Classic Car Club Scotland – Weekend trip ( 24 – 26th April 09)

This trip was based at Hotel Tigh an Eilean, Shieldaig, Loch Torridon and was arranged, as always, by Robert Kidd of McKinlay Kidd.

The aim of these trips is to get members together to enjoy good drives, good food, a couple of beers along with a few unusual and interesting adventures. I drove the Porsche Boxster and brother-in-law Frank drove Elaine’s Honda S2000. (no rivalry there then)

The first drive on Friday took a detour route to avoid the roadworks on the A9. The route took in some good roads via Knockhill, Crieff, Aberfeldy and we met for a superb lunch at the Killiecrankie hotel. They were holding a “Seafood Festival” and we all enjoyed the variety and quality of the food, it set the tone for the rest of the weekend.

[ Photo of fleet outside Hotel]

From Killiekrankie, we went via Dalwhinnie to Spean Bridge then on to Invergarry then on the A87 – super road. Then we picked up the A890, which got us to our destination in time for a refreshment in the bar before dinner in the “Coastal Kitchen”.

On Saturday we took a short drive heading for a “Seafood Safari” on Dry Island.

Across a floating bridge [Picture above] we went aboard a fishing boat to explore the life of a creeler. [Picture]

We had a great time and Ian Macwhinnie gave us a very educational and amusing talk about the history of the Loch, the fish and wildlife as well as a great introduction to the geography and geology of the area. We (Ian) caught many crabs and showed us some interesting fish which live in the area – Starfish, Shoefish (poisonous), and tiny cod.

Only a few langoustines were caught – and they were supposed to make up our lunch.

Luckily Ian had been out before and there were plenty on the plate when we got back.
( Creelers fish all daylight hours) Lunch of Langoustines and squat lobsters was washed down with a glass of wine (non-drivers). A fantastic experience all round.

Other drivers took in Applecross, a trip to Skye and the Pass of Cattle. The cars performed perfectly - no one set a new land speed record. The DB7 was thirsty though and Gus had a few nervous moments on Sunday trying to do 18 miles on an “empty” tank - to get fuel.

Dinner in the hotel on Saturday is a little more formal – however, Robert was caught out when he realised his shirt matched the settee covers......


The hotel dinner on Saturday was impeccably served and delicious – unfortunately I had a large breakfast, fantastic lunch and then this superb dinner. I had to retire early as I had no room left for my after dinner drink. Others were late to bed.

The return trip was more or less unscripted – although Robert made many good suggestions of places to visit.

We set off in dull weather, ( thanks Heather) the later rain meant that hoods were up and down regularly – but no-one got seriously wet.

One of the best weekend trips we’ve had! Roll on the next one - natives beware!

Driver Tuition Dates...

All in East Lothian and with an Association of Race Drivers Schools instructor. Cost £80 in cash payable on the day, or £100 by card. You need to pass this course in order to drive the Cobra, Maserati, Elise, TVR, Ferrari  and Caterham.

28th April 6pm (tuesday)

16th May 9.30am (saturday)

26th May 6pm (tuesday)

29th June 6pm (monday)

27th July 6pm (monday)

These are sure to be popular, so please book quickly with me to avoid disappointment.

cheers

Matt

We've got an Aston Martin!

I've just returned from the South Coast of England where I picked up a lovely 2001 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage. It's dark metallic green with a tan interior, and only has 21,000 miles from new with a full Aston service history. It's drop dead gorgeous and handled the cruise back up here with no problems. And it came with the private plate V12 TOP which really finishes it!

Pictures to follow soon, but if you want to see it over Easter, head to Ocean Terminal where it will be on display for the big boy's toy show!

So, why a DB7 and not a DB9? In my ideal world we would have bought a DB9, but since october the prices of 9's hasn't really dropped, whilst all similar cars have shown much greater depreciation. We must remember that compared with previous Astons, the current models are mass produced and as a result there are more DB9's for sale than Honda S2000's in the UK (and has been since Oct) this makes me think that reality hasn't bitten and more depreciation is yet to come for the DB9. I suspect even the older, and most depreciated ones will lose a further 25% over the next year. I also know of a city hedge fund manager who bought 50 brand new, unregistered DB9's from Aston for around half price..... So the club's view is that DB7's have pretty much done all their depreciation, and next year the 9's should be a good deal cheaper. And then, when you've all had a chance to try the 7, we'll upgrade to the 9!

Drop me a line if you want to book her!

Supercar day, Sunday 10th May, Corbridge

A couple of members are planning to visit the Dyvel's Inn Supercar day. It's just over the border near Hexham, which is a nice run down from Edinburgh. They are expecting nearly 200 exotica, including a GT40 and De Tomaso amongst all the usual suspects. Click on this link to find out what last year's event was like:
Pistonheads article on 2008 supercar sunday
Book soon if you want to take a club car.
MN

Photos & Video from driving day

28/29 March - OPEN WEEKEND

The darkness is gone and all round Scotland sleeping sports cars get rolled out of garages and washed as it’s time to DRIVE again. Sunshine, long light evenings and slip-free tarmac mean that for those who love to drive, the rest of the year starts now!

And for those of you with curiosity about the merits of some of the most exciting metal on the roads, help is at hand. For here at CCC we’ve spent over £200k on new SUPERCARS. AMG S55L, Ferrari 550 Maranello, Porsche 911/996 Turbo, TVR Tamora, big Healey, Porsche Boxster S, Caterham 7 SV, Bentley Turbo RL and I *think* (long story) an Aston DB7 V12 Vantage - all new for 09.

Ladies and Gentlemen, that is some SERIOUS fun. And the best news is that a membership of CCC allows you to drive the cars above, and 11 other very desirable motor cars, when and where you wish. See www.cccedinburgh.co.uk for full details of the fleet, and how the club works. You could be driving off in a legendary 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello. 5500cc, V12, 485bhp, 199mph for stat heads. Timeless elegance, genuine object of desire, sheer luxury for the aesthetes. Unbelievable VALUE for £200 per mth!

Even better, is that if you happen to be in Leith over the weekend of the 28/29^th March, and drop in to see all the cars at our Open Weekend, we’ll give you an extra 10% driving free when you join! (Not Country) See you there 11-6? To all current members - bring all your pals to envy at your fine selection of motor vehicles. And if any of them take the plunge and join, we'll give you 10% for each off your renewal!

PS remember the Clocks on Sunday!

A frustrating week for CCC

I just wanted to share some of the frustrations that have wasted far too much of my time this week, and apologise if this impacts any member. As you can see, all of this was out of out my control, but incredibly annoying.

1) The good news - I agreed to buy a 2001 Aston Martin DB7 V12 Vantage on Tuesday. The bad news - since then the owner has turned his phone off and disappeared. Very odd, but back to stage one on the Aston hunt I suspect.

2) The good news - the Exige mentioned in the previous post sold for £2500 less than we originally bought it for. The bad - not to us. British Car Auctions 'Live online' system crashed 2 mins before our auction and didn't let us bid, despite the fact that we would have happily bid higher than the winning bid. I vented my anger by writing stroppy letters to the head of BCA and also to Black Horse, the underlying vendor.

3) The good news - we were offered a low miles 2003 Honda NSX 6-speed gearbox for a good price. As the current one is starting to show signs of sloppiness, and as the current 5-speed takes an expensive twin plate clutch, the new box will not only be nicer to shift, have a taughtness about it and a nicer clutch action, it will also pay for itself after 2 clutch changes. The bad news - despite being expected to arrive a week ago, TNT have managed to lose it. It's only a little gearbox on a pallet, so I can understand how it might have slipped down the back of someones desk. God only knows when and if it might arrive.

4) The good news - the Boxster is in the club garage, complete with V5 to tax it. The bad news - on thursday someone marched into the garage and ran off with the only set of keys that came with the car. This means that the car has to be unlifted to Porsche, who then order a new set of keys from Stuttgart, and then spend a couple of hours being reprogrammed. About £500. Annoying, but it should be ready by the Open Weekend.

I know that after 6 properly great months for the club I really need to put this into perspective, but it still frustrates me that stuff like this can impact on you guys. Anyway, the sun is shining, and I'm off to collect our new Bentley from the paint shop. Pics on Monday!

MN