Milestone birthday on Tuesday (11/09) of this week so my wife very thoughtfully arranged a night away and a meal at a 2* Michelin restaurant in Lincolnshire.
To round it all off, she organised a Gallarado for the day, and sorted out the additional mileage necessary to complete the journey to and from the venue.
3pm on Tuesday a yellow Gallardo arrives - what an awesome sight, and sound!
Sorted the paperwork and took the driver to a nearby train station, which gave him a chance to tell me about the car, how to operate the paddle g/box, etc...
Dropped him off, commenced the return journey, got to within 1 mile of home and it dropped out of gear...at a set of traffic lights.
I'm sat there, nevously thinking "what have I done wrong"...watching the lights which were on red, "christ, come on, I can't get stranded here, of all places".
It was approaching 4pm and the local schools had all finished, and there are 3 within a very short distance of these particular lights, so hoards of young kids are walking past, and this thing attracts attention as though it was from another galaxy!!
"wow mate, is that your car"..."hey mister, can I have a lift"..."does it have Lambo doors"...
Turned the engine off, disengaged the key, re-engaged the key, fired it up again, foot on brake, pressing the Auto button, nothing, tried pulling both paddles toward me to engage neutral, nothing...oh dear, the lights are green...time for the hazards me thinks, and I'd better wave the drivers behind me past...
Rang the hire company and after about an hour they revealed "ah yes, the car has just come back from the dealer...we spent £5k having a new clutch as it wouldn't engage any gears". Doh!
Ditched the motor...got a couple of guys to help me push the bright yellow roadblock to the side of the road, left the keys with a family member, got in my porker and raced off to try to make my dinner reservation in time!
The Lambo is 2 years old, 20k on the clock...
Now I recall one of the key reasons for deciding to purchase a Porsche above everything else that my money might have bought me...
(touches wood, crosses fingers, etc., in the hope that I won't be eating a generous helping of pie of the humble variety in the next few days).
Oh, and I made the meal on time, no sweat, and it was a truly fantastic experience!
To round it all off, she organised a Gallarado for the day, and sorted out the additional mileage necessary to complete the journey to and from the venue.
3pm on Tuesday a yellow Gallardo arrives - what an awesome sight, and sound!
Sorted the paperwork and took the driver to a nearby train station, which gave him a chance to tell me about the car, how to operate the paddle g/box, etc...
Dropped him off, commenced the return journey, got to within 1 mile of home and it dropped out of gear...at a set of traffic lights.
I'm sat there, nevously thinking "what have I done wrong"...watching the lights which were on red, "christ, come on, I can't get stranded here, of all places".
It was approaching 4pm and the local schools had all finished, and there are 3 within a very short distance of these particular lights, so hoards of young kids are walking past, and this thing attracts attention as though it was from another galaxy!!
"wow mate, is that your car"..."hey mister, can I have a lift"..."does it have Lambo doors"...
Turned the engine off, disengaged the key, re-engaged the key, fired it up again, foot on brake, pressing the Auto button, nothing, tried pulling both paddles toward me to engage neutral, nothing...oh dear, the lights are green...time for the hazards me thinks, and I'd better wave the drivers behind me past...
Rang the hire company and after about an hour they revealed "ah yes, the car has just come back from the dealer...we spent £5k having a new clutch as it wouldn't engage any gears". Doh!
Ditched the motor...got a couple of guys to help me push the bright yellow roadblock to the side of the road, left the keys with a family member, got in my porker and raced off to try to make my dinner reservation in time!
The Lambo is 2 years old, 20k on the clock...
Now I recall one of the key reasons for deciding to purchase a Porsche above everything else that my money might have bought me...
(touches wood, crosses fingers, etc., in the hope that I won't be eating a generous helping of pie of the humble variety in the next few days).
Oh, and I made the meal on time, no sweat, and it was a truly fantastic experience!
]
