Why do people want to race?

[lady topaz]

I've had TVR's , Astons, and an assortment of nice cars, but not experienced the Neanderthal 'race me' mentality I am experiencing in the F Type.

Since getting my car back from the paint shop at the beginning of the week, (another story for another time), every day I have had idiots tailgating, swerving out , booting it then slowing when I don't respond. Repeat ad infinitum until they get bored.

Now I love to push on briskly but have nothing to prove, don't want to encourage points or end up in a scenario currently discussed in GG I think whereby causing someone else to screw up.

The culprits have been a mix of a Subaru, a Celica, several Focus/ Astra types, and astonishingly enough this eve, a woman in some Lexus saloon.

My other cars have always been positively acknowledged, and to be fair the F Type has had loads of thumbs up from van guys as well as car drivers, but it seems some see it and want to challenge me.

It doesn't bother me and I don't react, but finding it hard to understand why.

Clues anyone?

Edited by lady topaz on Thursday 2nd October 17:47

[Little Lofty]

A guy in a F430 pulled along side me the other day and wanted to race, even if I'd had the R (mines a V6) I wouldn't have raced, not sure what it is tbh, I was blitzed by a Corsa a few weeks ago, I'm pleased I didn't really try as I later found out its running around 450bhp and is four wheel drive, looks can be deceiving

[wellzee]

I've had this way more than I had in my previous cars too. Couldn't tell you why. The worst being last night when a Lexus I'd just overtaken sped right up to my rear bumper then sped past me before lingering for me to come past again before flooring it when I was alongside. He repeated 3 times before I'd had enough and just held back til he buggered off. I have found sometimes though I mistake people for wanting a race when actually I think they are just trying to get a good look at the car, usually when I look over they nod or thumbs up etc. I forget that the coupes in particular are still quite a rare sight.

[lady topaz]

wellzee said:

I've had this way more than I had in my previous cars too. Couldn't tell you why. The worst being last night when a Lexus I'd just overtaken sped right up to my rear bumper then sped past me before lingering for me to come past again before flooring it when I was alongside. He repeated 3 times before I'd had enough and just held back til he buggered off. I have found sometimes though I mistake people for wanting a race when actually I think they are just trying to get a good look at the car, usually when I look over they nod or thumbs up etc. I forget that the coupes in particular are still quite a rare sight.

Do you think the bad guy image on the advert has something to do with it. I agree, the car is very rare and maybe most don't recognise it but perhaps the add does it no favours.

Who knows?

[a8hex]

You should try driving a classic XK, people keep seeing it and thinking that "Ooo I'll just nip out before that old banger" then you get stuck behind them going really slowly.

I know some blokes react badly to a lady in powerful car. But then I'd have thought you'd have seen this in your previous vehicles.

I've not noticed a problem in my XKR.

[no effort]

In 18 months of owning a XFR I haven't had one person try and race me.....some people have all the luck

[LFB531]

No one bothers me in my STR, but if I'm out in my vivid yellow MG ZR rally car then it's open season! The poor little thing has only got a 1.4 motor but one glimpse of a roll cage seems to set the juices flowing from the go-fast mob.

I think it's just down to the individual car and associated image.

[Newro]

a8hex said:

I've not noticed a problem in my XKR.

Or maybe you just didn't notice when they tried?


The F-Type is not just a new model, but something genuinely new and exciting. So other enthusiast (for the lack of a better word) don't yet know what to expect, on top probably haven't encountered many before. Partly I assume they want to measure themselves up, find out where the new kid fits into the food chain. And partially it will be discovering the typical owners ... will they be the kind of people who cruse through town, or the ones that race in between the red lights?

[jamieduff1981]

I had one such incident on my one week with a V8S. I'd passed an Audi A8 (it would be an Audi, wouldn't it?) which was waiting at a junction. We left village and entered an NSL with 2 cars ahead which weren't speeding up, so I passed both and carried on my way. I did see the Audi pull out after I'd pulled back in but abandoned his overtake.

After a couple of miles I see in my mirror the A8 coming round my last bend at a very irresponsible speed almost scraping his doorhandles on the road. He overtake me at a frankly ridiculous speed approaching a left hander and cut left extremely close to the F-Type to try to make his next corner and even then I had to swerve over as far as I could. He then had to drop anchor for roadwork traffic lights into the next village. Very memorable numberplate too. Total dhead.

[Riccardino]

jamieduff1981 said:

I had one such incident on my one week with a V8S. I'd passed an Audi A8 ....

This does not sound like somebody wanting to race but only an idiot looking for a road rage

Had those problems when I was younger with the motorbike.
Guess all the noise around the F-Type and how good it is might be the reason.
The car attracts a lot of attention and with the look and that noise might trigger the ego of some

Once it was very funny at the traffic light. A very competitive motorbiker arrived on my side and started to open the throttle. Obviously he was so focused on my bike that he did not see the police car on his right side (it was a little bit hidden).
Responded by making some noise myself as I was ready for the race.
When the light turned green I left very slowly while he did fly away. Useless to say that he did spend quite a lot of time talking to the police after that

Edited by Riccardino on Friday 3rd October 21:32