (and view themselves as a valid "news source"
and
The owners because they feel the need to be idolised and adored by young men with no social skills.
Don't think these people are "harmless" though. The spotters are often seen blocking roads and making a nuisance of themselves to everyone else in the area. In the exact same way the t
ttos with Lambos bought by Daddy are being a nuisance to the people that LIVE and WORK in the area. Couldn't believe neither group could accept that revving the bks off a race pipe'ed V12 at 1am on a weeknight could be construed as a st thing to be doing And both those groups felt the need to shout down anyone who dared to voice that opinion. And I fear that eventually someone will do something silly and they'll be a fatality. Thoguh obviously the wky spotters will still upload the video in the hop of going Viral and getting a pay day. Vultures at least do it live...
But as posted above, it's a circle of the stupidest. Without one the other cannot exist. And there'll always be the other. So unless you get some draconian laws introduced. (Which I don't support btw) It will continue. Surprised the Police can't use existing powers to disperse them tbh. My only guess is that if YouTube stopped paying out for videos like this it would probably die out fairly quickly.
Make no mistake it is tragic for all concerned.
The spotters because they are sycophants living vicariously through other people wealth (and view themselves as a valid "news source"
and
The owners because they feel the need to be idolised and adored by young men with no social skills.
Don't think these people are "harmless" though. The spotters are often seen blocking roads and making a nuisance of themselves to everyone else in the area. In the exact same way the t
ttos with Lambos bought by Daddy are being a nuisance to the people that LIVE and WORK in the area. Couldn't believe neither group could accept that revving the bks off a race pipe'ed V12 at 1am on a weeknight could be construed as a st thing to be doing And both those groups felt the need to shout down anyone who dared to voice that opinion. And I fear that eventually someone will do something silly and they'll be a fatality. Thoguh obviously the wky spotters will still upload the video in the hop of going Viral and getting a pay day. Vultures at least do it live...But as posted above, it's a circle of the stupidest. Without one the other cannot exist. And there'll always be the other. So unless you get some draconian laws introduced. (Which I don't support btw) It will continue. Surprised the Police can't use existing powers to disperse them tbh. My only guess is that if YouTube stopped paying out for videos like this it would probably die out fairly quickly.
Rich_W said:
When it was just a few it was fine. When t was the Alex Penfolds of this world making ART I was fine with it. The Handycam-ers are what's ruined this IMO.
Make no mistake it is tragic for all concerned.
The spotters because they are sycophants living vicariously through other people wealth (and view themselves as a valid "news source"
and
The owners because they feel the need to be idolised and adored by young men with no social skills.
Don't think these people are "harmless" though. The spotters are often seen blocking roads and making a nuisance of themselves to everyone else in the area. In the exact same way the tttos with Lambos bought by Daddy are being a nuisance to the people that LIVE and WORK in the area. Couldn't believe neither group could accept that revving the bks off a race pipe'ed V12 at 1am on a weeknight could be construed as a st thing to be doing And both those groups felt the need to shout down anyone who dared to voice that opinion. And I fear that eventually someone will do something silly and they'll be a fatality. Thoguh obviously the wky spotters will still upload the video in the hop of going Viral and getting a pay day. Vultures at least do it live...
But as posted above, it's a circle of the stupidest. Without one the other cannot exist. And there'll always be the other. So unless you get some draconian laws introduced. (Which I don't support btw) It will continue. Surprised the Police can't use existing powers to disperse them tbh. My only guess is that if YouTube stopped paying out for videos like this it would probably die out fairly quickly.
You've captured most of what I was trying to say there.Make no mistake it is tragic for all concerned.
The spotters because they are sycophants living vicariously through other people wealth (and view themselves as a valid "news source"
and
The owners because they feel the need to be idolised and adored by young men with no social skills.
Don't think these people are "harmless" though. The spotters are often seen blocking roads and making a nuisance of themselves to everyone else in the area. In the exact same way the t
ttos with Lambos bought by Daddy are being a nuisance to the people that LIVE and WORK in the area. Couldn't believe neither group could accept that revving the bks off a race pipe'ed V12 at 1am on a weeknight could be construed as a st thing to be doing And both those groups felt the need to shout down anyone who dared to voice that opinion. And I fear that eventually someone will do something silly and they'll be a fatality. Thoguh obviously the wky spotters will still upload the video in the hop of going Viral and getting a pay day. Vultures at least do it live...But as posted above, it's a circle of the stupidest. Without one the other cannot exist. And there'll always be the other. So unless you get some draconian laws introduced. (Which I don't support btw) It will continue. Surprised the Police can't use existing powers to disperse them tbh. My only guess is that if YouTube stopped paying out for videos like this it would probably die out fairly quickly.
They are very often breaking the law so I don't think bringing in a few more is likely to deter anyone.
I really can't stand it and for many, it's becoming the face of car culture.
Rich_W said:
When it was just a few it was fine. When t was the Alex Penfolds of this world making ART I was fine with it. The Handycam-ers are what's ruined this IMO.
Make no mistake it is tragic for all concerned.
The spotters because they are sycophants living vicariously through other people wealth (and view themselves as a valid "news source"
and
The owners because they feel the need to be idolised and adored by young men with no social skills.
Don't think these people are "harmless" though. The spotters are often seen blocking roads and making a nuisance of themselves to everyone else in the area. In the exact same way the tttos with Lambos bought by Daddy are being a nuisance to the people that LIVE and WORK in the area. Couldn't believe neither group could accept that revving the bks off a race pipe'ed V12 at 1am on a weeknight could be construed as a st thing to be doing And both those groups felt the need to shout down anyone who dared to voice that opinion. And I fear that eventually someone will do something silly and they'll be a fatality. Thoguh obviously the wky spotters will still upload the video in the hop of going Viral and getting a pay day. Vultures at least do it live...
But as posted above, it's a circle of the stupidest. Without one the other cannot exist. And there'll always be the other. So unless you get some draconian laws introduced. (Which I don't support btw) It will continue. Surprised the Police can't use existing powers to disperse them tbh. My only guess is that if YouTube stopped paying out for videos like this it would probably die out fairly quickly.
This has been going on long, long before YouTube was invented - my dad has worked in the city since he was a teenager and there were always plenty of young, wealthy men showing off their cars. I don't actually mind them: I'm not one to run around with a camera or even watch their videos on YouTube, but I quite enjoy seeing them burbling about central London.Make no mistake it is tragic for all concerned.
The spotters because they are sycophants living vicariously through other people wealth (and view themselves as a valid "news source"
and
The owners because they feel the need to be idolised and adored by young men with no social skills.
Don't think these people are "harmless" though. The spotters are often seen blocking roads and making a nuisance of themselves to everyone else in the area. In the exact same way the t
ttos with Lambos bought by Daddy are being a nuisance to the people that LIVE and WORK in the area. Couldn't believe neither group could accept that revving the bks off a race pipe'ed V12 at 1am on a weeknight could be construed as a st thing to be doing And both those groups felt the need to shout down anyone who dared to voice that opinion. And I fear that eventually someone will do something silly and they'll be a fatality. Thoguh obviously the wky spotters will still upload the video in the hop of going Viral and getting a pay day. Vultures at least do it live...But as posted above, it's a circle of the stupidest. Without one the other cannot exist. And there'll always be the other. So unless you get some draconian laws introduced. (Which I don't support btw) It will continue. Surprised the Police can't use existing powers to disperse them tbh. My only guess is that if YouTube stopped paying out for videos like this it would probably die out fairly quickly.
With regards to their driving, I'm always surprised how restrained they are. You get the occasional blast between traffic lights, but I've never seen anyone doing anything particularly crazy which, considering they're young guys in 200MPH cars on foreign plates with no real consequences for breaking the law, is pretty amazing.
But of course, everybody in this thread would never show off if they were driving a supercar in their early 20s would they? That's why everyone always keeps the revs nice and low when they exit a PH meet
Geekman said:
With regards to their driving, I'm always surprised how restrained they are. You get the occasional blast between traffic lights, but I've never seen anyone doing anything particularly crazy which, considering they're young guys in 200MPH cars on foreign plates with no real consequences for breaking the law, is pretty amazing.
But of course, everybody in this thread would never show off if they were driving a supercar in their early 20s would they? That's why everyone always keeps the revs nice and low when they exit a PH meet
I'm not sure about restrained, 50-60mph with cyclists and pedestrians around is too fast. What would you consider un-restrained?But of course, everybody in this thread would never show off if they were driving a supercar in their early 20s would they? That's why everyone always keeps the revs nice and low when they exit a PH meet
Don't get me wrong, if I had an Aventador I'd certainly be very proud of it. But would I spend my time driving it around central London? If I happened to be going there, yes. But otherwise I'd be at Silverstone learning how to drive the knackers off it or half way across Switzerland on my way to Italy.
I'd also frequent Pistonheads meets
TimLambert7 said:
I'm not sure about restrained, 50-60mph with cyclists and pedestrians around is too fast. What would you consider un-restrained?
Don't get me wrong, if I had an Aventador I'd certainly be very proud of it. But would I spend my time driving it around central London? If I happened to be going there, yes. But otherwise I'd be at Silverstone learning how to drive the knackers off it or half way across Switzerland on my way to Italy.
I'd also frequent Pistonheads meets
Unrestrained would be street racing, drifting, going through red lights etc etc, all of which could happen when you put a 20 year old behind the wheel of a supercar. Can't say I've ever seen them do 50-60MPH next to cyclists and pedestrians, and if they are doing that then I wouldn't condone it. I'm just saying that it could be far, far worse given the circumstances.Don't get me wrong, if I had an Aventador I'd certainly be very proud of it. But would I spend my time driving it around central London? If I happened to be going there, yes. But otherwise I'd be at Silverstone learning how to drive the knackers off it or half way across Switzerland on my way to Italy.
I'd also frequent Pistonheads meets
I'd be doing the same things as you if I had an Aventador, but I suspect the lives of these people aren't as free as you might expect. Most of them are in London because their parents are there, and they can't simply f
k off to Switzerland because they feel like it. And for those that do have the choice, a lot of them would probably rather stay in London with all their mates than go off on a roadtrip in a two seater car with no room for luggage or passengers. For an average 20 year old, parking your Aventador outside an exclusive nightclub next to your mate's 458 is more of a thrill than attacking the Evo triangle at 5am, and I can understand that, even though I would probably do the opposite!Interestingly when I was in London recently I remember seeing a line of parked cars, an Audi s7 (not exactly exotic but it isn't cheap), 911 Turbo, a Rolls Royce Ghost and a couple of Bentley Mulsanne's. It was busy but nobody took any notice of them...
...because they were all looking at the immaculate Porsche 356 parked in front!
...because they were all looking at the immaculate Porsche 356 parked in front!
I am a car photographer, been one for two years now, in the last year or so many many spotters and youtubers have appeared out of thin air, usually younger lads, quite a few of them are complete knobs, standing in the middle of roads to get photos or to get some footage, so the drivers have to stop or drive into the other lane to get around them, it just looks ttish, like the crowds that chase a car down the road makes us all look like total tts.
Many people have started to ruin it, its a shame but the view count means alot to them I guess..
tish, like the crowds that chase a car down the road makes us all look like total tts. Many people have started to ruin it, its a shame but the view count means alot to them I guess..
It was quite interesting to watch the "Millionaire Boy Racers" programme a while back about this subject. It got to a bit in the programme where the residents were having a meeting about how they could complain to the councils/police/anyone who would listen, and they were asked by someone making the show:
"Has anybody ever spoken to the drivers of these cars about the problem?"
which was met with an awkward pause and then,
"No."
IIRC they also asked one of the drivers whether or not they would change their behaviour if the issue was raised with themselves directly, to which they answered,
"Yes, I think I would".
"Has anybody ever spoken to the drivers of these cars about the problem?"
which was met with an awkward pause and then,
"No."
IIRC they also asked one of the drivers whether or not they would change their behaviour if the issue was raised with themselves directly, to which they answered,
"Yes, I think I would".
Geekman said:
TimLambert7 said:
I'm not sure about restrained, 50-60mph with cyclists and pedestrians around is too fast. What would you consider un-restrained?
Don't get me wrong, if I had an Aventador I'd certainly be very proud of it. But would I spend my time driving it around central London? If I happened to be going there, yes. But otherwise I'd be at Silverstone learning how to drive the knackers off it or half way across Switzerland on my way to Italy.
I'd also frequent Pistonheads meets
Unrestrained would be street racing, drifting, going through red lights etc etc, all of which could happen when you put a 20 year old behind the wheel of a supercar. Can't say I've ever seen them do 50-60MPH next to cyclists and pedestrians, and if they are doing that then I wouldn't condone it. I'm just saying that it could be far, far worse given the circumstances.Don't get me wrong, if I had an Aventador I'd certainly be very proud of it. But would I spend my time driving it around central London? If I happened to be going there, yes. But otherwise I'd be at Silverstone learning how to drive the knackers off it or half way across Switzerland on my way to Italy.
I'd also frequent Pistonheads meets
I'd be doing the same things as you if I had an Aventador, but I suspect the lives of these people aren't as free as you might expect. Most of them are in London because their parents are there, and they can't simply f
k off to Switzerland because they feel like it. And for those that do have the choice, a lot of them would probably rather stay in London with all their mates than go off on a roadtrip in a two seater car with no room for luggage or passengers. For an average 20 year old, parking your Aventador outside an exclusive nightclub next to your mate's 458 is more of a thrill than attacking the Evo triangle at 5am, and I can understand that, even though I would probably do the opposite!It is boring, even in sunny Acton I saw to Gallardo's in the space of five mins. It's in central you get ppl taking the camera phones up and filming one. I actually find the whole current super/hyper/phallic car thing really boring, Mclaren bring out a super duper one, Ferrari bring out a super duper one, Lamborghini bring out a super duper one I tend to skip all the reviews of these things.
Give me a GTR, RX-7/8, Impreza STI , EVO then I may get my camera out, far more interesting to me.
Give me a GTR, RX-7/8, Impreza STI , EVO then I may get my camera out, far more interesting to me.
I've met Tim a couple of times and he's a great chap, I also enjoy a lot of his content, don't really see any harm in what he does and it isn't his problem if there's a load of copycats out there who aren't quite as considerate as him.
There are some fking annoying car spotters though, as well as some tttish drivers. Some anecdotal evidence includes...
The "spotters" who were hanging about the Dorchester when my Old Man's Zonda was parked next to that "Tron" Aventador. We opened the boot for them so they could see the engine, almost as soon as I'd done on my side, one of them was barging me out of the way to get his photos, which I was pretty put out by - they weren't asking questions about the car either, just straight in for their photos then buggering off.
The Red Maserati MC Stradale driver in Chelsea - I gather he's a regular of the tt laps around Harrods scene, probably about my age (25). A few weeks ago I was driving through Chelsea in the Sagaris and he followed me around, revving the absolute tits off his car encouraging me to do the same. I was cringing in embarrassment anyway as after an hour in London, the clutch starts to have a paddy and I have to use a bit of revs to pull away in first, but there's this guy just making a complete racket behind me, with legions of shoppers staring at him thinking "who is this prick?" I don't see the appeal of that at all. A little later I was at some red lights and one of the spotters was stood in the middle of the road taking photos, when the lights went green, he didn't move and was just holding me up whilst he got another dozen pictures.
You do see some proper dhead style driving too, getting the arse out at junctions around Harrods. What concerns me most is a lot of these people are very clearly terrible drivers and they're happy to be goaded into driving unsafely. I watched a bloke outside Harrods spend literally 5 minutes trying to reverse into a 4-car space in his Veyron. Just find it very sad that someone who can barely drive is buying a 250mph car just to do tt laps round Kensington/Knightsbridge and never get out of 3rd gear
There are some f
king annoying car spotters though, as well as some tttish drivers. Some anecdotal evidence includes...The "spotters" who were hanging about the Dorchester when my Old Man's Zonda was parked next to that "Tron" Aventador. We opened the boot for them so they could see the engine, almost as soon as I'd done on my side, one of them was barging me out of the way to get his photos, which I was pretty put out by - they weren't asking questions about the car either, just straight in for their photos then buggering off.
The Red Maserati MC Stradale driver in Chelsea - I gather he's a regular of the t
t laps around Harrods scene, probably about my age (25). A few weeks ago I was driving through Chelsea in the Sagaris and he followed me around, revving the absolute tits off his car encouraging me to do the same. I was cringing in embarrassment anyway as after an hour in London, the clutch starts to have a paddy and I have to use a bit of revs to pull away in first, but there's this guy just making a complete racket behind me, with legions of shoppers staring at him thinking "who is this prick?" I don't see the appeal of that at all. A little later I was at some red lights and one of the spotters was stood in the middle of the road taking photos, when the lights went green, he didn't move and was just holding me up whilst he got another dozen pictures. You do see some proper d
head style driving too, getting the arse out at junctions around Harrods. What concerns me most is a lot of these people are very clearly terrible drivers and they're happy to be goaded into driving unsafely. I watched a bloke outside Harrods spend literally 5 minutes trying to reverse into a 4-car space in his Veyron. Just find it very sad that someone who can barely drive is buying a 250mph car just to do tt laps round Kensington/Knightsbridge and never get out of 3rd gearThis is funny. I searched London V12 Vantage on youtube and found a video of my car parked outside my house last July. He must have waited around, becasue there was a bit of me driving (sedately) down Hampstead lane later in the video. I see people with cameras filming in central London quite often, so perhaps my car "stars" in some of the other videos. I avoid Knightsbridge though.
If/when I win the lottery, and buy my supercar fix, I'd order at the same time a complete set of new tyres, and then head of to somewhere where I could find out (safely) what happens when my cornering velocity exceeds my skill !!! With that sorted, head for one of the EVO drivers roads and try and kill the next set of tyres. And then find a nice long bit of non camera motorway, no junctions where fuzz could pounce on you, and then max it at about 5am on a summer Sunday morning.
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