Your Most Memorable Drive.
Discussion
Following on from the "Best Car you've driven" thread. As usual, my post on that thread got it ever so slightly wrong. I wrote not about the best car that I've ever driven, but what was my most memorable drive.
In my case it was when PHer Freddie von Rost threw me the keys of his brand new, British racing green C-type replica in a pub car park on a beautiful summer's afternoon and invited me to take her for a spin. I'll never forget that wonderful drive, blasting through Hertfordshire country lanes, the sun dappling through the leaves of the overhanging trees. The incredible sound of that engine reverbarating back from the stone walls that lined parts of the route. Bees and wasps pinging off of my head. I was actually laughing out loud in delight throughout most of that drive.
The whole thing lasted only about 30 minutes. But, it will live with me for a long, long time.
What has been your most memorable drive to date? The time where you sat in the car afterwards with a satisfied smile on your face and a feeling of gratitude and contentment in your heart? Was it a cross country dawn blast through empty roads? Or a miraculously traffic free drive to work? Or maybe, a particularly eventful trip to Homebase?
In my case it was when PHer Freddie von Rost threw me the keys of his brand new, British racing green C-type replica in a pub car park on a beautiful summer's afternoon and invited me to take her for a spin. I'll never forget that wonderful drive, blasting through Hertfordshire country lanes, the sun dappling through the leaves of the overhanging trees. The incredible sound of that engine reverbarating back from the stone walls that lined parts of the route. Bees and wasps pinging off of my head. I was actually laughing out loud in delight throughout most of that drive.
The whole thing lasted only about 30 minutes. But, it will live with me for a long, long time.
What has been your most memorable drive to date? The time where you sat in the car afterwards with a satisfied smile on your face and a feeling of gratitude and contentment in your heart? Was it a cross country dawn blast through empty roads? Or a miraculously traffic free drive to work? Or maybe, a particularly eventful trip to Homebase?
Being relatively young still I haven't driven some of the exotics others on here have so I'm going to say my first drive on my own after passing my test.
That sense of freedom, the roads unlocked ready to be explored, nobody looking over your shoulder or doing the driving for you.
One of the best feelings for a petrol head, in my opinion.
That sense of freedom, the roads unlocked ready to be explored, nobody looking over your shoulder or doing the driving for you.
One of the best feelings for a petrol head, in my opinion.
A late summer night drive back from the Lincolnshire coast to Derbyshire in a 1972 MG Midget. I've had parts of other drives that have been good for memorable reasons, but no one experience that was as good from start to finish - it was just a combination of things that made it perfect.
It was a lovely and warm night, the MG was in good tune and the little A-series was just begging to be pushed a bit. I loved every minute, and I've never beaten it for a memorable drive.
It was a lovely and warm night, the MG was in good tune and the little A-series was just begging to be pushed a bit. I loved every minute, and I've never beaten it for a memorable drive.
Probably bringing the Elise back from Birmingham after I bought it, although not really for the right reasons - it was almost monsoon type weather and the tyres, never the best on standing water, were close to the legal limit. Couple that to rush-hour on the M5 in the dark and it was not a particularly fun experience. 
Ok so not driving - Not had many memorable driving experiences in the 2 years of holding a licence.
However one of the best rides I had was in a beautiful 1958 Ferrari 250 GT TDF. The owner was taking people on charity rides up the road at an event not too far from my house. So I went along with Dad (this was several years ago). Aside from probably being one of the most valuable Ferrari's now (?), it was also the first Ferrari I had ever been in!
The route was fairly short, just up and down a a longish piece of road. Sadly we got stuck behind some traffic for the whole time, so he took me round again! So in the end I got a ride twice as long as everybody else!
The owner was a true gent. A really down to earth guy. We both share a love of classic, and modern classic cars. The car itself was amazing. It drew looks from everyone around - though not the fastest car in the world, it was pretty nippy and the noise was out of this world!
I actually bumped into the owner about a year or two after the ride, at Goodwood Breakfast Club, and had a good chat to him. He still continues to race the car all over Europe (driving the car to the races)
Top chap!
Any excuse to post a pic
ETA: Forgot to add that he even let me start the car!
However one of the best rides I had was in a beautiful 1958 Ferrari 250 GT TDF. The owner was taking people on charity rides up the road at an event not too far from my house. So I went along with Dad (this was several years ago). Aside from probably being one of the most valuable Ferrari's now (?), it was also the first Ferrari I had ever been in!
The route was fairly short, just up and down a a longish piece of road. Sadly we got stuck behind some traffic for the whole time, so he took me round again! So in the end I got a ride twice as long as everybody else!
The owner was a true gent. A really down to earth guy. We both share a love of classic, and modern classic cars. The car itself was amazing. It drew looks from everyone around - though not the fastest car in the world, it was pretty nippy and the noise was out of this world!
I actually bumped into the owner about a year or two after the ride, at Goodwood Breakfast Club, and had a good chat to him. He still continues to race the car all over Europe (driving the car to the races)
Top chap!Any excuse to post a pic
ETA: Forgot to add that he even let me start the car!
Edited by Dalto123 on Thursday 27th September 10:44
I've had a few;
But for me probably the finest day's driving has been delivering a 928 GTS to Brussels, then heading across to the Netherlands and collecting a 964 RS Lightweight in Maritime Blue, heading back towards Rotterdam for the ferry home and realising I wouldn't make the ferry in time so heading down to Calais and taking the tunnel, I got home to Yorkshire around 3am, knackered but exhilarated.
- First time driving a Carrera GT, in 10 inches of snow
- First time driving a 959, across the North Yorkshire Moors
- Coming through Glencoe in a full moon with snow on the ground at 1am and seeing stags stood at the side of the road watching me
- Going to Le Mans for the first time in my 928, racing an F50 through the tunnels at Rouen
- Taking a road registered 993 Cup Car across the Netherlands in snow
- Driving a Hummer H1 through the West End
But for me probably the finest day's driving has been delivering a 928 GTS to Brussels, then heading across to the Netherlands and collecting a 964 RS Lightweight in Maritime Blue, heading back towards Rotterdam for the ferry home and realising I wouldn't make the ferry in time so heading down to Calais and taking the tunnel, I got home to Yorkshire around 3am, knackered but exhilarated.
My most memorable was from the passenger seat.
I was at the Festival of Speed a few years ago just before the launch of the AMV8 Vantage. I had ordered one and they had a pre-production car there to run up the hill. I was speaking to one of the AM marketing guys about the car, what options I was considering etc, etc when another member of their team came over and said the "guest" for the first hill run of the day had phoned and said they couldn't make it. One quick call to the dealer to confirm my order was genuine and I was offered the seat
The car was being driven by one of AM's top test drivers who's name escapes now but he does race vintage tin tops at Goodwood from memory. It was a great experience to talk to him on the way over to the House to register me and get the appropriate wristbands etc. One thing that was strange was being pointed at once we had crossed behind the barrier separating drivers and public, couldn't for the life of me guess what people were thinking
Anyway, down to the start line and saw lots of famous faces from the motoring world with their toys getting ready for the run up the hill. At this point the driver told me he would be attempting to go for a hill record in a road car, which sounded fun.
We blasted off the line and it was clear we were going to be on the edge for the run. The car felt brilliant, wonderfully balanced round the bend onto the straight past the House and then flew up the track towards the wall and the corresponding corners. We were really moving at this point and then blasted into the open section just after the wall to be confronted by a Noble doing wheelspins and smoke outs right in front of us. An amazing set of reactions from the driver put us on the grass and then brought us to a stop under complete control - thankfully it was dry
Neither of us were too happy with the antics of the Noble driver, who had shot off up the hill at this point, so we decided we would have a word or two at the top in the paddock. On arrival we got out of the car and walked over to the Noble to be met by world land speed record holder Andy Green. He smiled and then apologised for the incident in such a friendly and contrite manner all we could do was shake his hand and continue the chat about how good both cars were.
The trip back down the hill was also fun with lots of burn outs, which made a real mess of the rear tyres, and the fans lining the hill all waving and cheering. A couple of sets of marshalls appeared to be a bit annoyed by the way the car was being driven but the driver was performing for the fans and continued to smoke the rear tyres
All in all a truly wonderful experience that you couldn't buy at any price.
I was at the Festival of Speed a few years ago just before the launch of the AMV8 Vantage. I had ordered one and they had a pre-production car there to run up the hill. I was speaking to one of the AM marketing guys about the car, what options I was considering etc, etc when another member of their team came over and said the "guest" for the first hill run of the day had phoned and said they couldn't make it. One quick call to the dealer to confirm my order was genuine and I was offered the seat
The car was being driven by one of AM's top test drivers who's name escapes now but he does race vintage tin tops at Goodwood from memory. It was a great experience to talk to him on the way over to the House to register me and get the appropriate wristbands etc. One thing that was strange was being pointed at once we had crossed behind the barrier separating drivers and public, couldn't for the life of me guess what people were thinking
Anyway, down to the start line and saw lots of famous faces from the motoring world with their toys getting ready for the run up the hill. At this point the driver told me he would be attempting to go for a hill record in a road car, which sounded fun.
We blasted off the line and it was clear we were going to be on the edge for the run. The car felt brilliant, wonderfully balanced round the bend onto the straight past the House and then flew up the track towards the wall and the corresponding corners. We were really moving at this point and then blasted into the open section just after the wall to be confronted by a Noble doing wheelspins and smoke outs right in front of us. An amazing set of reactions from the driver put us on the grass and then brought us to a stop under complete control - thankfully it was dry
Neither of us were too happy with the antics of the Noble driver, who had shot off up the hill at this point, so we decided we would have a word or two at the top in the paddock. On arrival we got out of the car and walked over to the Noble to be met by world land speed record holder Andy Green. He smiled and then apologised for the incident in such a friendly and contrite manner all we could do was shake his hand and continue the chat about how good both cars were.
The trip back down the hill was also fun with lots of burn outs, which made a real mess of the rear tyres, and the fans lining the hill all waving and cheering. A couple of sets of marshalls appeared to be a bit annoyed by the way the car was being driven but the driver was performing for the fans and continued to smoke the rear tyres
All in all a truly wonderful experience that you couldn't buy at any price.
RDMcG said:
My most memorable drive was not at all in my most memorable car. It was the long drive down Route 66,through the small towns,endless empty spaces and infinite skylines,the windswept Texas Panhandle,the thin air of Santa Fe,and the sense of a road that never ended.
I remember you posting some great pictures of that trip, really good thread 
Several nice drives over the years, but possibly the most interesting was;
Marrakesh to Agadir Nov 2008
Cheapo hire car at the airport (6 year old shopping trolley with a blemish on every panel), navigating via Garmin on my early smartphone (major routes only), first visit to Africa.
4 hours of busy A roads, mad 'grand taxis' blasting past at 60-70mph anywhere, climb up around the end of the Atlas Mountains, meeting numerous grossly overloaded camions (some coming straight at me overtaking others) with goats on top deck...
Slightly surreal - was a business trip to an agri exhibition done on the cheap!
Car was crap, but it got me there. Just shows - you can have an epic experience in anything!
Marrakesh to Agadir Nov 2008
Cheapo hire car at the airport (6 year old shopping trolley with a blemish on every panel), navigating via Garmin on my early smartphone (major routes only), first visit to Africa.
4 hours of busy A roads, mad 'grand taxis' blasting past at 60-70mph anywhere, climb up around the end of the Atlas Mountains, meeting numerous grossly overloaded camions (some coming straight at me overtaking others) with goats on top deck...
Slightly surreal - was a business trip to an agri exhibition done on the cheap!
Car was crap, but it got me there. Just shows - you can have an epic experience in anything!
Driving to Berlin in my ex's MGBGT V8 about 19 years ago. Flying through Holland and into Germany, then hit the bad roads and the rain.
It was an MG Car Club event and they closed the whole of Berlin off for us to drive through with crowds waving Union Jacks and we even got to drive through the Brandenburg Gate with all the other old MGs.
Car never missed a beat there and back and just flew.
It was an MG Car Club event and they closed the whole of Berlin off for us to drive through with crowds waving Union Jacks and we even got to drive through the Brandenburg Gate with all the other old MGs.
Car never missed a beat there and back and just flew.
This summer, my fiancee and I drove from Plymouth to Monaco (via Geneva) avoiding all toll roads. The drive was amazing, we covered some fantastic roads and scenery.
I remember driving along the Route Napoleon, and then the D908? Across the alps, which was just awesome to say the least. Covered 2298 miles in 9 days in my Fiesta ST.
We are currently thinking of our next epic road trip
I remember driving along the Route Napoleon, and then the D908? Across the alps, which was just awesome to say the least. Covered 2298 miles in 9 days in my Fiesta ST.
We are currently thinking of our next epic road trip
It was 1968. Jim Palmer, the New Zealand F1 champion & I were to share one of the new Holden 327 Monaros in the Bathurst 500, driving for the original Holden Dealers Team.
A new model, & yet to be released the cars were an unknown quantity, so GM had scattered a number of them to people like me & Jim, with instructions to find any weaknesses. In other words thrash them, & try to break them. Thus we had both driven them from Sydney to the Gold Coast where we were driving some Ferraris in a weekend race meeting. We were leaving for Sydney, [about 500 miles], together straight after the meeting.
A couple of flag marshals, up from Sydney to help out came wandering through the pits, looking for a lift back to Sydney, so we took one each.
We were not racing, I doubt we topped 100MPH all the way, but we were pushing on, rarely under 90 on what would today be considered a country back road, & really pushing through the corners. We were following the other reasonably closely, & enjoying enormously those tail happy, but sweet handling Bathurst models. These Monaros must have been the most forgiving quick car ever sold, they were an absolute joy, although the suspensions & body angles could look a bit extreme at times.
At a fuel & coffee stop about half way, I overheard a little chat between our passengers. Jim's passenger was saying, "gee, your bloke's a bit wild, I've been looking at the side of your car, for the last 250 miles". My passenger replied, "My blokes wild. Hell I've been looking back at your headlights, & in 250 miles, not once have they been pointing in the direction you were traveling".
God youth was fun.
Thanks for reminding me of that great night.
A new model, & yet to be released the cars were an unknown quantity, so GM had scattered a number of them to people like me & Jim, with instructions to find any weaknesses. In other words thrash them, & try to break them. Thus we had both driven them from Sydney to the Gold Coast where we were driving some Ferraris in a weekend race meeting. We were leaving for Sydney, [about 500 miles], together straight after the meeting.
A couple of flag marshals, up from Sydney to help out came wandering through the pits, looking for a lift back to Sydney, so we took one each.
We were not racing, I doubt we topped 100MPH all the way, but we were pushing on, rarely under 90 on what would today be considered a country back road, & really pushing through the corners. We were following the other reasonably closely, & enjoying enormously those tail happy, but sweet handling Bathurst models. These Monaros must have been the most forgiving quick car ever sold, they were an absolute joy, although the suspensions & body angles could look a bit extreme at times.
At a fuel & coffee stop about half way, I overheard a little chat between our passengers. Jim's passenger was saying, "gee, your bloke's a bit wild, I've been looking at the side of your car, for the last 250 miles". My passenger replied, "My blokes wild. Hell I've been looking back at your headlights, & in 250 miles, not once have they been pointing in the direction you were traveling".
God youth was fun.
Thanks for reminding me of that great night.
Mini1275 said:
I'm going to say my first drive on my own after passing my test.
That sense of freedom, the roads unlocked ready to be explored, nobody looking over your shoulder or doing the driving for you.
One of the best feelings for a petrol head, in my opinion.
That sense of freedom, the roads unlocked ready to be explored, nobody looking over your shoulder or doing the driving for you.
One of the best feelings for a petrol head, in my opinion.
Taking it to the red line the first time, racing white vans off the lights it was great!Tricky one to call. A few spring to mind.
The first has to be trying to keep up with a big bike going down through the twists and turns under the trees of the Usk to Chepstow road in my old TVR S3. To be honest I was trying rather harder than was probably wise on the public road, but I got to the T-junction at the end grinning like an imbecile.
Years before that I was just about to leave a friend's house at about 1am one night when a very enthusiastically driven TR4 buzzed past. This was in the middle of rural Somerset on a moonlit night with the top down on my Quantum. I set off just as he went past and managed to catch up in time to watch a superb display of driving. From a safe distance behind I watched the TR just starting to break into a little four-wheeled drift through the bends. It was sublime.
More recently, watching the sun go down at the end of the Hanger Straight from the seat of a Chevron GR8 was pretty cool. I was sharing the track with Sports 2000 prototypes and the occasional Vantage GT4 or Ferrari Challenge car - despite the fact it was theoretically a public track day - and for a second I could have sworn I was on the Mulsanne Straight.
The first has to be trying to keep up with a big bike going down through the twists and turns under the trees of the Usk to Chepstow road in my old TVR S3. To be honest I was trying rather harder than was probably wise on the public road, but I got to the T-junction at the end grinning like an imbecile.
Years before that I was just about to leave a friend's house at about 1am one night when a very enthusiastically driven TR4 buzzed past. This was in the middle of rural Somerset on a moonlit night with the top down on my Quantum. I set off just as he went past and managed to catch up in time to watch a superb display of driving. From a safe distance behind I watched the TR just starting to break into a little four-wheeled drift through the bends. It was sublime.
More recently, watching the sun go down at the end of the Hanger Straight from the seat of a Chevron GR8 was pretty cool. I was sharing the track with Sports 2000 prototypes and the occasional Vantage GT4 or Ferrari Challenge car - despite the fact it was theoretically a public track day - and for a second I could have sworn I was on the Mulsanne Straight.
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