Race cars on the road are always a sight to behold. It's the out of context shock of seeing a racing thoroughbred built for lap times parked up outside your local Tesco Express that sticks with you - much like the shock and awe of seeing Mark Webber drive his Porsche
919 Hybrid LMP1 car
through central London last year.
Then there was seeing a McLaren F1 GTR and P1 GTR drive in convoy from Goodwood Breakfast Club, with a 'regular' P1 road car tagging along. Other memorable sights include Sir Stirling Moss's Le Mans raced Ferrari 250 GT SWB, a Lamborghini Diablo SVR and a Lancia 037.
Can someone just move that California?
Recently London's H.R. Owen Ferrari has taken to parking race cars outside of its showroom in South Kensington. Doubtless a PR opportunity, but for the regular passer-by a chance to see the very pinnacle of Ferrari racing machinery in an unexpected setting. Last month they parked a 488 Challenge - capable of lapping Fiorano over four seconds faster than a LaFerrari - on the street for a whole afternoon. Heads were turned, even if those not in the know would have thought it was 'just' a 488 with a wing.
Last week however, they upped the game again, leaving their Schumacher F2001 replica out to mix it with London buses and white van drivers for the day. The car in question is built from real Scuderia parts and was used as an event/show car throughout the 2001 season. That season Ferrari won both the Constructor and Driver Formula 1 championships with Michael Schumacher at the wheel. It was in fact 16 years to the day since Schumacher won the opening race of the 2001 season at Australia in an F2001. The car in question is one of two F1 race cars currently belonging to the dealer, the other being the 2015 SF15-T which they were awarded by Ferrari for being the 'biggest and best' Ferrari dealer in the world.
What's next? An FXXK in the street? Hint, hint...
1 / 7