2 Mclarens, 2 F40's

Today started off with a nice little drive to DK Engineering. When we arrived, they gave us a small tour of their showroom and work areas. In the showroom, there was an amazing orange McLaren GTR that had raced in Le Mans in 1996 by BMW, and has been slightly modified to be street legal. Basically, about 650 horsepower in a street legal race car. It was in absolute immaculate condition. As we left the showroom, we headed into the engine building shop. Right there in front of me was the engine block to a Ferrari F40. It was really amazing to see the heart of one of my favorite cars sitting on an engine stand. When we left and went outside, we found the car that engine belonged to. What was really interesting was that they removed the entire rear suspension in order to remove the engine, so what we were looking at was a little over half of an F40. Under my breath I told the gentleman that took us to DK (his name is Martin), "Watch, it'll be another 3 years before I see another F40." I said that as we were entering the restoration and repair shop. I'll give you guys one guess about what was sitting there. Yep, another F40. Along with a newer Murcielago, an old Beetle, and couple more Ferraris, old and new. DK's restoration and repair shop has catered to customers such as Ralph Lauren and Eric Clapton and had done some very impressive projects over the years. We then headed off from DK and headed to an exclusive viewing of another Mclaren GTR that raced in Le Mans in 1997 and 1998. This car was not street legal though, at all. It was a full out race car. Amazingly, we were granted permission to sit in it and take some photos which was great. I got in the car first and sat in it for a couple minutes and soaked it all in. Then Chris sat in the car, closed the doors, and after that I'm pretty sure we lost him. I think almost 20 minutes went by before he got back out of the car. He was definitely in heaven today. To be able to see 2 Mclarens in one day is an extremely rare opportunity, but then again, Chris is really great at making things like this happen. Later on we attempted to start it, but some electrical difficulties with the dashboard prevented the engine from firing. Now, you'll notice I don't have any photos of these events online. Between customer confidentiality, personal privacy, and the politics attached to today's events, I can't post them online. Do not fret though, we do have photos of it all. After this, we headed to the huge Mercedes Benz World located on the site of the once famous Brooklands racetrack where we strolled along and looked at all the latest models offered by Mercedes. They also have a huge performance area designated for the Mercedes Benz Experience. Basically, they let you drive around various tracks made for driving their highest performance cars at their peak levels. Well, they were running a special and of course, I couldn't resist. We started off driving around a larger track to get acclimated with the car. It was a 500hp C63 AMG. There was a lot to get used to. It was remarkably fast, then it just stopped on a dime. From about 85 mph to 0 mph was amazing. The car comes to a complete stop very fast. Much faster than anything I can describe. Its turning capabilities were just as amazing. I was racing down a straightaway at about 95-100 mph, got hard into the brakes, and it would just willingly dive into the upcoming corner with ease. We also tested the car's traction and stability controls. I was able to make a 90 degree turn from a stop, full throttle, and keep the car in control on simulated ice (a wet surface was used, and when it's wet, it becomes almost as slippery as ice). This was obviously impossible to do when all assists were off, the car just spun out of control. We also went around a skidpad where I did a couple laps doing a controlled drift, much like I do with Kevin's car in the snow when he isn't around (just kidding, I think he was home when I did that). After this I went back on the big track and did a few more laps, this time using paddle shifters to manually change the gears. After my little 30 minute thrill ride, we went back to Granny's for a delicious lamb stew and ice cream. Tomorrow, we'll be sleeping in. We don't have much planned, just some dinner with Chris's Aunt and Uncle. By the way, I couldn't give you guys real photos of what we saw, so we've provided an accurate representation of today's events. Illustrations by C. Dodds and S. Pierson.