Visual experiences of a petrolhead
Are you frustrated? Feeling down? Unhappy with something? Then you need a ride in an AC Cobra!
Read that first line out of context, and you may think I’ve started selling over the counter medication, till you read the last few words. It’s true though; I found it impossible not to smile during my ride in a Factory Five Racing replica of the infamous AC Cobra.
Acceleration and speed. I had both terms redefined recently, when I went for a ride in an F40.
Much has been said about the Ferrari F40. Words like ‘pinnacle’, ‘icon’ and ‘legend’ regularly get thrown around whenever the F40 is mentioned. Yet, to go for a ride in an F40 is a truly life-changing experience.
I, like many others, had a poster of a Ferrari F40 on my bedroom wall as a child. Perhaps it was the simplistic design, the big red wing, or the fact that it embodied my imagined version of a supercar.
Is it a UFO? Is it a carpenter’s wedge? Is it a child’s toy? No, it’s a Lancia Stratos!
The first time I laid eyes on a Lancia Stratos was in a 2010 issue of CAR magazine. The photos on the glossy pages displayed two Stratos. I would later learn that one of them was the Ferrari F430 Scuderia-based ‘New Stratos’, while the other was the real thing from the 1970s.
Sometime in early June, I was invited for a weekend morning drive in a 1976 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale, an invitation I graciously accepted. As I found myself on the way to meet the car, I realized I didn’t know what to expect from it.
Continue reading “The Lancia Stratos HF Stradale – A spaceship on wheels.”
A few weeks back, I had my first experience in an aircooled Porsche, a Carrera RS no less. Here are my thoughts.
It’s 5 a.m. and I’m rubbing my eyes as the rising sun turns the sky into beautiful shades of blue and gold. I’m standing in a residential community in Dubai, waiting for a car. I haven’t gotten much sleep the previous night, so to say I’m excited is an understatement.
A few minutes later, a white Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS materialises before me, shattering the silence with its aircooled loping idle. The red font on the doors, the ducktail and the foglights all say the same thing; this car is anything but ordinary.
Continue reading “Aircooled Heaven. The Porsche 911 2.7 RS.”
So here we are. The first blog post from the Nocturnal Bandit.
Over the past few years, I’ve seen and learned a lot. My experiences with cars and otherwise, have influenced who I am as an individual and my interactions with others. They’ve taught me important lessons, while helping me to understand a number of things.
A lot around me has changed and I have changed with it. However, one thing has remained constant – my affinity for cars. It is with this vision in mind that we move forward. As I record my experiences with words and with light, I’d like to share them with you, the reader.