OV9

That sounds and looks like a grand day out!

The one time I opened the boot was when everyone was taking photos!

Matty wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 7:42 pm Looks like a good day, and can't complain about the weather, that's for sure.

Kudos to whoever cleaned @MikeHunt's car, that is some shine

Gavin, maybe I do need the details of your/Dan’s valeter

duncs500 wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 8:10 pm The one time I opened the boot was when everyone was taking photos!

That yellow looks slightly golden in the photos but I think it looks even better in person. Really love how you have the car.

Marv wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 7:14 pmYep, thanks for showing me what them 8500rpm upshifts are like in first, second and third in the 360 Gav

It wouldn’t have surprised me and I don’t mind - it’s literally the Italian Tune-up ! I’m not precious about the car.

I took JonMad for a ride in it a while back and he asked if the F1 gearbox automatically upshifts at the limiter. So we checked.

Love the CSL btw, somehow I always forget that you have it.

Jobbo wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 8:12 pm

Matty wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 7:42 pm Looks like a good day, and can't complain about the weather, that's for sure.

Kudos to whoever cleaned @MikeHunt's car, that is some shine

Gavin, maybe I do need the details of your/Dan’s valeter

Very slightly different colour to yours though, isn't it? Can't quite tell because one looks like they've made the effort

Great to see you all earlier, had a really fun day out, nice to see some faces behind the usernames I've known for decades

It was really funny driving up the B660 because there were a few cars spaced out ahead of me. I could tell when the 40mph limit changed to NSL, even if it was out of sight, because of Dunc's exhaust, then GGs as they hoofed it. Obviously I wanted to do a public service and ensure you all had a chance to hear what a Ferrari 360 sounds like doing the same thanks to @Sundayjumper for the loan!

I did a little walkaround with the camera while at C&M too:

I love how it ends with you almost being run over by a Skoda Roomster!

Thanks everyone so much for coming. I had a great time, and am still buzzing. We must do more!

Explosive Newt wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 8:15 pm

duncs500 wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 8:10 pm The one time I opened the boot was when everyone was taking photos!

That yellow looks slightly golden in the photos but I think it looks even better in person. Really love how you have the car.

Yep the colour is great. A yellow alpine came in after and I thought how flat and cheap the colour looked compared to the Elise.

GG. wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 10:53 pm

Explosive Newt wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 8:15 pm

duncs500 wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 8:10 pm The one time I opened the boot was when everyone was taking photos!

That yellow looks slightly golden in the photos but I think it looks even better in person. Really love how you have the car.

Yep the colour is great. A yellow alpine came in after and I thought how flat and cheap the colour looked compared to the Elise.

Thanks chaps!

Explosive Newt wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 10:35 pm I love how it ends with you almost being run over by a Skoda Roomster!

Thanks everyone so much for coming. I had a great time, and am still buzzing. We must do more!

Yes, less than 3 year gap! This couldn't have been much more convenient for me, I guess doing it centrally is great for being manageable for people from both east and west but you do sacrifice an opportunity for an extended NSL run with light traffic. On another day I think we could have gone further north and we might have got a little more but with it being a BH weekend there's lots of other commitments so it worked out well as a quick blast.

Being at the front in a loud car means I missed at lot of the spectacle. When @GG. pulled alongside the 360 on the DC and you both instinctively knew what was happening made me chuckle away.

Took the B660 back south to Kimbolton on the way home and it was lovely and clear, so I enjoyed the trip home too.

duncs500 wrote: Mon May 25, 2026 7:01 am


Being at the front in a loud car means I missed at lot of the spectacle. When @GG. pulled alongside the 360 on the DC and you both instinctively knew what was happening made me chuckle away.

I saw GG coming up in the outside lane and assumed he was gonna do a flyby. When he eased up and downshifted, I was like “oh yeah, it’s on”

Was lovely to finally (after 17yrs on the forum!) meet most of you. Thoroughly enjoyed myself and what a turn out of cars.

Most impressive for me was how well JonMad could peddle his Suzuki Swift!

Also very envious of Duncs Elise. Pictures don’t do it justice.

Thanks for making me feel very welcome.

Great to meet you all, always slightly surreal putting faces to cars and usernames. Really enjoyed the food, the drive and the chat. Caffeine & Machine is a great venue, even if it’s slightly overpriced… although that’s probably true of everywhere these days. Some awesome cars there too, fair to say the Swift and the Lotus looked just as much fun as the Ferrari and the M3 CS, just for completely different reasons.

I think the 2 purples are slightly different. Mine does have a ceramic coating, but it definitely looked different to a brand new M240i in the same colour at the dealership a few weeks ago.

Thanks to everyone who organised the day and mapped out the route. Also enjoyed following Simon back towards the middle of the country. 90 miles where my little engine definitely benefited from a tow, as they say in F1. As much as I’m a Luddite around hybrid and ev, the G99 is an absolute machine and has a lot presence when moving.

Gutted I couldn't join you but life gets in the way sometimes. Also, a 2 tonne diesel barge with no boost would have been slower than when I was trying to keep up on a previous meet in my Mini One clubman with a slipping clutch.

@JonMad can definitely pedal a car.

ironically, the one time I came to a meet with something ‘quick’ in my CLK55, iirc I couldn’t keep up with Rev in his Alfa Mito.

There’s something about driving a slow car fast.

Though I couldn’t hear any of the cylinders up ahead from where I was. Was fun timing my acceleration with Holley squirting off ahead of me in his Alpine.

And Will, behind me, I felt your frustration from that bike not quite keeping up, but they did seem to be content to sit in that position in our convoy all the way along the B660.

JonMad wrote: Sun May 24, 2026 5:47 pm My first C&M experience and it was as friendly and chilled-out as I was hoping (the Petersfield one is only 35 mins from me so might have to pay it a visit)

Hmm - Petersfield is right on the route down to my parents. I might be able to make it to one of those.

The midlands one seems to get a good variety pretty much every day.

The other two are probably fine on a nice evening / weekend but I expect a bit rubbish at other times unless you go with a couple of others or there’s a specific event on.

It’s just nice having somewhere that doesn’t just tolerate cars but encourages them to come, so I don’t really mind that the food is a bit steep.

Not sure where these two were off to yesterday