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Even though I don't have mine anymore, I was invited to join up with a bunch of Z1 owners who got together this weekend.
5 cars came over from Holland and Germany to meet up with 18 UK Z1's.....which made it the largest gathering of Z1's ever in the UK.
Over the weekend I managed to cover some 450+ miles - 240 of which was yesterday in convoy with the Z1's from London through quite a range of countryside and ending up at a posh hotel near Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Rather than go direct routes, the journey was planned to take in a lot of really good driving roads which almost doubled the mileage between stops.
The roads were awesome....the sight of Z1's in front and behind was quite something and made me feel really nostalgic about mine.
We stopped along the way at the Force India F1 factory in Silverstone where we got a brilliant tour of the facitlity, learnt a hell of a lot of new stuff about F1 cars design and their development & build (no photos unfortunatley...we even had to sign a contract about not disclosing stuff etc...
). I was kindly invited back there on an open invitation for a more detailed look at what they do. An invite I will be sure to take up sometime before too long.
I took my little MR2 for the weekend which looked a bit lost and insignificant amongst all the gorgeous Z1's, but it certainly gained a lot of interest and admiration from the Z1 owners when it proved to be 'just a little bit' quicker than their cars on the fast roads. Even a highly tuned 3.0 big budget Zed couldn't compare to the sheer pace of the MR2 on the journey. Boy was it fun!!
The journey back from Stratford this afternoon was something else. Even though the Z1 guys are a bunch of very spirited drivers, you can't beat a proper blast on your own. 80 odd miles of stunning roads home left me completely exhilarated and dare I say...worn out. A drive to relish and a weekend to remember.
Any, have some shots. Not many I'm afraid - I was too busy enjoying myself!
23 Z1's lined up after our lunch stop at Silverstone:
Some of the group and Pierre's gorgeous AC Schnitzer tuned 2.7 Z1 in rare 'Fun Yellow' (one of those colours that you have to see to appreciate - it is truly stunning in the flesh!)
Our accomodation for the night - the Ettington Park Hotel. Very posh (by my standards anyway) and quite an experience although my wallet is certainly a lot lighter for it! Oh how the other half live
Franz Schaffer's orange Z1 - one of the original 'concept' colours that never made it to production. Franz builds tuned Z1's and this car was pretty fast. Sounds gorgeous too...
The Primal Green Z1 owned by Jamal who organised the weekend. Some nice mods including Brembo brakes, quad pipe exhaust, 18" wheels, remote closing doors etc....a lovely car!
....oh and the weather was stunning too ;D
5 cars came over from Holland and Germany to meet up with 18 UK Z1's.....which made it the largest gathering of Z1's ever in the UK.
Over the weekend I managed to cover some 450+ miles - 240 of which was yesterday in convoy with the Z1's from London through quite a range of countryside and ending up at a posh hotel near Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Rather than go direct routes, the journey was planned to take in a lot of really good driving roads which almost doubled the mileage between stops.
The roads were awesome....the sight of Z1's in front and behind was quite something and made me feel really nostalgic about mine.
We stopped along the way at the Force India F1 factory in Silverstone where we got a brilliant tour of the facitlity, learnt a hell of a lot of new stuff about F1 cars design and their development & build (no photos unfortunatley...we even had to sign a contract about not disclosing stuff etc...
). I was kindly invited back there on an open invitation for a more detailed look at what they do. An invite I will be sure to take up sometime before too long.I took my little MR2 for the weekend which looked a bit lost and insignificant amongst all the gorgeous Z1's, but it certainly gained a lot of interest and admiration from the Z1 owners when it proved to be 'just a little bit' quicker than their cars on the fast roads. Even a highly tuned 3.0 big budget Zed couldn't compare to the sheer pace of the MR2 on the journey. Boy was it fun!!
The journey back from Stratford this afternoon was something else. Even though the Z1 guys are a bunch of very spirited drivers, you can't beat a proper blast on your own. 80 odd miles of stunning roads home left me completely exhilarated and dare I say...worn out. A drive to relish and a weekend to remember.
Any, have some shots. Not many I'm afraid - I was too busy enjoying myself!
23 Z1's lined up after our lunch stop at Silverstone:
Some of the group and Pierre's gorgeous AC Schnitzer tuned 2.7 Z1 in rare 'Fun Yellow' (one of those colours that you have to see to appreciate - it is truly stunning in the flesh!)
Our accomodation for the night - the Ettington Park Hotel. Very posh (by my standards anyway) and quite an experience although my wallet is certainly a lot lighter for it! Oh how the other half live
Franz Schaffer's orange Z1 - one of the original 'concept' colours that never made it to production. Franz builds tuned Z1's and this car was pretty fast. Sounds gorgeous too...
The Primal Green Z1 owned by Jamal who organised the weekend. Some nice mods including Brembo brakes, quad pipe exhaust, 18" wheels, remote closing doors etc....a lovely car!
....oh and the weather was stunning too ;D
