All change...

Associate
Joined
6 Jun 2004
Posts
2,389
Location
London
I spent the last few years with an Aston Martin DB9 Manual which after a generous offer from a good friend and months of self doubt, I went ahead with the deal :(.

I had owned the car for nearly 5 years and was driving it less and less. My original intention was to keep it at all costs as a future classic but it felt like it wasn't being enjoyed or used as much as I would like. This also had an impact on it's reliability, with small niggles (some that only I would notice, but they still annoyed me) creeping up. I will never forgot the manual gearbox to V12 pairing, it was a glorious thing and I doubt I'll get to drive another as they seem to be on the way out. After test driving both the automatic/paddle vs the manual I can say that the manual gearbox completely changes the feeling of the car and is an exceedingly rare combination on the DB9.

Goodbye my friend :cool:.

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Following on from that, last year, I had added a stablemate in the form of a BMW E60 M5 which served as my more practical car (in relative terms!). I drove this car, on my first weekend of ownership, all the way to Stuttgart and back again, for a friends birthday. It performed absolutely flawlessly and hit 175mph GPS on the autobahn - Not sure where the 155mph limiter had got to...:eek:

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With the departure of the DB9 looming, I seeked a potentially more radical change by looking into other options for a practical & fun car. After a few months of debating I traded the M5 in and I ended up with these, both of which were delivered last month:

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Tesla Model S P90D

  • Facelift
  • Insane mode (3.1s 0-60 time)
  • Air suspension
  • Uprated speakers
  • 21" wheels
  • Next gen seats
  • Autopilot v1.0
  • Cold weather pack

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Caterham SV 420R
Track spec'd but road legal for the odd weekend drive

  • R Pack
  • Race rollcage
  • Track suspension
  • Track day exhaust
  • Lowered floors
  • Sequential shift lights
  • Kevlar race tillet seats
  • Uprated front brakes

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I am both delighted and ever so slightly sad at the change - I absolutely love "living in the future" with the Tesla - I use the autopilot functionality on every journey that involves A roads and I don't yet find charging a big concern. The over-the-air updates are already proving to be a revelation - I've had it about 6 weeks and already received 2 updates, one which contained enhanced autopilot and another than completely revamped the UI. I've done over 1500 miles and, other than insurance (comparable to my old policy), I haven't paid a single penny in running costs (zero on electric, zero on congestion charge, zero on car tax) - just tyre wear :eek:.

I also cannot wait to get more track time in the Caterham next year when the weather brightens up a bit as it really does alter your expectations when cornering/braking - I've already had a bit of an incident with a Silverstone wall when I touched the white line in the damp at Chapel :eek: :o which was rather embarrassing - thankfully I got off lightly.

I am ever so slightly sad as I might never drive a high capacity N/A engined car again. Turbos and engine technology have come on such a long way, and with the advent of electric cars, I just can't see a future for them outside of the very niche (OcUK Motors perhaps!) :(. Not to mention self-driving cars.

Anyway, thought I'd share my journey with fellow petrolheads (can I call myself that anymore with a Tesla?)! I will probably update this thread if my car gets any new features/updates etc.

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Soldato
Joined
9 Mar 2003
Posts
14,058
Got to love the combo, fun and impractical with fun and more practical.

Not sure about the long journey comment? P90D will do 260 miles and greatly outlast my bladder on a drive.
 
Soldato
Joined
3 Jun 2012
Posts
10,803
260 miles ain't a long drive. It wouldn't even get me to London and I'm still in England.

And?

on those sorts of drives people stop on an average twice.
For at least 30 Mins+.

if you planned the stops at Tesla stops you would get 100 miles of charge added per stop
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Nov 2003
Posts
5,671
Location
Harrogate
What an awesome combination :)

I can understand the slight sadness though. As ridiculously fast as the Tesla is, you'll miss the exhaust sound!

As for long journeys, that's just not an issue now, other than a slight bit more planning.
 
Soldato
Joined
16 Jul 2004
Posts
14,075
When talking long drive range without stops let's not forget the previous cars were a DB9 V12 and an M5 V10. My experience of the latter is you don't go more than 180-ish miles between stops for want of fuel!
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
12,333
Location
Birmingham
This is the garage of the future! "Sensible" electric car for the daily, silly fun track car for the weekend. Shame to see the DB9 go, but the tesla has got to be a far better modern equivalent. Enjoy them!
 
Don
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
22,697
Location
Wargrave, UK
It's the way of the future and I agree, this sort of setup is going to be the only way ICE cars will be owned in 20 years time.
Large capacity NA petrols are already gone, ICE will be gone altogether too in 10 to 20 years.
 
Soldato
Joined
19 May 2005
Posts
7,049
It's the way of the future and I agree, this sort of setup is going to be the only way ICE cars will be owned in 20 years time.
Large capacity NA petrols are already gone, ICE will be gone altogether too in 10 to 20 years.

Meh, it's the same as Diesel-Petrol migration. Some drivers will always value a proper petrol engine over anything else, others are less fickle. There is absolutely no way that ICE will be gone in 20 years, it'll just be a lot less commonplace in the boring A-B stuff.

Great combo Megakid, will be interesting to know how you get on with the Tesla and if you end up missing the Aston.
 
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Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
21,047
I understand Tesla P90's delivered up to 3 weeks ago are not compatible with Autopilot v2. Must be slightly annoying :/
 
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