Auction for Ferrari, Maserati and NSX over winter

As mentioned in my previous letter, we've decided to let members who want take a car for the whole 3 months from mid Dec to mid March. They will need to arrange their own insurance, and give us proof, and also have a garage in which the car carn be stored. We've decided to auction each car we wish to be used in this way.

Winners will have a mileage limit of 1,000 per month (so for 3 months that is halfway to the next service!), and also pay a prorated amount for tyre wear. The cars that we will be putting up for the auction will be the new Ferrari 550 Maranello, the Maserati 3200GT, Honda NSX and Elise Sport 160. Should we buy anything new in the next month we may add that in as well.

I already have a bid of £800 for the Ferrari, so with a minimum increment of £100, the next bid would need to be £900.... For the Maser and the NSX we'll start at £500 and Elise at £300 all with minimum increments of £50. The auction will run till early december, so please email me or phone with your bids. Should you be outbid you are at liberty to up your bid! This blog page will then be updated to reflect the new bids!!!

Good Luck,

Matt

Next year, you will be driving a......

1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello. In dark silver with dark red leather and black carpets, 34,000 miles and manual 6-speed, I bought this car yesterday at auction. It will be having a full service over the coming days, and I would anticipate it will be ready for investors to drive at the end of next week. Then, in April it will be available to other members. Watch this space - more cars to come.....
Matt

Autumn driving?

Happy Autumn! Often the best driving in Scotland is to be had at this time of year – with the crisp weather and changing colours of the trees often comes the nirvana of empty roads. However, if there has been rain, or leaf falls, or early darkness that could catch one out, the roads can also be quite treacherous as we’ve recently found to our cost.

Both the Elise and S2000 were crashed by members in the last fortnight, and in each case due to one of the above factors. So, if I could take this opportunity to urge care at this time of the year I think all members would be most grateful! The Elise seems repairable and should be ready for spring. I suspect the S2000 is a write-off though, so we’ll use the opportunity to freshen the fleet and maybe replace it with a Boxster S.

Moving onto the good news. Our investment scheme has been a resounding success – we’ve raised over £150,000 so far which means we will be buying every car on our wish list! And as the price of cars has fallen since we hatched our plan, we’ve been able to upgrade some of the cars – like a Porsche 911 (996) Turbo instead of a Carrera 4. If we get another £50,000 and we will also be looking for a Lamborghini Gallardo for investors use. If you are still musing about investing please contact me as soon as possible because at the end of this week investment year one starts, and any investment made after this will have a lock in period that ends a year after those made this week or earlier.

Whilst we have the money in the bank and could buy right now, we’ve taken the decision to wait for another month or two to see if prices do continue to fall as the economic gloom darkens with the weather. So bear with us if you are disappointed the new metal isn’t arriving quickly enough - by January and February we promise exotic cars will be appearing at a Classic Car Club near you!

In fact there have been a couple of new arrivals already – a beautiful 1992 Bentley Turbo RL (LWB & active ride) and a really cute 1958 Austin Healey 100/6. The Turbo RL will have a complete respray over the winter, and will be looking stunning by spring, and the big Healey just needs it’s hood tidying up before it too will be ready to go in spring.

We are starting to take the classics of the road for winter through November, and we will run the more modern stuff through till Monday January 5th 2009. They will then winter until Friday 13th (!!) March unless the weather is particularly bad, in which case we will delay for a week or so until the spring appears. We are aiming to have an Open Weekend to launch all the new cars on the weekend of the 28th March, so please mark that date in your diary and come along and join us.

As our fleet becomes more and more modern, it strikes me that our main reason for taking the modern cars of the road is due to our insurer. And whilst I believe that is right and fair that our insurer should decide the risk is too high for them, it also gives us an opportunity for members who are able to obtain their own insurance to take the modern cars for the whole 3 months of winter.

This is currently only an idea, so I welcome your feedback, but how much interest would there be for members to take self-insured club cars for all of 3 months from mid December to mid March for an additional payment, perhaps to be decided by auction? Currently the NSX and Maserati appear to be the best cars to test this out, but if this scheme is a success then there would be many more cars that would fit the criteria in the coming years. I welcome your feedback on this idea.

MN

Derek's charity cycle ride

Hi all,

Please take a moment to look at the link below to sponsor me for a 50mile cycle run from Glasgow to Edinburgh in memory of mum.

Thanks for your support
Derek

www.justgiving.com/derekwatt

The first new cars are arriving!

We've now raised enough money to buy all the vehicles (bar a Lamborghini) and so have starting finding out which cars are so cheap we can't refuse them!

So, first in is a 1992 Bentley Turbo RL (the long wheel-base version has an extra foot or so in the rear) and has many upgrades over the old Bentley including active ride suspension, and 50bhp extra power. It is extremely good condition internally (beige with dark blue contrast and carpets), and on the outside the paint has faded somewhat. The first thing we'll do is get it sprayed - I'm thinking a dark metallic blue but open to suggestions. It will be available to investors once this has been done.

We've also sourced a big Healey for you guys. It's an early 60's Austin Healey 100/6 - one of the very last with similar output to the 3000. This should be arriving in the club in the next couple of weeks.

We've also been busy making low-ball offers to distressed sellers - on a 2000 Ferrari 550 Maranello, a 2001 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage Volante, a 2003 Ferrari 360 Spyder and a 2003 TVR Tamora.

These are incredibly exciting times for the club and it's members!
M

It's happening!

Just to let you guys know there's been a really good response to our offer for investment. We now have over £100,000 invested and another 10 members seriously interested. The fleet company has been incorporated, bank accounts opened, and directors elected. All we need to do now is pick the cars! While on this topic, would you guys rather use an Aston DB7 V12 Vantage at band 12 or a DB9 at band 20? Decisions, decisions!!

Our future is here!

The time has come to unveil our plans for the future of Classic Car Club in Scotland. We've taken a long, hard look at all the car clubs around the world and taken the best bits of them. We've talked to many current - and prospective - members, listened to what they want to drive, when they want to drive it and what they want to pay for it. Now, we've put all this together to create the blueprint for something rather special. After thousands of hours of research that’s included tax advisors, lawyers and accountants, we're ready to share it with you. No, really share it!

It’s your club…..

As with any club, Classic Car Club exists for its members, and in order to improve member experiences, we need to move quickly to take chances as they arise. The recent credit crunch, impending recession and record oil prices have combined to give us an unparalleled opportunity to make radical improvements to the club by wholesale upgrades to the fleet as people sell their expensive to run and non-essential toys at a far lower price than a year ago. Staggeringly desirable cars are becoming available to the discernible expert - and we're going to buy them on your behalf. We feel that making these changes will make the club better and membership more desirable, but in order to make them we need your help. Put simply, we're giving you the chance to make membership a lot more rewarding.

The cornerstone for our future is a new and improved fleet, and the economic climate allows us to put together one of the finest collections in the country. It'll rival anything available from clubs in London and elsewhere, but will be managed right here in the heart of Scotland for a fraction of their overhead. This will give benefits in reliability, desirability, attracting new members, and also reducing maintenance and other running costs. This can only be achieved by an injection of new capital. Following a model successfully implemented by car clubs in London and New York, we propose to raise this new capital by offering Preference Shares with extremely generous dividends and incentives to club members who wish to help in the creation of our ‘fantasy fleet’ which will be of massive benefit to all.

financial engineering

It's widely reported that the financial markets will remain volatile for some time to come, with even the highest paying savings accounts yielding after-tax interest rates which are lower than inflation. We have created a new club framework that will find a home for a fairly modest investment which is secure, more exciting - and most importantly allows you to not only have unfettered access to our new fleet, but it means you own it too - all free of maintenance and liability. Your Preference Shares deliberately don't pay a basic cash dividend - they do a whole lot more:

• Free annual membership for each year you retain shares
• Free access to ‘premium’ cars – ask for ‘new club rules’ document.
• Exclusive access to ‘investor-only’ Lamborghini Gallardo.
• Preferential upgrade option.
• Exclusive access to ‘new’ cars for 2 months.
• An underwritten, dependable investment due to the creation of a fleet holding company
• Hassle-free ownership of some truly remarkable cars.

The investment will be available in amounts of £10,000, £20,000 and £30,000 per member, and entitle the holder to free Country, Standard and Platinum memberships respectively as well as all the above benefits. The minimum holding period is 3 years, after which you will be entitled to request the full return of your investment. Should you decide not to, your benefits will continue until you do activate your request for return.

This investment will be in a newly created company (Fantasy Fleet Ltd) which can only buy cars, and upon disposal of these cars it will sell them to CCCS at its original buying price. It will have no liabilities other than to its investors, and hence your investment will be asset-backed. For full details of the mechanics of the offer, and of the interaction between CCCS and Fantasy Fleet, please ask for ‘the small print’.

This new fleet will transform the club and allow us to significantly speed our (currently organic) development. The Scotsman, The Herald and the Daily Record have all said they wish to cover the changes and new fleet in detail, with one editor going as far as to say that when we get our desired fleet, he would join at Platinum level. Our mailing list of over 1,500 people who have expressed an interest in the club in the past will also find this a most interesting development.

Many people currently running exotics are contacting us as they are fed up with the £25,000 or more per year needed to run their new Ferrari/Maserati/ Lamborghini/Porsche. As the depression deepens we expect large growth in this type of member because they find it harder to justify their ‘toy’ whilst still needing to scratch an itch. The benefits of higher member numbers are that they enable us to make many other improvements in the club more rapidly than otherwise, such as upgrading the website (a revamp has just been completed – check it out!), membership cards, club keyrings and more member events. We will also explore the possibility of new premises, both in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Oh, and more cars!

If you haven't yet received our letter and want to know more, please don't hesitate to contact us.

New Website!!

Check it out at www.cccedinburgh.co.uk!

Maserati 3200GT

We had tentatively reserved the 911 for a short visit to Oban - Mull - Ardnamurchan - Borders, but thought it would more likely be the 928. We were of course absolutely delighted to learn we would be the ‘guinea pigs’ for the resurrected Maserati 3200GT. The car is very much a Grand Tourer, the kids were more than happy and comfortable in the rear and we were thrilled sitting in the front (it even has a decent boot).

The car itself is a beauty. The sensitive throttle combined with 400 horses under the bonnet and a couple of turbo chargers thrown in, does make things very interesting but doesn’t take too long to get used to. At around 3000 RPM the car bursts into life and is awesome. The Maserati was also very popular with bystanders with quite a few redirecting cameras to get a shot of the car. The car itself never missed a beat over the 3 days we had it. The only worrying moment we had was when our B&B host saw the car and told us she was going to get the baby oil out and roll about on the bonnet. I bet the insurance doesn’t cover that.

More great news!

Having suffered from snapped shifter rods and burnt out clutch packs for the 4wd system inside it's gearbox, our 911 Carrera 4 will be back on the road next week!

Great News!

Finally the club's Maserati 3200GT is back on the road, and has just headed up to Mull with a member. Fingers crossed the car will now be healthy for at least the rest of the season. As we had 2 Maserati crashes last year our insurers insist that those who wish to drive it have taken the Cobra driving test. The next one is fully booked, and then after that there is still space on 2nd september. Call the office to book.

Big changes!

As has been hinted before, we are on the threshold of making some huge changes to the club. All of you should have received a letter sent last week by now, but for those of you who are yet to read it, I'm going to add it below. Please let us know what you think of these proposals. Currently our lawyers are preparing the structure and necessary documentation, and as soon as that is finalisd, I'll put together a proper offer document!

Dear All,
We’re writing to you today to share some exciting new ideas we have for the Club which will enhance the Members’ enjoyment of the Club and the fleet. We have always sought to develop the fleet into more reliable, and thereby more available, modern cars as well as still providing diversity of driving experiences. Historically we have managed this through organic growth of membership and investing excess income in the Fleet as and when we could. However, today’s financial and oil markets means that the appeal of luxury car ownership is waning, and with many forced car sales imminent there will be an opportunity to snap up some bargains in our market.

As some of you know, we've spent the last 2-3 months thinking up our ‘dream’ fleet. The cars in our current fleet have become overly dependant on maintenance and can disappoint members through their non-availability. So, we've put together a fleet that should be much more reliable and hence available more of the time, but that also should be considerably more desirable. Both these factors will make membership even more fun! Whilst some of the cars may appear to be similar to those on the current fleet, they will be 10 or so years younger (911, S600, Bentley). We also have a reserve list of cars to be swapped in and out as opportunities arise - but would love to see this topic stimulate some real discussion as to the sort of cars members would like to see in the club! This is our initial ‘dream’ fleet:

2000 Ferrari 456M GT* 2002 Maserati 4200 GTA*
1999 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage* 1999 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 (996)
1995 Honda NSX 1995 Bentley Turbo RL
1995 AC Cobra 2002 TVR Tamora
2000 Honda S2000 1997 Lotus Elise Sport160
2001 Mercedes S600L 2002 Caterham Super Seven SV
1958 Porsche 550A Spyder (with a new gearchange mechanism)
1966 Jaguar E-type s1 Roadster (with new interior, seats and roof)
1974 Rolls Royce Corniche (with a bodywork restoration)
1960 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 MOD (with new engine)

16 cars that we think are a great mix of classic, luxury, sports and supercars. Something for everyone, and cars that should be much less arduous for the club to maintain than the current fleet, giving much higher percentage of time on the road and thus be less frustrating for members. Cars that won’t depreciate, and ones that to most owners would be seen as luxuries. What do you think?

Now we are well established, with a long standing and stable membership, we are looking to move the Club ‘up a gear’ with this step change in the Fleet as suggested earlier. However, we will need to act quickly to take advantage of the cheap cars available in the current financial climate, and so will be unable to achieve this without raising some additional funds above the normal membership input. We have discussed this development with the other Classic Car Clubs in London and New York (who have successfully done just this), sought professional advice as well as being ‘steered’ by some of our own Members, and have arrived at what we feel is the perfect scheme!

To this end we are offering our membership the chance to invest in the Fleet to enable this transformation, with investors gaining some unique rewards in the form of special membership options and special cars. With a far more valuable fleet we will introduce ‘premium’ cars – as marked with an asterisk in the list above. Post renewals, these will be available only to platinum members and investors and will attract excess miles payments (paid in points). This is consistent with the way all other clubs function.

Our intention is to provide members the opportunity to invest in such a way that their money is secure, offering a return equivalent to some 4x that offered by the best savings accounts, allowing the member some of the pleasures of ‘ownership’ and enabling the club to buy a selection of cars that investors can enjoy at the same time as reaping the above benefits. Members who are not in a position to participate in this will still benefit as they will get the enhanced fleet to drive with increased availability!

The current company will be split into an operating company and a fleet holding company, with the latter only holding cash and car assets with no liabilities other than to its investors. Investment would be into this fleet holding company and these investments would thus be backed by assets of an equivalent value. We plan 3 levels of investment: £10k, £20k or £30k and each investment would reward the investor with an annual membership equivalent to Country, Standard & Platinum respectively. On top of this, investors would get full access to the entire fleet (members would need platinum level to get this), plus enhanced upgrade options, and should we raise enough money, we would buy a car for investors only – a Lamborghini Gallardo!

The deal is being structured by lawyers and tax accountants right now, and the formal offer letter should be ready by the end of the month. Having spoken to many members, it seems there is a real appetite for this, and we would anticipate it being very popular. As we only need to raise a fixed level of funds, investment will be allocated on a first come – first served basis, so if you’ve any queries contact us now and be ready to act when the offer letter is finished.

Cobra Tuition

Sorry for the late notice, but anyone interested in training to drive the Cobra let me know. The next session is 6pm on Tuesday 1st July - next tuesday.
cheers
Matt

Club Autumn Tour to Orkney

Following many requests we are delighted to confirm that the next club trip away will be to Orkney.
These enchanting islands have been attractive for visitors and settlers since the Stone Age. As a result they are home to some of the most amazing archaeological remains in Europe, and offer a fascinating insight into times gone by.

The open landscape and good roads make Orkney easy to explore, with a number of the islands joined by causeways, others easily accessible by ferry or local plane.

The main island (Mainland) boasts a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE which includes the ancient Standing Stones of Stenness and the Neolithic Ring of Brodgar. The 5,000 year old houses at Skara Brae remain remarkably intact, and the Viking runes at Maeshowe prove that graffiti isn’t just a 20th century invention!

In more recent times evocative Scapa Flow contains the melancholy relics of two world wars, and on its banks the beautifully ornate Italian Chapel constructed by Italian Prisoners of War over 50 years ago is well worth a visit.
Given the distance, we are including four nights’ accommodation to allow time to explore. You can also choose to stay just three nights if you prefer.


The Lynnfield Hotel, Kirkwall will be our base for the weekend.
The new owners have put tremendous effort into transforming this hotel, located on the outskirts of Kirkwall. A genuine feel pervades the hotel, which is traditionally furnished, offering you the chance to find out just how comfortable Orkney chairs really are. Fast building a reputation as a destination for locals, the restaurant boasts menus packed with local produce: your chance to try lamb with its distinctive flavour due to the seaweed diet of North Ronaldsay sheep, or to sample local seafood including mouth-watering prawns, succulent salmon and delicious stir-fried squid. And you just must pop round to see the neighbours – the world famous Highland Park distillery is right next door.


Outline itinerary (provisional and subject to change)

Thursday 25th September
Ferry to Orkney. There are two options. For those happy to drive to the far north of Scotland, you can catch the Northlink service from Scrabster (near Thurso) at either 1315 or 1900. This crossing takes 90 minutes.
If you prefer a shorter drive then there’s the longer evening service from Aberdeen, departing 1700, arriving Kirkwall 2300. Dinner is available on the ferry, and cabins can be reserved.


With the likely varied time of arrival, this evening is free to make your own arrangements, with the option of eating at the hotel or locally in Kirkwall.

Friday 26th September
After breakfast tour the east mainland, heading across the Churchill barriers, visiting the Italian Chapel and on south as far as South Ronaldsay.
Return to Kirkwall in the afternoon for a private tour of the Highland Park Distillery, whose 18 year old has been dubbed the “Best Spirit in the World”(a very short walk from the hotel, luckily).

Dinner in Hotel

Saturday 27th September
A day touring the west mainland, to visit Maes Howe, Skara brae and even the chance to follow Billy Connolly’s dance through the Ring of Brodgar – he did it in his birthday suit…but you don’t have to!

Lunch stop arranged and plenty of time to explore as one pleases.

Dinner in hotel followed by live traditional music.

Sunday 28th September
Day free to explore as you wish. Options to take ferries to one of the other islands, Westray, Rousay or Shapinsay – if the latter, we can arrange for an afternoon tea in the wonderful Balfour Castle.

Dinner in hotel/local restaurant

Monday 29th September
Depending on choice of ferry, there is more chance to explore the islands or make a start for home.

The shorter ferry leaves from Stromness at 1100. This crossing takes 90 minutes.
For those who prefer to return to Aberdeen there is an overnight sailing, depart 2345 arrive 0700. Cabins are available on this service.


Pricing
There are eight rooms available for this trip, with a number of options depending on ferry route chosen and standard of room. Standard rooms are at the back of the hotel, and superior at the front with countryside views over the edge of Kirkwall. Rooms will be allocated based on when bookings are made.
Prices include four nights’ accommodation bed & breakfast, plus dinner for two nights, distillery tour, evening entertainment, route plan, map of Orkney, and return ferries for car and passengers as specified, plus Robert’s Recommendations on what to see and do.

Holiday based on a double or twin room and ferry Scrabster-Stromness ferry return, £400 per person sharing.

Holiday based on a double or twin room, with ferry Aberdeen – Kirkwall one way, Scrabster-Stromness one way, £440 per person sharing.

Holiday based on a standard double or twin room, Aberdeen- Kirkwall ferry return, £468 per person sharing.

Please ask for a quotation if you would like to return on the Sunday to Scrabster.

Cabins available for the Aberdeen route from around £40 per person sharing an “Outer two berth.”

Single occupancy of a double room – please ask for a quotation.

How to book
Call McKinlay Kidd on 08707 606027 or email robert@mckinlaykidd.co.uk to book your place.
&
call Matt on 0131 553 2000 to reserve your choice of car.

New in today!

The engine that will ultimately power the MK2 has just arrived. It's now off to our master engine builder - it's in safe hands as he also rebuilt the E-type engine - before being slotted into the Mk2 in July......
MN

Back to the Future

Dunno if anyone has the Delorean out this weekend, but BttF is being shown on the big outdoor screen at the foot of the Mound on Saturday night at 21:30. (Part of the promotion of the Film Festival "Under the Stars"). Might be fun to drive by before or after?

A whole new fleet?

As some of you know, we've spent the last 2-3 months thinking up our dream fleet. The cars as we have just now have become overly needing of maintenance and can disappoint members through their non-availability. So, we've put together a fleet that should be much more reliable and hence available more of the time, but equally should be much more desirable. Both these factors will make membership even more fun! Here's my starter for 10. Note that some of the cars may appear to be similar to those we currently have, they will be 10 or so years newer (911, S600, Bentley). I also have a reserve list of cars to be swapped in and out as opportunities arise - but would love to see this topic stimulate some real discussion as to the sort of cars you guys would like to see in the club!

2000 Ferrari 456M GT
2002 Maserati 4200 GTA
1999 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage
1999 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 (996)
1966 Jaguar E-type s1 Roadster (with new seats and roof)
1995 Honda NSX
1995 Bentley Turbo RL
1995 AC Cobra
1974 Rolls Royce Corniche Coupe (with some bodywork)
2002 TVR Tamora
1960 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 MOD (with new engine)
2000 Honda S2000
1997 Lotus Elise Sport160
2001 Mercedes S600L
2002 Caterham Super Seven SV
1958 Porsche 550A Spyder

This is no idle fantasy - keep watching this spot for news of how we intend to get this fleet! Comments most welcome!
MN

My new love

Well that grabbed your attention! I am, of course, referring to the latest club acquisition, the Citroen DS.

It looks absolutely glorious. Here are a couple of shots of it on the Mull weekend to prove it.

Yes its handling takes time to get used to, and does not encourage rapid driving round twisty Scottish roads, and it is undoubtedly a little underpowered for the size of car, but it cruises very comfortably once the bends open out (at the legal limits of course). It is also a comfortable 4 seater, unusually for a club car and the fuel consumption was excellent.

And of course it looks glorious.........oh I said that before.
I thoroughly recommend it...but on second thoughts leave it for my next trip!

Pictures

As blogging is new to me, I'm still working out how to add more pictures than the couple below. In the meantime, you can see some 100+ pics of Mull here:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/ClassicCarClubScotland/MullSpring2008
Thanks to Matt, Lindsay and Myke for these pictures, feel free to add more.
M

Welcome to the CCCS blog!

As most of you are aware, we’ve just returned from a weekend in Mull – 16 members and 8 cars staying on the picturesque harbourfront of Tobermory made for a weekend to remember! Many thanks to Robert Kidd for ensuring that we did not see a single cloud for the duration of our stay!

During the weekend, Patrick and Matt took the opportunity to chat with the participants and take the pulse of that cross-section of the membership community. While most of the feedback was positive, there were a couple of issues that we realise need addressing. And this letter hopefully starts to address one of those!

Communication. Historically we’ve communicated only major events and issues, with minor things spreading through word of mouth. And in this day and age, it need not be so. So after canvassing opinion, we have set up a club blog. All members will have read/write access (although you will need to send us your email addresses in order that we authorise you) and all others will have read access. Whilst this blog is for members to communicate between themselves and for us to add minor news contributions and answer questions, we’d like to point out that it should not be a forum for criticism. If any member does have a particular grievance about the club or a car, please talk to Matt directly.

Other than that we’re happy for this blog to grow organically and reflect the needs and wishes of the members – post on any topic you wish that you think other members would find interesting, and feel free to add pics and videos of you having fun in club cars! Log on now to see some of the pics of the trip to Mull!

You may have noticed getting in touch with us has been a little harder over the last couple of months – as some of you know Derek has been off for some time having his bodywork fixed, and is now recuperating in Australia. He’s due back in work at the start of June, but in the meantime Matt is minding the fort all by himself. If you can’t get through on the landline do try Matt’s mobile (0771 204 5390). In Derek’s absence our ex-Ecurie Ecosse mechanic Jimmy is doing his best to keep the cars on the road. During this time, member Myke Grantham has kindly offered to help out around the club – any ideas as to what you think he could do to improve things?

The second issue raised in Mull was relating to lack of car related availability due to mechanical issues, which was coincidentally something that we at CCC had also been considering. Over the last couple of years the club has theoretically had around 20 cars at its disposal, but due to mechanical failures and delays in ordering parts only 10 – 15 of these were available at any given time. We understand that it is frustrating for members who may have joined to experience particular cars, only to find that the nature of these older exotic (and Italian) cars leaves them liable to be out of commission for long periods of time. For example, since its accident last year, the club Maserati 3200GT was sent to the coachbuilders to be rebuilt, and from there to the only Maserati specialists north of Leeds to be re-commissioned. 6 months later it is still there as the specialists are having difficulty diagnosing a specific electrical problem which leaves the car un-drivable.

Whilst we are doing all we can to get this and other cars back on the road, in many instances the timing is out of our hands. With this in mind we are seriously considering a large-scale uprating of the fleet. The idea is to have more desirable and more reliable cars that members would be keen to experience and that would be available to members for a greater proportion of time. We have a good idea of the sort of cars that would achieve this, but to get to our target fleet quickly we would need an injection of new funds.

As most of you are aware, we are in the midst of an unprecedented credit shortfall and combined with sky-high fuel prices we feel that there will be a real opportunity to add perfect uprated club cars in the next 6 months at bargain prices. As mentioned above we would need a rapid injection of funds to achieve this – of the many ways of getting this, members may be interested to invest in a asset-backed debenture scheme. This is the way that many other car clubs are run, and one we are seriously considering. As the club is primarily about the members, your thoughts on this are very important to us – why not use the blog to chat about it?

Let us know!




Matt, Patrick & Graham