In March 2018, 4 club members; Ollie, James, Martin & myself, set off on a Rally that would take us across Europe to the Geneva International Motor show. An epic journey that, having left Four Marks, Hampshire would first take us to the Ace Cafe in London. This would be the venue for the start of the Pure Rally.
We put together a few totally mature (immature) videos, documenting our adventure at different points. Watch them all below as the story continues into Europe.
At the start line the cars filled the Ace Cafe car park whilst we readied ourselves for the chequered flag. We knew that before the end of the day we would be at our first stop over in Paris, France.
Ollie, Sam, Martin, James and I were in 3 cars; 2 orange Jaguars, an F Type R and an F Type SVR as well as a bright green Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4. Martin and I were in the bright green Lambo.
We left Ace cafe (with me dressed as car V logger Shmee) driving and Martin performing the commentary. Behind their seats, you can see our rather inappropriate magnolia Ferrari luggage crammed in. The luggage space in the Huracan is shocking. Under the bonnet there is just enough space for a cheese sandwich and a pencil.
A drivers eye view from the Huracan, on that dream driver’s road; the M25.
We arrived in Dover and after trying to board the wrong ferry, we eventually found our place on the correct boat shown here in the above photo. After we had crossed the channel, we eventually arrived in France.
Driving in France towards Paris, there was no racing at all……of course…..that would be illegal, dangerous and immature……
That was until Ollie came along side in his Jaguar F Type SVR, that thing was a beast! 3….2…..1….Go! So F Type SVR vs Huracan? Who will win?
Later that evening we stormed into Paris (see above) for our second official stop of the rally. On arrival at the hotel car park, we compared notes with Ollie and his passenger Sam.
After checking into our hotel we headed out for dinner, then back to the hotel to get changed ready for the night club at midnight. With plenty of Paris’ affordable (£250 per bottle) vodka consumed, we finally headed back to the hotel around 3am for a couple of hours sleep before up and ready for an early departure to Geneva. Find out more about the evenings antics in this next video.
A rolling shot of Ollie’s Jaguar F Type SVR
After a few hours of driving, another video update on route to Geneva (includes high speed driving).
We lost count of how many times we filled up. In fact, Martin’s card eventually started getting declined hahahaha
Imagine it…..driving to the Geneva International Motor Show……….in a Lamborghini………..with the sun shining…..with ya pals……..kind of puts you in a good mood. Then ‘Act Like You Know’ by Fat Larry’s Band comes on. The above video is the result! You try and watch it without cringing!
Having finally left France and entered Switzerland, we continued on to Geneva which is located at the most westerly tip of Switzerland. Having settled in to our hotel and had an Italian dinner, we headed out into town for a photo shoot with Production Boss. Even though the car was filthy dirty, they managed to capture this amazing shot. With a camera mounted on a tripod, individual sections were artificially illuminated and stitched together to produce this beautifully lit final piece. Even those red rear lights were artificially illuminated by laying a red strip light behind the car. A behind the scenes look below.
The next morning and after another 10 minutes sleep, we set off for the big one, the Geneva International Motor Show. Finally we arrive in the pouring rain and get parked up. When we arrive and get inside we find that already it is 5 or 6 deep at the leading brand stands. Fortunately, thanks to Martin’s buying history with HR Owen, we have ‘VIP stand access’ at Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Rolls Royce & Bentley. First up was Ferrari and after a glass or two of Champagne we took a closer look at the brand newly released Ferrari Pista.
Next up was Maserati, more Champagne and then onto Lamborghini to meet up with some familiar faces on the stand. Had a seat in a red Aventador S with a carbon fibre roof (see photos). After a snack in the Lambo restaurant, we headed over to Rolls Royce and sat in some of their latest limousines. The young chap showing us the cars, encouraged us to whack the stereo up full blast, then get out of the car (still blasting) and shut the door to demonstrate how sound proof the car was. Astonishing really. Then finally on to Bentley for more food, more champagne and more luxury motor cars. In between, we were able to visit a number of other stands to see up close some exciting hypercars and other exotica. It was a truly fantastic and memorable day at the show and would dearly love to do it again. However, as some of the main brand stands (i.e. Ferrari, Lamborghini etc) were reserved for VIP access, I am not sure how much fun it would be if you had to look over the crowds to see the cars.
So with the motor show behind us, the last stop before our long drive home was the Swiss worldwide headquarters of watch brand TAG Heuer in La Chaux-de-Fonds. They had confirmed in advance they had reserved two spaces to park the Lambo and on arrival, we were greeted by Brand Heritage Manager, Sam El Baz who was ready to show us around on a one-on-one basis. We had exclusivity in the museum and Sam walked us round showing us specific interesting timeline land marks. We were both wearing TAG Heuer Monacos in advance of arrival to ensure we were on-brand!
After we were finished at TAG Heuer and received our goody bags from them, we set off for our 13 hour journey home. Thanks to, what must have been a wrong turn, we ended up in the mountains. This ended up being some of the most enjoyable driving I have ever had in a car. Windy roads just seem to go on forever and as the roads were wet, it made for a scary but exciting leg of the trip.
All that was now left to do, was to drive out of Switzerland, drive across the whole of France, get on a ferry at Calais, cross over to Dover and drive across England and back to Four Marks where the Lambo was parked up in my garage for the night.
This was an eye watering 13 hour journey, mainly in the rain! Needless to say, we were both exhausted by the time we made it home. On reflection, and I think I can talk for all 4 of us on this one, this was a memory that we will draw on for the rest of our lives! If you can afford yourself the time, I would thoroughly recommend this type of road trip to anyone.
What next? Well, actually myself and FMCC members Toby, Jeron & Jonny headed off to Iceland a week or so later for another epic adventure of driving the circumference of the island in none other than a Landrover Defender. Those things are not built with comfort over rough terrain in mind! Wanna hear that story? Maybe that should be a feature for another time!
Anyway, here is the official movie put together after the event with the highlights. Great to see Ollie’s Jaguar F Type SVR on the cover!
Finally, a short blooper real of Martin and I trying to put together our launch video.
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