The DBR9 is a sports car made by Aston Martin. The podcast says it’s not as easy to use day-to-day, meaning it’s more of a special-performance car than a practical one. People talk about it because it’s tied to racing and has a distinctive character.
The Ferrari 360 is a classic Ferrari supercar with its engine mounted in the middle. In this conversation, the big detail is that it’s a manual (stick shift), which makes it more engaging to drive.
Rosso Corsa is Ferrari’s signature red paint color. It’s the kind of red people associate with Ferrari racing cars.
Term
Kremmer interior
This is a description of the car’s interior materials and style. The host is pointing out that the Ferrari 360 has a particular interior setup, not just the exterior color.
The Ferrari Luce is brought up as an electric Ferrari. The podcast is comparing it to other Ferraris that use traditional gas engines. It’s mentioned because it’s part of the shift toward electric performance cars.
A “launch colour” is the paint color a car company uses when they first show the car. The host is saying the chosen debut color can affect how good the car looks in photos and first impressions.
McLaren is another supercar brand. Here it’s mentioned only to compare how both brands choose debut colors that can influence how people judge the car’s looks.
The Ferrari F80 is a new, very high-end Ferrari supercar. The point here is that it can look worse or better depending on the color and whether you see it in real life instead of just pictures.
A “special project car” is a rare, more exclusive version of a car—usually limited and aimed at collectors. The host is saying Ferrari uses these to keep certain buyers excited and loyal.
Car
Ferrari SP4
The Ferrari SP4 is an upcoming limited Ferrari special car. The hosts are saying it’s the kind of rare, high-demand model that draws collectors and people who want the next “special” thing from Ferrari.
Car
Ferrari SP3
The Ferrari SP3 is a recent limited/special Ferrari model. It’s brought up to show that Ferrari is continuing a pattern of releasing rare “special” cars to keep certain buyers interested.
“Allocation” means who gets the limited cars when there aren’t enough to go around. The host is suggesting Ferrari’s process rewards certain customers with access.
“Dinner plate wheels” is a nickname for wheels that look huge and wide, like they take up a lot of the car’s visual space. It usually means the car has a very flashy, custom look.
The “98 Collective” sounds like a special club or event group for car people. In this segment, it’s mainly about organizing exclusive meetups around buying and selling cars.
They’re talking about auctions run by PistonHeads. That’s a car enthusiast website/brand, and here it’s being used to explain where the cars for the event come from.
Company
Gerardo
“Gerardo” is the person helping set up access to the showroom and workshop. Here, it’s just part of the event logistics.
The Lancia Stratos is a famous rally car from the 1970s. The “Alitalia” name is the sponsor livery, and this particular car is tied to a specific big rally event (the 1977 Lombard RAC).
“Works” means the car was tied to the manufacturer’s own team support, not just an independent team. That usually makes the car’s history and build more “official” and often rarer.
This is a specific rally event from 1977 that the hosts use to explain the car’s history. Rally cars are often judged and remembered by which events they competed in.
Sandra Menari is the rally driver credited with driving this Stratos at the 1977 Lombard RAC. That helps confirm which car it is and why it’s historically important.
Group 4 refers to a historic FIA rally homologation category that allowed certain modified cars to compete, with rules that shaped how rally-spec machines were built. The hosts use “Group 4 Stratos” to distinguish this car’s intended competition build from road cars later converted for rally use.
Homologation is the “approval” process that lets a car compete in a racing category. It usually requires the car to meet specific rules and sometimes a minimum production requirement.
A “shell” is basically the car’s body structure without all the working parts installed yet. The idea here is that the factory provided the body, and then the rally team finished it for competition.
A “livery” is the racing paint job and sponsor decals on a car. The hosts are warning that just because a Stratos looks like a Works rally car, it doesn’t always mean it actually was.
A “privateer conversion” is when an independent team takes a regular road car and modifies it for rally racing. The hosts are saying many Stratos with rally looks were converted this way instead of being built by the factory for competition.
This is a race version of the Ferrari 458 Italia built for endurance racing. The host is saying it was a factory-backed (works) Le Mans car that competed in different driver categories and still performed at the front.
AF Corse is a racing team that specializes in Ferrari race cars. Here, the host is saying the car was prepared through an official Ferrari-approved program, not a random private build.
Le Mans is a famous long-distance race where cars have to keep running for 24 hours. The host is pointing out that this Ferrari race car did multiple Le Mans seasons and achieved strong results.
“Pro” means the car was driven by professional race drivers. The host is saying the car ran one Le Mans year with a pro driver lineup, then another year with an amateur category lineup.
Pole is awarded to the car that qualifies fastest, so it starts at the front. “Overall pole” means it was the quickest at the top level for that event/field.
“AM” is short for amateur, meaning the car was entered with an amateur driver lineup. The host is saying the same race car did both pro and amateur-category seasons.
GT3 is a racing class for cars that are based on production models. The host is saying that today’s Le Mans-style racing is more GT3 than the older GTE setup.
A naturally aspirated engine doesn’t use a turbocharger. The host is saying the older Ferrari endurance cars used this setup, and later Ferraris switched to turbo engines.
The Ferrari 488 is mentioned as the point where Ferrari moved away from naturally aspirated endurance-car setups and toward turbocharging. Turbocharging changes how the engine makes power and how it sounds.
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car from Chevrolet. It’s famous for having a strong V8 engine that’s built for fast acceleration. It’s often mentioned when people talk about cars that feel exciting to drive.
The Ferrari 550 Maranello is a Ferrari sports car with a V12 engine. The podcast is using it as an important example in their comparison. People talk about it because it’s a classic, powerful Ferrari.
This is a special, high-performance Ford Mustang called the GT350. It’s known for a big V8 sound and a very “hands-on” feel when you drive it, especially compared to more modern or more refined versions.
A V8 is an engine with eight cylinders. It usually makes strong pulling power and has a distinctive, deep sound that many enthusiasts associate with classic muscle/performance cars.
A “heavy clutch” means the pedal is harder to press. It makes the car feel more physical and more demanding, so driving it feels more involved.
Term
standard muscle car
A “muscle car” is a classic type of American performance car focused on strong power. The hosts are saying the GT350 feels more balanced and controlled than the typical muscle-car stereotype.
Concept
thug in a really, really nice suit
They’re using a metaphor: the car looks classy, but it drives like it wants to cause trouble. It’s basically “polite on the outside, aggressive underneath.”
The G-Class is a boxy luxury SUV known for being tough and capable off-road. The podcast is pointing it out as a notable car while looking at vehicles. People talk about it because it has a very recognizable shape and strong capability.
Car
Lancia LC2
The Lancia LC2 is a famous Lancia race car built for long-distance racing. The hosts are saying that its racing history—like being at Monza in 1985—is part of why people still care about it.
Group C was a specific class of race cars used in endurance racing. It helps explain what kind of racing the Lancia LC2 was built for and what the rules emphasized.
GT1 is a category of race cars used in top-level GT racing. It’s basically the “highest tier” of that kind of racing, with cars built to compete at the very front.
Preheating is like warming the engine up before you start it. Some race cars need that extra step so they start reliably and run correctly when they’re cold.
Car
SF 70 H
“SF 70 H” is Ferrari’s 2017 Formula 1 car. It’s a hybrid race car, so it has an energy system in addition to the normal engine, which makes it harder to keep running than a typical street car.
Battery management is the car’s system for keeping the hybrid battery working safely. It controls how the battery is charged and used, and if it’s not right, the car may not be able to run.
With hybrid race cars, the battery isn’t just extra—it can be required for the car to function. If the battery runs too low, the car can be forced to stop or won’t operate correctly.
“Battery reliant” means the car depends on the battery to work properly. The host is saying that in the future, more collectible cars may be harder to own because the battery systems become a critical part of keeping them running.
This is a Ferrari Formula 1 race car. The point here is that Ferrari can keep supporting it even after it’s no longer actively raced, so an owner can have it maintained and ready to drive.
Corsa clienti is Ferrari’s program that helps private customers get race cars and have Ferrari handle the important upkeep. The idea is that you don’t have to run the whole racing-car operation yourself.
This is another Ferrari Le Mans–type prototype, but the host describes it as more track-focused than the main racing version. The key point is that Ferrari can still support it for private owners.
Balance of performance is how race organizers try to make different cars compete more fairly. They tweak things so no single design is automatically unbeatable.
Driver aids are electronic safety/handling helpers that can step in to make the car easier to control. The host is saying you can choose a setup with fewer of these helpers if you want a more direct feel.
The Aston Martin Valkyrie is a very rare, very high-end supercar. The host is basically saying some people buy cars like this just to own something special and amazing, not necessarily to use it every day.
A hybrid car uses two energy sources: a gas engine and an electric system. The electric part usually depends on a battery, so battery condition matters over time.
Battery health checks are tests that tell you how healthy the battery is. On hybrid hypercars, that matters because a weak or failing battery can mean big repair costs.
The Proton Gen-2 is a compact car model made by Proton. In the podcast, the word “Gen-2” is also used in a battery context, but they’re not the same thing. The car is basically a regular small car, not a supercar.
The LaFerrari is a Ferrari supercar that uses a hybrid system. The point here is that the battery tech used back then isn’t the same as what newer hybrid cars use.
They’re talking about how the hybrid battery is built and what kind of battery it uses. Different generations of cars can use different battery designs, which affects replacement cost and planning.
“Pre-war” means cars from before World War II. The host is saying that these older collector cars (and some 1960s ones) got much more expensive during the COVID period.
The Ferrari 250 GTO is a legendary 1960s Ferrari race-derived grand tourer, famous for its rarity and collector value. The host uses it as an example of the kind of childhood dream car that certain buyers chase once they have money.
The McLaren F1 is a supercar from the 1990s that became a legend. The host is saying people who grew up with cars like this are now old enough (and rich enough) to buy them.
The Ferrari 288 GTO is a classic Ferrari supercar from the 1980s. It’s famous for its turbocharged engine and for being a highly collectible car that represents Ferrari’s racing heritage.
The Ferrari F40 is a legendary Ferrari supercar from the 1980s. It’s known for being raw and exciting, with a turbocharged V8, and it’s one of the most famous Ferraris ever made.
The Ferrari F50 is a rare, high-end Ferrari supercar from the late 1990s. It’s famous for its powerful V12 engine and for being a “dream car” that collectors chase.
Car
Lamborghini Murciélago
The Lamborghini Murciélago is a famous Lamborghini supercar with a big V12 engine. It’s one of the most recognizable modern Lamborghinis and a popular collector car.
The Ferrari 458 Speciale is a special, more hardcore version of the 458. It’s known for a high-revving V8 and for being a collectible Ferrari that’s getting more expensive.
They’re talking about some cars like they’re an investment. The host means certain rare, popular models can hold their value and sometimes even rise, similar to how people invest in stocks or other assets.
An open-top sports car is one where you can drive with the roof down, like a convertible or roadster. It’s a different kind of driving experience than a normal closed-roof car.
The Porsche Boxster is a sporty open-top car with the engine placed closer to the middle for better balance. Here, they’re talking about a Boxster with a 2.7-liter engine as a budget-friendly option.
Historic racing is races where older cars compete. The goal is usually to keep the cars in the spirit of their original time period, not to turn them into brand-new race machines.
Le Mans Classic is a big event in France for older race cars. People drive their cars there and race them in a historic format, so getting there reliably matters.
Downforce is what makes a car feel like it’s being pressed onto the road by air. More downforce usually means better grip and easier control at high speed.
Venturi tunnels are special openings under a race car that use air pressure to push the car down onto the track. More downforce means better grip in corners, and the tunnel shape is a big reason why.
The Mitsubishi Lancer is a compact car. The podcast mentions it because the speaker has been thinking about it as an option. It’s a car model that can be found in more performance-focused versions too.
This is a Ferrari race car based on the 458. It’s designed for endurance racing, so it’s meant to be driven hard for long periods. The host is saying it sounds amazing and would be easier to run than a tougher, more demanding race car.
The Aston Martin DBR9 is a serious race car built for endurance events. The host is saying it’s not just a car you can casually own—it’s hard to run and would probably need a professional race team to keep it happy.
LIVE
Welcome back to The Gassing Station, the podcast that ventures into the Piston Heads forums like we
have finally ventured out of pH Towers and the Piston Head Studio because we are at Gerardo
Ancoe, a place where dreams are made of. Now our usual co-host Sam Sheehan couldn't be here today,
not that he didn't want to, but he's off driving some Chinese electric car or something,
but we have someone even better. We have Peter McAlpine from Gerardo Pico. Peter,
welcome to the podcast. How's it going? Yeah, all good, I think. It's been a really fun evening,
I think. Everyone's had fun. Thank you so much for braving the weather. We like to say that we
can control a lot of things, but the weather probably isn't one that we can do. Hopefully,
you've enjoyed having a look around some of the cars we've got here. It's been great to chat to
all of you. Hopefully, we keep you awake for this one. Thanks. I hope people have been paying
attention as well, not being like smearing jam and barbecue sauce all over your lovely cars,
but I wanted to start off with a bit of a get to know you first of all. We're going to start off
with what do you do here at Gerardo? What's your role? I'm a sales specialist. One of the sales
team here, there's three of us that sell cars here. Sounds glamorous. There's a lot of other
people that do the real hard work and the real good work here. I'm one of the three guys that
does some deals and sells some cars. Absolutely. You say it's not glamorous,
but you have told me what one of your cars is. Let's start off with what your daily driver is.
Go on. You've got to admit, yeah. Wait for the collective sharp intake of breath.
My daily driver is an electric mini. Oh, sorry. It's piston heads, by the way.
Yeah, I know. I know. We all here have electric company cars. Each member of the team has one,
so it's all part of our just being able to get around, really. I think electric cars really
do have their place. We're in a place where you can see that we do quite like petrol cars,
but for a commuting pod, I come up from London every single day, just the quiet, the ease,
the everything. It's just a perfectly good mode of transport.
Well defended. That's fine. Anytime we bring up an EV on pH on the podcast, it's like,
how much hate are we going to get for this? I'm sure we really have to cover it. However,
yeah, we're going to get onto one in a little bit. But that's your daily car. You do have
something fun and you've just shown it to me. In fact, you've probably shown it to a lot of people
here and it annoyed me that it's not mine. So go on. What is it? It's annoying because it's
actually sitting in the showroom right now. Is this DBR9 right here? That one's less usable
on the road. Yeah, and a lot of people have looked at it and gone, oh, this is amazing.
It's really interesting. Hands off it. I'm very, very lucky and I can say that the
manual 360 over there is mine. So yeah. Bravo. And it's extremely lovely because it's,
I'm guessing, Rosso Corsa, so the Ferrari Red. Classic. Kremmer interior. Yeah.
And red carpets. Very lovely. Gearbox. It's manual. Yeah. That was, as I was walking over to it,
it's a manual. I know you're going to ask that. It's like, yes, okay, that's great.
So yeah, you have literally the perfect Ferrari 360. So I think that makes you
perfect to answer my next question. So I've come to realise it's always nice when you're kind of
interviewing a new guest to have a nice break or anything when you meet somebody new.
You know, what's your useless superpower or something like that. But since the arrival
of a new Ferrari electric car, I feel like that's the best barometer of what somebody's like. And
I've been asked a few times there, it's like, what do you think of Luce? So
you have an electric car and you have a Ferrari. Yeah. What do you think of Luce? And I'd also
be really curious to know is like you, you deal with people who have, I mean, you've just had
a client's Ferrari Tester Rosso just come in. There's a BB in the back as well. So these are
people who live and breathe Ferrari as it is. So tell me your take on Luce and how your client base
potentially looking at it. Yeah, absolutely. So I always find it difficult when a new car is
launched because especially today, you don't actually see a photo of the real physical car.
You tend to see a render and you do lose some detail and some of the intricacy and the interest
in the shape of the car when you see it in a render. I would suggest that Ferrari
be diplomatic here. Ferrari has done the thing to me that McLaren has been doing for a lot of years,
which is not really picking a good launch colour, I would say. I didn't think the blue Luce looked
as well. They did do red as well. Yeah, I think it looked better in red. And they led with the
blue car. And I think that made it, everyone's criticism, it looked like a bar of soap. So
I would say I'm not the biggest fan of the design. But I mean, I was also not over the moon when I
saw the F80. I saw the 849 Testarossa on my phone screen first and I thought it's not amazing.
And those cars really surprised me when I saw them in person. Yeah, true. So in terms of styling,
I will reserve judgement on the car until I've seen it in person. I'm sure it will be better in
person than it has proved in the photos. And from the kind of the client point of view, I think
there's two types of buyers for that car. One is the person that is chasing the next special
project car. So we've had F80, we've had SP3 recently. We all know that the SP4 is in the works
and what better way to make sure you're still up that list than going in and making
fluttery eyelashes at your Ferrari dealer and saying, can I buy one of those luches?
I think that's going to be a real thing. There's going to be lots of people going out there.
There's probably going to be 500 SP4s. So they've guaranteed themselves 500 orders there.
And then I think the other type of buyer is someone that doesn't currently own a Ferrari,
don't have the affinity of the brand that we have, like they couldn't walk in here and go,
oh my god, that's 512 BBI, for instance. So I think it's going to be new clients and
really, really top clients that buy them. I think us in this room, and I can see,
I saw the faces when someone said the other word, everyone sort of got, oh, I don't think it's a
kind of a dyed in the wool enthusiast car. But I think it's going to be a new client
and a really, really top client. And I think it's just further proving that now Ferrari,
as a brand, is moving out of the car space almost. It's kind of transcended the car space, and it
is now, to me, one of the world's great luxury brands. So you can see Louis Vuitton, Moë,
Hennessy, all those groups. Objectively, not all of the designs are going to be for you,
but it's still a high-end luxury brand. And I think that means there's something for everyone,
right? That was disgustingly diplomatic and extremely open-minded and very, very well
thought out. I mean, I totally agree. First of all, can I get a hand, actually? Does anyone like
Luce? One! Yeah, okay. Unfortunately, I don't have a roaming mic out here to ask you, but
I'll talk to you later and find out why. But yeah, I mean, I think that we've got a good
selection of pHs out here. Most people didn't put their hand up. My view of it is certainly,
I get that. I think, yeah, the launch colour wasn't the best, but we are surrounded here by,
and we'll go through some of these cars in just a wee bit, we're surrounded here by some absolutely
incredible cars from every single era. And I can go, I can look 10, 20, 30 years into the future,
and there's a 296 I could imagine being parked back there, and I could imagine even a Pure Sangway
parked back there. But imagine coming and walking in here and going, oh, there's a Luce,
and it's only done a thousand miles, and it's like, yeah, and it's got the dinner plate wheels.
Well, is it that good? So I'm like, yeah, it doesn't give me that. It's a Ferrari. It doesn't
kind of feel like a Ferrari, but you've definitely changed my opinion, because I saw Testerossa
in the metal at the first time, and I was like, that's really cool. Yeah, I'd agree. And then
wrote some words about it, and people were just like, that's a load of, that's a disgusting car.
And I'm like, no, it's genuinely good. So I'll, you know, I'll reserve judgment for now. No,
I'm not really a fan. So just to give people a bit of context. So what we're actually doing here is
the first event of the 98 Collective. So this is a new kind of exclusive club that we're running.
And the best way to kind of get involved with it is if you're buying or selling a car on Piston
Head's auctions. We've also invited a long people who have been with Piston Head since the very
beginning, all the way back in 1998. And essentially, what we're doing here is
creating these really cool exclusive events. Gerardo's been so kind in opening up their
doors, letting us walk through their incredible showroom and workshop. And we've been on our
best behavior and we've not, we've not rubbed our hands on anything. But yeah, it just means
we're looking to hopefully do a few more of these things in the future and just, yeah,
best way to get involved, buy and sell on Piston Head's auctions. Now before we get into
Gerardo, let's talk about the cars that we've got around us. Now I know that some people
have been on a tour, but just for the listeners at home, we are surrounded by cars that
made me oh so weak. Let's start off with the thing that's right next to us, probably the most
expensive car in this room and the one that I nearly bashed with a table at least three times.
So talk me through, what's this? The white and green car.
So let's put it in simple terms like that. The white and green, the Alitalia Lancia Stratos.
Yeah, you're right. It probably is. It's one of the 21 of two of the most expensive cars in
here, I'd say. That to me is basically peak rally car. I don't think there is a rally car out there
that is more special, more iconic, sadly more copied. But yeah, that's it. That is the Alitalia
Works Lancia Stratos that Sandra Menari drove at the 1977 Lombard RAC. Jesus. That is it. That is
absolutely it. Just a phenomenal thing. Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely amazing. With corduroy
seats. So yeah, so this is a full Alitalia Stratos. From what I understand, there were only
six of these produced, I believe. They're hyper rare or a few more than six. So the nice thing
with a Group 4 Stratos, as this one is, if you are having an Alitalia car, that was a car that
as a shell was taken off the line at Lancia. All of the other cars were built as road cars and then
went to the privateer teams. So you can say this is one of the very, very few Group 4 Lancia
Stratos that was ever born that way. So the ones that you see kind of in other liveries, chances
are they're either former works or just a road car that's been adapted into a rally car, right?
Generally, they're cars that started life as a road car. They may have only been road cars
for a day, a week, a month, and they went to a rally team and then got built up to Group 4
specification. They're known as sort of the privateer conversion cars. But yeah, that is
that's how it starts. It's the proper old school days of where it's like, oh, you still have to
build 200 of them and it's like, yeah, we sort of did. There aren't 200 left. That's for sure.
Well, the biggest one of those is the kind of the biggest, the biggest, hilarious, hilarious story
about the, about the build numbers is the S4. Oh yeah, go on. That's the famous, that's the famous
story of, well, we'll make, we'll make a few and we'll, we'll make some. We'll pop them in a car
park, the FIA and people come in and you show them around. It's very good. Yes. Here we are. There's
there's 50, 60, 70 of them. Great. Should we pop for lunch? Gonna have a long lunch, a lot of wine
at lunch. And in that time, the cars move to a different car park. And then you go and look at
them again. And then yeah, then they built 20, 20 group B cars of those. So yeah.
Yeah. Not, not many of those remain at all. So yeah. So for the listeners at home, we have
over my left shoulder, another green and white car, actually, another green and white car,
but it's the, it's the toe tip liveried Delta S4. I sat in this earlier, like a five year old boy,
and I was so excited and also terrified because not only do you sit on the fuel tanks and the,
the, the actual kind of like just touching the, the roll cage, it's, it's like it's made of
plastic. It's just nothing. It's just, it's just kind of guttering that's just been strapped on
there's nothing to it whatsoever. Yeah. The interior is like a, like that of a space shuttle
of where it's futuristic, but also horrifyingly basic. And, and the doors are like shared doors.
It's just nothing to it. Yeah. Incredible. But that was, that's a, that was a martini prototype,
right? Yeah. So very good. You've been doing some reading. So martini, martini prototype,
some amazing photos of that car testing in the snow, which is just when you think of
that thing, especially if you've experienced it from behind the wheel or in the passenger seat,
the idea of putting it on snow is terrifying. So yeah, it was martini, martini test car.
And then that is it in its Costas Morelda livery, where it was, where it was rallied.
Yeah, absolutely. And, and not shunted because it's in incredible condition or repaired really
well. So some other things though, so it's not just rally cars. We also have, well, yeah, talk me
through some of these ones. So I see a DBR9. Kuntash and I see a RSR Porsche 911.
Yeah. So basically we'll, we'll, we'll go across. So we'll start with the 458 over there. Do exactly
the opposite of what you've just done. So that is one of the, one of the very, very rare 458s
Italia GTEs. That is a full, well, let's say full works as, as works as those cars get is an AF
Corsa car, which was basically Ferrari sanctioned, Ferrari approved works program with all of the
Ferrari drivers. That car has done two 24 hours of Le Mans. The first year as a pro car and the
second year it was an AM car and it got GTE overall pole with sandbird driving. Yeah,
just a phenomenal car, two seasons of work, Ferrari Classica certified, restored by the people that
raced it. The crazy thing about those GTE cars. So, so, you know, what they race at Le Mans now is
GT3 and they're much more production car based. So the engines are what you get out of production
car. I still think those were potentially production engines, but they sound nothing like
them whatsoever. Yeah, crazy. So there was a, I remember there was a race at Brands Hatch
several years ago. It was a Blancpain GT race and they had like a, a, a historic or modern
historic race that was going on beforehand and they had one of those driving around. It was a
full GP circuit. I could hear that thing. The other side of the track, it was so flipping loud.
They sound like Formula One cars, but there was just, it was basically looked sort of like a 458,
but everything about it was a racing car. Yeah, exactly. And that's, that's the very last Ferrari
endurance racer. I think it's not count our chickens too much, but it's the last Ferrari
endurance car that came with a naturally aspirated engine. 488 after that was turbocharged, 499
is now turbocharged, 296 is turbocharged. That's nearly as good. So it sounds amazing. I remember
seeing those, I went to Le Mans, not when that car raced, but a couple of years after. And I think
that is just the, one of those great areas of GT racing. Cause you'd sit at the top of the pits,
the cars would come past and you'd hear, you'd be able to shut your eyes and tell you which
car had come past. You'd have the scream of that car, the howl of the, howl of the 911s
and the crazy V8s that were in the Aston Martin and the Corvette, they were just so good.
So yeah, I think that's an era that we'll look back on very, very fondly. Yeah,
unfortunately I missed out on a lot of that. I kind of started going when everything got
really turbocharged and efficient. It's still exciting. Didn't have to wear air plugs at least.
Yeah, well, yeah, exactly. At least I have my hearing. But yeah, anyway, so that's not the
only obviously GT car that we've got. Again, you've ignored the ones that I was talking about.
And let's go from the DBR nine to the DBR nine. That is, that is a works DBR nine. So phenomenal
car. This is basically now it's kind of the, the ultimate racing tool if you want to go and do
Peter Autos endurance racing legends. So fundamentally the car depends, depends who you
speak to. Fundamentally that car started life as the 550 pro drive. And that's kind of the child
of the 550 pro drive. It has that amazing V12 kind of similar chassis and the DBR nine as a car
went on to win two Le Mans 24 hours in class. So they're very, very special, very, very
competitive things. That car is in a really cool livery. It was celebrating the 100th year of
Pirelli in racing. So that's why it's got the cool number 100 on there and the zeros are actually
like tires. So yeah, brilliant car. And that car last year did Le Mans classic with the current owner.
So yeah, we're going to get onto something like that in actually a little bit, but I love seeing
that now. I've yet to do Le Mans classic. The first year that I was at Pizzen there and we went to
go and do it, I had COVID annoyingly. And then I've not been able to go since, which is really
annoying. So I must get out there at some point. We've got racing cars here, but a little bit
further back. There's a really nice 360 over there actually. No one looked too close. Don't go near it.
But either side of that, you've got V650. V550. So amazing, I was bestowing the virtues earlier,
wasn't I? It's an amazing big V8, supercharged, really, really cool thing. And I kind of describe it,
because if you describe what a car is like to drive, it's really difficult unless you give a
comparison, right? So if I just said, if you said, what's it like to drive? And I just said,
really good. That doesn't really help us. So I'd say if you go, if you have a scale,
let's make up a scale for today, you have on one side, you have a V550 Maranello,
which is, you know, we all kind of have a rough idea. We're all familiar with driving.
As a vague idea, what we imagine that car to be, right? And then on the other side,
we've got a GT350 Mustang. So kind of a bit more agricultural, let's say.
And we're talking original GT350, right? Yeah, cool.
Kind of a big steering wheel, kind of straight lined weapon, but quite alarming if you try
and get to a corner, and a big grumbly V8. If you kind of go somewhere between those two,
probably slightly closer to the 550, that's what that car's like. You've got a great big V8 that
grumbles at you, a big heavy gear change that you feel like a real hero changing gear in that car.
Kind of heavy clutch, long pedals, you feel like you're really, really involved.
But then you've got a bit more poise than in a standard muscle car. So it's kind of,
where I was chatting to someone earlier, and I said it's like a thug in a really, really nice suit.
And it's kind of, its personality is brilliant because of it.
That's a much more eloquent way of how I was going to put it. Every time I look at it, it looks
like a fist that's just ready to punch you right in the face if you just look at it slightly wrong.
But it's, I've always loved them because they look so, you know, I grew up in the era where
Aston Martins were beautiful and elegant and Ian Callamy. Whereas that is just so unbelievably
angry and in your face. Yeah, it's thuggish. Yeah, we've had a really good drive. It just
drove it after it came back from service. And yeah, just on the country roads down here,
it's just something really, really cool about it. You feel, you also feel like a bit of a badass in
it. Absolutely. And also the interior is great. Colour combination is awesome. Green piping with
cream leather seats. It's of an era. Yeah. But you know, that's just literally a fraction of what
you've got here. There's also another, you know, showroom where you've got staff. We've got rally
cars. We've got racing road some pre-war cars. So tell me a bit more
about Gerardo. What do you guys do? And also tell me kind of how it started because, you know,
everyone will know the founder, Max Gerardo. When I kind of started hearing about him, he was,
am I right in saying an auctioneer? You know, he was the person that was always kind of the
voice of auctions for high-end cars for such a long time. And then 10 years ago,
yeah, so Max, Max was, Max was the lead auctioneer at RM Sotheby's. He also was the
big boss of the European division there as well. So he was, yeah, fairly high up in that business.
And yeah, he basically kind of got to a point with that. He tells the story really nicely.
I'm not going to do any justice, but basically he, a number of things lined up in his life. His,
dad had always said to him that the biggest regret in his life was not going off and doing
his own thing sooner. And then sadly, Max's dad passed away. Then he said, do you know what?
Sort of a sign, really. And everyone, it all started from there, really. Two of his colleagues
also came along from RM, Marcus and Kat. Yeah, and that was 2016 in a small,
tiny weaning little showroom in Fulham. To what we have now. So it's, you know,
there's, you know, we've obviously got such a mix of cars here. Some of them are being sold.
Some of them are being stored. So what would you kind of say is, you know, what is it that Gerardo
does? What is it that kind of the USP? So it's basically, I would say we are first and foremost
Ferrari people. So we specialize in Ferrari. That's the kind of the bulk of our business.
That's why we talked about Luce. That's why we talked about Luce. We fundamentally,
our kind of our criteria for taking a car for sale is that we have to be interested in it,
and we have to like it. We have to believe in it because, you know, there's nothing in here that
we look at and think, not, not for us. Because at that point, there's no point in really taking
it. You can't represent it well. And it's, you know, it's not fair on the car, really.
All of us are really into the topic. All of us really love what we do. I hope that sort of comes
across. Yeah. And that's, that's our, that's our thing. But we also have a real soft spot for
rally cars. We like racing cars. We love race history. We've done a massive amount to research
cars really, really well. So we have, there's an incredible archive above us where it's just,
I could get lost in there for days. Yeah, everything. And trust me, when we moved it in,
most of us did. There was kind of a really... How do you get any work done, honestly?
It's been five years that we've had that. So yeah, the first week was a struggle.
Yeah, we all went missing for a few days when that turned up and we were paging through and
oh, look at this. It's a G, G wagon doing DACA on that kind of thing. But yeah, so between the photo
archive that we own and our extensive library that I think you can see behind you, it's, yeah,
really, really good resource material. We also then go through the entire history of the car,
try and represent it really, really well. Our mission is to be able to tell you where the
car's been every single day of its life and tell the stories that make the cars cool. Because,
you know, unless you use them, unless you do things, unless, for instance, the LC2 over there,
if that car hadn't been at Monza in 85, it wouldn't be quite as cool.
Yeah, for those, for those listening, there is a Lancia LC2 Group C car just parked off to one
side. You know, we're kind of bookended by legendary Lancias here and I'm having a massive crisis.
So let's just get back on topic. Yeah, the great thing about being here is that
everybody that I've spoken to is not like people who are afflicted with car enthusiasm.
Everyone in this room, when you start to, you know, the pH is a bit like a safe space, right?
You know, whenever we do a Sunday service, it's always nice that people come out to us and it's
like, I'm free now. I can talk about what I want to. And I can, I can talk about things like
having my service done recently. And it's like, yeah, yeah, like, yeah, what have you had done?
And coming here, it's like, it's almost taken to another level of where
you're discovering things about cars or I'm coming around and I'm like, oh,
this is such and such that did this. And it's just like, no, you don't have the full story.
And it's like, well, everybody lives and breathes the cars here. It's just incredible.
I'm going to go and get onto something a little more serious now, Peter. We're going to talk
about some market stuff. So, you know, there's, we've been, all the stuff that we've got back
here, there's some kind of real modern classics. We've got real historic stuff, but most of it,
correct me if I'm wrong, it's all, it's all turnkey, right? You know, I could get in that
DBR nine and there's probably not a lot of effort. Drive it.
Um, start it. You'd, DBR nine, we'd suggest you have a race team. Okay.
Well, that's good to know. Thank you. Cause I was just going to drive off with it later.
Right. Okay.
I, you'd struggle to get out of there with the lock as well. That would be interesting.
Oh my God. I can imagine. Yeah. So I mean, DBR nine is, it's, it may look like a road car in a way.
It's got, it's got resemblances of a road car. Yeah. That is a, remember that it is a GT one car
and GT one was, I think probably the pinnacle of kind of closed, closed GT racing. I think
that is, I wish they'd bring it back on. Yeah, it's so cool. So with those, it's sort of advisable
to preheat the engine and yeah, it's a real, a bit of a process to start, but going back to
the other cars, um, for instance, the 458 that starts on the button, which is quite
cool. Um, the, uh, the S four starts on the button. Yeah. Literally any car I've could have picked as
an example, and I picked the one that can't start by the, so, so, so my analogy kind of in tatters,
what I was going to say is, you know, there's, there's stuff now where I did one of these,
uh, Ferrari, um, Clienti days a few years ago. I wasn't driving because I'm a journalist. Um,
but I was, I was there as a, as, you know, just to watch and I was amazed to see there was someone
there with a, it was an, um, to be specific, an SF 71 H, the 2017 or 2000, sorry, SF 70 H.
So the, um, 2017 Ferrari F1 car, V six hybrid. And I always heard that they were impossible to own
as a, uh, as a, as a private, you know, as in a private collection because
they just, they require so much effort to work. There's the battery management while they're
driving. And as you may have seen, and I think it was the Canadian Grand Prix a couple of weeks
back, I might be wrong, but I think George Russell broke down because his battery ran out. And if
the battery runs out, you're, you're screwed. There's the car will not work. So how does that,
how do you approach that as, you know, obviously there's more and more kind of modern classics
that are coming out all the time. At some point we're going to get to a point of where these cars
are. So battery reliant. Um, can you see like there being this massive shift in, in, in how
you guys deal with that? Or is it just a case of Roy sleeves up and crack on? I would say, and it's
quite an interesting, quite an interesting comparison that you've, you've brought up. I would say
in a way, yes, but again, it's very brand specific. I would say if it is a Ferrari, for instance,
like the SF 70 H, um, that is still being looked after, still being run by the Ferrari factory.
You can't really buy a Ferrari formula one car and not have it with their F one classic department
called Corsa clienti because they know exactly what to do. They will run it for you. You never
really take delivery of it. It can live at Ferrari and then it's ready for you to drive
when you turn up, which I think is brilliant. They're going to do that with the 49
nines as well. Both the 499 P, which is the racing car and the 499 M, which
is sort of the track toy, if you can call it that, which is ridiculous. It's the best thing
ever. It's just like, yeah, if we only have four Le Mans cars that we've built, but we can just build
you a one completely with no restrictions either. Like the ones that they race at Le Mans, they've
all got like a balance of performance, haven't they? They all have to kind of match in, you know,
to a certain extent the competition, but then they'll just sell you one that is like, oh,
you're not a professional racing driver. That's fine. Have an extra 200 horsepower.
You want fewer, fewer driver aids. That's fine. Just turn them off.
Somehow it doesn't make sense. Yeah. Yeah. So I think, I think, as we say, we're getting to these
Le Mans hypercars, hybrid hypercars. I think, yes, you will be able to run them in the future,
give it 10 years. I think the 49 nines will absolutely still be supported by Ferrari,
whether there is going to be a program for Aston Martin, whether there's going to be a program
for Cadillac, for BMW. At that point, you are a little bit beholden to what the manufacturer does.
I think because of that in the long term future of them, there's definitely going to be
a real difference between a Ferrari and the others. But then, yeah, if you have
one of the Valkyries, you could have that as just something amazing, a bit of furniture in your
garage if you, if you are that well healed. And yeah, I think they will still have value.
The nice thing about these racing cars, specifically racing cars is that they have
done something so you can then, even if you can't use it quite easily,
you can still say it's done something. Yeah. Yeah. It's a good point. It's something that
you could definitely have in your living room and be like, wow, this competed at Le Mans,
doesn't move, battery's completely wrecked and it's bricked, but it looks fantastic.
The other thing is that, you know, it's obviously quite hard to take your Le Mans
hypercar to Cadwell and take it for a spin. But things like, you know, you've got a Valkyrie
over there, obviously very contemporary, it's all working fine. But again, there is a hybrid
element to that. And I've heard, you know, I was lucky to have a look around the Maranello
last year and they're building a whole division dedicated to upgrading the batteries in the
Laferraris. Because it's again, once they're dead, it's not the best thing. So is that something
that you guys have to, let's say if someone comes to you with a P1, which is now a 13 year old car?
Crazy, isn't it? And, you know, the battery's obviously getting quite old in those. Is it
something of where can it just be as simple as any other sale? Or do you have to do a little
bit more kind of talking with the manufacturers to make sure that these cars are operational?
So quite a good question for us, because my colleague David over there has just sold a P1
handy in this week. And yeah, so we, when that car came in, it was inspected before we
said yes to it before it came in. It was inspected by McLaren, battery health checks,
and you get a 10 page dossier basically of all of the breakdown and all of the battery health.
So that kind of gives you a bit of reassurance. The nice thing is that I think they understand
the brand of these amazing hypercars. You can see that obviously Laferrari, they're developing
new batteries. If a Laferrari battery goes wrong, it's nearly quarter of a million pounds to get it
sorted. Everyone looks quite uncomfortable now. And yeah, so now if you get a new
new bit of battery technology that you can plug and play in a way, that's really great.
They are protecting the value of their kind of heritage models. McLaren are developing
Gen2 batteries for P1s now that are that are kind of sort of derived from the Artora.
So yeah, there's lots of kind of good view from the manufacturers that they're
looking after the previous hybrid cars that they've made. Because when the Laferrari came out,
when the P1 came out, it's a very different battery technology to now, for instance.
Oh, absolutely. There was a game we played when Luce came out was how many Ferraris could you
get for the cost of a Luce? I think we managed to find six and a good six as well that we could get.
So here's a game to play later. You've got 250 grand. Instead of spending it on a Laferrari
battery, what can you get? How much can you get? Or maybe just have a wonder around here. And if
there is anything for 250 grand, you might be able to buy that sort of a battery and you can
actually drive it and replace the battery for less than a quarter of a million quid. At the other
end of the spectrum, yeah, we've got the stuff that's vintage pre-war stuff or even kind of stuff
in the 1960s that I would say may be bordering on kind of vintage at some point in the next 10,
20 years. Pre-COVID and during COVID values for those that kind of stuff just went through the
roof because everything went through the roof. Are you noticing now there's been any change in
that market because the way I've always viewed it as people of a certain age, they get to a point
of where they've made some money and they've gone, oh, I really want the car from my childhood
whatever. That is a 250 GTO or a 288 or whatever. I want to go for that. Whereas we see now,
things like it's unfortunately, it's all the stuff from my childhood. McLaren F1, Ferrari F50s,
all the people that have got to my age and are making a lot of money, not me, and are now able
to buy these cars for considering amounts of money. So you find, is there a shift of people
kind of less interested in some of the kind of 60s and pre-star for? Yeah, it's not exactly
less interest. The people that, there are still definitely people out there that are
looking for a short wheelbase, a great 275. There's always, the nice thing is there's always
someone for these cars. So if you have a 300 cell Gullwing, a Murr, a 275 short wheelbase,
there is someone that will be looking for one. And there's enough of those cars that they keep
trading so they remain liquid and there's results and people see that the market's still turning.
I think the new money that's coming in, there's a lot of AI money coming now, people that are
making a hell of a lot of money from. Oh, from AI, right, okay. Yeah, it's not fake.
But people that have are selling AI based businesses and tech businesses,
they tend to be a bit younger. They are at the very beginning of their collecting journey. So
as you say, you pick the thing that was on your bedroom wall, the thing that you really wanted
in the first place. So you see, again, ENZOs, F50s, to a lesser extent, 288 GTOs, F40s, then even
Murci Lagos have exploded and values Diablo's as well. So they're all getting really kind of,
people are getting excited about those. I do think that there will be a point where people
have an F40 and a 288 and maybe an ENZO and they say, okay, fundamentally these cars give me
a fairly similar experience. I want to find out why Ferrari is so special, why Ferrari is so cool,
same with modern Mercedes, all that kind of thing. And then they'll start working backwards and then
start researching, reading, getting into it. And that's how all of us got into the older cars in
the first place, I think. So yeah, at the moment, we're in a kind of a bit of a youthful market.
You can see that with the price of some of the more... All of my favorite cars ruined.
Even now to the point where 458 specialties are getting on for £600,000.
I remember hearing, oh, 458 specialties for sales, four,
50, and I think if not, you're insane. And that was six months ago. So there's definitely
a trend that way. I also think that with the global economy almost, there is a
bit of uncertainty, some places that you don't really feel too safe putting your money with
the world as it is. I think that if you can say, okay, there's 272 288 GTOs,
they're not really going anywhere. They're all kind of roughly quite similar. You pick your mileage
and then you've got almost an investment class of its own there. So you can bet some money there
instead of investing it into the stock market, investing it into crypto, which is interesting.
But yeah, do it that way. Yeah, all stuff that I've learned and yeah, very handy if you have that
sort of capital to play with. If you don't, however, this is one that you came up to me earlier and
you were like, I might need to do a bit of research on this. Don't expose me now. Yeah, I know.
Have you done your research? I have. Oh, well done. Right. So I can ask you this question. Okay,
great. So I was very kind and I gave you some questions beforehand because I didn't want to
this really, I thought would be very straightforward one, but you said when I go home,
I don't spend the whole time looking at the classifieds, which made me feel like such a
saddo because that's all I do. I spend all day on piston heads and then spend all day looking at
all evening looking at classifieds. So exposing my sadness, I said, let's say you've got 10 grand
to play with with anything that springs to mind that you think would be right at home parked outside
Gerardo HQ. So firstly, it makes it sound like I need to do more homework.
So yeah, it's having a look and there's a couple of things that sort of stood out. I
I picked two, which is which is probably not helpful because it means I'm being decisive again.
I think if you want a nice open top car, open top sports car, I found, I was obviously on piston
heads, got to look on there. And just for just under 10 grand, I found a really nice looking
Boxster 2.7 Boxster. Yeah. Gen two really nice looking car. I think that's kind of a thing that
would be at home here. If there's something interesting and kind of more normal interesting
road car that turns up here, you do tend to find that if it parks outside and you look back at the
office, there's kind of people looking out of the windows. Oh, that's quite cool. And then I
quite predictably went for a car that I used to own for just about 10 grand. You can get
yourself a nice Clio Cup 200. I thought Clio was going to appear on there. And I hoped you would
because it's always a Porsche. And whenever we do these kind of like challenges on piston heads,
where I have to say like, I put Porsche bands in because it's like the obvious answer is a Porsche
Boxster of some kind. So thank you for being indecisive because then you gave me something
that was a little bit different. So yeah, so I think a Clio 200 would look so that's the
last naturally aspirated one, right? Yeah, any particular kind of I could love the green.
Yeah, alien green. Yeah, absolutely. Basically the one that I used to have. I do miss it. Oh,
you have the Ricciaro too. Yeah, very nice. Yeah, well, you got 360 now. So, you know,
well, silver linings and all. So, so what we usually do on that note, so what we usually do
on the gas station is, so it's me and my co-host Sam Sheehan will do a buying challenge. So we'll
go through the we'll gas station and we'll have a look through the buying forum,
find someone who's needed needing some assistance and then we give them some assistance that is
usually absolutely rubbish. I this one didn't come through the forum. It came through other means.
It's from anonymous and it's totally not made up. And it says, I'm looking involved to get in
historic motor racing and understand I'll need to buy my own car to do so. I don't especially
mind what era, but I want something that can compete in historic events across the world.
I don't want to just sit and look at it because that's just depressing for everybody
involved. On that note, I will also need a road car to travel to and from said events. I don't
really care about putting miles on it, but I'd rather it didn't expire on the way to Le Mans
Classic, etc. Conveniently, I have recently come into a substantial amount of money. So much so
that I don't really feel it necessary to set a budget. Well, that's so convenient. It's amazing
that that came through just days before coming to Gerardo, where a lot of things are listed as
POA. So I thought, let's screw the budget. And this person says that screw the budget
and find something. So what we've got to do is we've got to find a car that can do classic
motor racing and a road car, which is pretty easy. So you're more familiar with this place
than I am. So you're going first. What do you think? And explain your choice as well.
I think whatever we do, we should have a link between them, have the link between the road car
and the racing car. And this entirely not made up person hasn't told us their skill level,
because you could start off, off money. It doesn't matter. Okay, good.
Well, yeah, there's you could you could start off relatively basic, relatively kind of natural,
and we could go for the list of costing. Oh, yes, yeah. It's a lovely 50 sports racer. That's a
kind of car that slides around a lot and no downforce, not slicks. I'm not good enough to
drive it. So I wouldn't I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly how it drives. But I think if you
do that, then you could have one of the E types as a companion car, because it's a Jaguar engine,
because you can turn up in your Jaguar like the idea of that. Yeah, you could do Aston Martin corner.
If you wanted to do a bit of GT one, you could turn up in your v5 50. Yes, to Le Mans and drive your
DBR nine around the circuit. Or I think the one that I would probably pick if I had all of the
money in the world, I would probably go to Le Mans in a 288 GTO. Nice. Yes, I like that. Yeah.
Do you have a 288 GTO for sale here? Yes, there's one over there. Okay, great. Okay, that works.
Phenomenal. That one is a lovely car as well. So you turn up there. That one's a
higher mileage example. The first owner of that car actually daily did.
But nearly 50,000 kilometers on it in the first couple of years, the only reason he
sold the car in period was to buy himself an F40, the daily, our kind of man.
And I would turn up in that and I would use something with fundamentally the same engine,
which is the LC2. Oh my God, you've got to have stones to drive that. I look at that and I just,
it scares the living daylights out of me because, I mean, what, that's got to be a
thousand dollar horsepower, right? Not quite, not quite. When it's really, really hot tune,
it's probably 850 or so. Oh, just 850. That's fine. You know, in something that weighs barely
anything and has downforce like a lot of speed, but yeah, yeah. Before you leave, the one thing
you have to do is you need to go and stand behind the LC2 and see how big the Venturi tunnels are
beneath it because it is hilarious. Oh, I love seeing that car. Yeah, you could almost climb
into it. It's amazing. I was a bit like the, is that what you do in your lunch break? Just,
I'm just going to go and hide in the LC2's Venturi tunnels and just get away from Max.
Well, Max has come in here, so for the purpose of the tape. No, absolutely not.
Yeah, no, good choices. I think the 288 GTO, I saw that one last time I was here, actually,
and it is for a car that has been day lead, it's in incredible condition. It looks fantastic.
And that's the kind of classic that I would, I'd love to have of where it has got some miles on
it. And so I wouldn't feel terrible about driving it very far. I'd hate to buy a Ferrari of 15,000
miles on it. I just wouldn't, wouldn't know what to do with putting miles on it. I feel so guilty.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, well, anyway, so, so, so my choice is, you mentioned the Aston Martin,
that annoys me because I was kind of thinking that and I've talked a lot about the lancers. So
my choice would be going for the Ferrari. I would go for the Ferrari 458 GTE because I
think it sounds incredible. And I would argue that it sounds better than the DBR9.
It is such a phenomenal, I know, I know there is a lot of, I'm sorry, Max, I'm just saying it.
The noise is just ridiculous. It sounds so good that I almost mistook it for a, like a V12
F1 engine because it has such, such a broad array of, of sound to it that you just don't expect
from a V8. It is incredible. And it's turnkey. Seems like the DBR9 is actually quite challenging
to run and I'd need a race team and I'm not made of money. Lester Anonymous is though. So yeah,
I know, but I'm just, look, he might want to spend some money on some other cars that you've got.
You could do like a package deal and be like, well, you can go and get that. Oh, by the way,
I'll throw the DBR9 in for a couple of extra million. So, so I'm going with the 458 because
it seems like it would be easy to run and I think it'd be great to drive. And then for my car to
get backwards and forwards in, you have, we haven't mentioned this actually yet, you have a Julia
Quadrifoglio GT AM in the back and I, anybody has anybody seen our video from a couple of years
ago, Sam Sheehan driving it on our YouTube channel? If you haven't do it because he doesn't actually
say anything in it, he's laughing so hard while ragging the absolute hell out of it to the point
where we almost consider pulling it because he is really going for it. But it was just, it seems
like that car that just sparks so much joy and excitement from people when they drive it. I
haven't driven it yet, but I think if I was a Mr Anonymous or Mrs Anonymous's shoes, that's exactly
what you can't garage would be. Very good choice, it's an awesome thing. Remind me of yours again.
LC2 and 288. Right, okay. Let's do a quick show of hands. Who thinks the 458 and the Julia is the
best for infinite money? 123456 I've lost 78 Max, did you put your hand up?
We're debating. Okay, right, okay, that's fine. I would like to caveat the fact that Max put his
hand up there because the GT AM is actually his. So, oh, well, there we go. See, it's a good choice,
man with taste. And who thinks Peter's is best?
Oh, well, whatever. That's gone quite well. So, well, I'm not going to tell people what the result
of that is because they can't see because it's a podcast unless they watch it. But what you can do
is if you're listening to this on Spotify, we do a little poll so you can choose my choices or you
can choose Peter's choices. And then I can send him an email in like a week's time when I got the
results. And if I win, and if I don't win, then he'll never hear from me ever again. Now, obviously,
we've got some incredible cars here at Gerardo, but we also have some incredible cars on Pistonhead's
Orchins, which are one of the reasons why we've got some people here today. So, make sure to check
in on there because we've actually had some really, really, really good cars recently. Stuff that
probably wouldn't be totally out of home here. We've had a 911 Carrera, three-litre racing car that
just sold that was absolutely incredible. We've had a Huracan Performante Spyder.
Values on those are really strong at the moment because I think people are seeing
what's followed and are quite liking what came before, naturally aspirated V10, insane looks,
yada, yada, yada. So, yeah. So, check out Pistonhead's Orchins and also Gerardo because they sell
on Pistonhead's as well. So, you know, there'll always be something if you've got unlimited
amounts of money. So, to finish things off, usually what we do is our third topic is kind of like
in anything goes. I'll go through the, again, the kind of general gassing, see what people are
talking about, and if there's a topic that I think is fun to show people, I'll go with it. And this
one I thought was something I hope you'll be able to relate to. You get to drive quite a few of
the cars here, right? Or at least, yeah, we're very lucky. That's a relief. I didn't ask you
beforehand, and if you didn't, I'd be really, really screwed for this one. So, this one comes from,
so it's driving your hero cars, which exceeded slash failed expectations from Starsky 80.
That's not anyone in this room, is it? No, that would have been convenient, but all right. So,
they say, have you owned or driven one of your hero cars and did they exceed or fail to live
up to your expectation? Being a child of the 80s, most of my hero cars are from the 80s and 90s,
and even ignoring the Exotica are now mostly unobtainable. I've had to cut this quite short,
because they went on quite the typing spree. So, they list some of their cars as the ones that
completely exceeded expectations, 1.6205 GTI. Interested it was 1.6 and not 1.9. E3325i,
and an Impreza WRX wagon, which is really odd, because one of the cars that didn't exceed their
expectations, was an Impreza WRX STI, which they said was just felt too laggy and not particularly
quick. But I think that's the sort of car where you can find like a ropey one and it's not going
to be especially good. It's hard to find a good Impreza STI. They also said Clio 182, for its
odd driving position, I've heard that from quite a few people, and also a Mustang, because you
have to work surprisingly hard to extract its performance. Big old V8, it does make a little
bit sense. So, Davis has said, I've only really had one hero car, and that was a Lotus Carlton.
I was lucky enough to have one for a few days back in whenever, and yes, there was much concern
on my part that it'd be a bit of a let down. Yes, it was old, mechanical, heavy, and you're still
driving an 80s Carlton interior, but it was awesome. Just one of those what-a-thing situations
has done nothing to dampen my enthusiasm for them. Without a shadow of a doubt,
it'd be the first car purchased I'd make if I had the means again.
Andrew T1275 says, being born in the 70s, the original 80s Esprit was my hero car, fully
lived up to expectations in terms of ride handling, acceleration, and the sound of a
wastegate opening just behind your head. A flawed car in some regards, some, but as part of the charm
and in no way detracts from the actual driving experience.
Stu the Mongoose, I bought my Diablo without ever driving it. It's just basically people gushing
over the cars. It was actually really hard to find something that somebody didn't like.
I did actually get one from Mike 9009. Two examples, one was a Mark 1 Toyota MR2,
I kind of get that, and the other was a Mark 1 MX5. Interesting. A lot of hate for the Mark 2
MX5, but not a lot for the Mark 1 MX5. SFT-Wed says their TVR Griffith,
fire-spitting beast I'd expect, but didn't expect it to be so comfortable and perfectly reliable.
I've spoken to somebody else here today about their TVR and how it's lasted for 30-odd years,
and yeah, amazing. Surprisingly, a lot of people loving their cars. A lot of people didn't like
the Ferrari 355, which is a real surprise. Meridian loved theirs. They had a NSX Auto,
which they said was rubbish, but then they had a 2005 NSX that was with a manual,
and it was fabulous in every way, although they then said it was over-hyped,
which I disagree. I think a manual NSX is incredible. So, Peter, you've had access to some
incredible cars here. What have you driven that you were giddy with excitement about driving it,
and he drove it, and then it was brilliant, and then is there anything you were like,
oh, I can't wait to drive this, and was like, yeah. Maybe you start in reverse order to end on a high.
So, it's an interesting question, because there are very few cars that I've driven,
and I thought I don't like that, really. It's kind of the other way around for me, whereas
I approached a car and have heard everybody else's opinions on them and heard stories,
and them being terrible, and I got in them and thought they were a hell of a lot better than
their reputation, would say. It's probably going to be quite an unpopular one.
You love unpopular opinions. The one that I wasn't... Don't get me wrong. It was still a
great thing to drive. It just, for my expectations, I think it fell a little bit flat,
was the 2004 Ford GT. Oh, a lot of people love those. They are, and they're going up in value
a lot now, aren't they? Yeah. I don't know, just something about it. I couldn't put my
finger exactly on what it was, but something about it I just didn't, I didn't especially like.
Sometimes there are cars that just don't click in the way you'd expect it.
Exactly. Controversially, I had it with a Cayman GTS 4L, where I've said this in the sanctuary
of a podcast studio. I regret that there's an audience in front of me now. I drove that,
and I was like, oh, it's a brilliant car, but it just didn't... I didn't love it in the way that
a lot of people rightly do. Yeah, there's some that you connect with and some that you don't
kind of gel with, and I just... That didn't really grab me. I can see Max staring daggers at me,
because he had a 4GT for a long time, and he loved it. I would say, and then to kind of go
on to the ones that I heard reputations about, you hear reputations of kind of the classic
Lambos being really, really tough things to drive. Again, the ridiculous state of my job.
One of the first really special cars I ever drove was a Mura, which was a good day at the office.
I was 21 years old. What an amazing insurance policy they have here.
It wasn't on the road, so I think we could be a little bit cute with it.
I'd heard things about classic Lamborghinis being heavy and slow, tough gear changes,
heavy pedals, all that kind of thing, and I thought it was just incredible. I thought that was
absolutely amazing. Same thing the first time I drove a Kuntash. Kuntash has a reputation for
being incredibly heavy, and they're quite small inside. Once I'd finally got myself in there,
it took a little bit of time. I went out and drove it, and I thought it was absolutely awesome.
The one that I would probably say I was really giddy with excitement, and I went for a proper
drive, and it sticks so hard in the memory is an E46 M3 CSL. They're so good.
Just don't flat shift it, but it's so good. Yeah, exactly. We just moved into this place.
We were selling a car and I needed to go up to North Wales to go and collect a history file.
There are lots of people out in all sorts of different cars. There was only two cars
left here. Max said, can you go up and get this history file? I said, okay, is there a car I
can take? He said, well, there's either the Julia, his Julia Quadrifolia, which is an awesome thing,
but it's left hand drive. There were some tight roads in Wales. I thought that's going to be a
headache. He said, all just take the CSL. Only really one answer here, isn't there?
Right up to the top of North Wales, nearly to Anglesey and back in the day in that car.
That is just the most amazing, amazing car. One of my life mentions now is to own one,
because it's so, so good. I agree. I got really lucky to drive one for the first time last year,
and my dad had an E46 when I was growing up, and not a CSL, but just a regular M3. It's
that kind of boyhood dream car of where you're like, is it going to be as good as I think it is,
and then you get in it. I almost get a little bit emotional driving it, because it's like,
oh, it is everything that I hoped it would be. It was such an incredible car,
just for what it's worth. Mine were, on that day, I also drove an E30 M3, and I think the one that
BMW has on their heritage fleet maybe isn't the best. It's a Roberto Rivaglia edition,
and it's like, it's really cool, and it's an incredible piece of history that you're driving,
but it definitely is. You've got to work it hard to really get something out of it,
and you're trying to drive it relatively spirited through a corner, and you're just
being thrown all over the place, because it's quite soft. It doesn't feel like the DTM car,
I think, that you expected to, and then the E46 was incredible, but the one that really stands out
of like, it still stands, is burned into my memory of like, this is so much better than I
thought it was going to be, was I drove a Cigaris. It was my first proper video for PH, and so it
was like, this is a lot of pressure. People are going to like me, and are they going to like my
opinions on this car? And you drove it. I drove it, and I was like, it's so unbelievably well
engineered. Like, the dash fell off. Actually, when I closed the door, that wasn't so good.
And they were saying like, it's an incredible, it had 99,000 miles, and it's an incredible condition,
and then slam the door, oh, apart from the dash falls off. But otherwise, you know, you've got
this beautiful like, long accelerator pedal, beautifully long brake pedal that's just full
of feel. The noise is incredible. And while it's alive, it's amazing. And it's one of those
experiences where you're like, there's nothing that really replicates the TVR experience
now, before or since. And so it'd be great to have them back, which will never happen. But yeah,
that definitely was like, incredible, burned in the memory. But I'm hoping to come back here one
day and maybe with my editorial hat on and drive one of these things and hopefully have some more
memories burned in. So Peter, thank you very much for coming on the gassing station podcast and
speaking in front of all these lovely people. Max and the rest of your team, thank you ever so
much for having us here. It's been such an awesome evening. I hope you've all enjoyed it too. If you
like the podcast, please leave us a like, and maybe some nice words just helps us get the
gassing station out to more people. Peter, anything you'd like to end on? Anything that's
comes to mind? Just on the last, as you were saying about your TVR experience, I remembered
another one that we were very lucky to do. So I think those first drives are amazing and the
first time that you get to experience it is amazing. But if you've got a mate along with you as well,
I think that's quite a cool thing. And Alex and I, Alex, who runs our media here, Alex and I
were stood in the courtyard and there was a F40 that was out on kind of a little bit of a
shakedown, a little bit of a test. And it came background, parked up. And one of our colleagues
who was driving it said, yeah, that's a good one. You boys should go and have a drive in that.
And you think, oh, okay, childhood dream. Here we go. This is it. This is the moment.
I went first. Alex came in the passenger seat with me and we were going along.
And the first time that turbo kicks in, the way the horizon comes at you, the way the windows,
what you see out of the windows speeds up quicker than you can ever imagine,
the whoosh when you come off the throttle, that was absolutely amazing. And I,
you told me that I couldn't swear on this podcast. So I can't tell you what Alex said when he drove it.
It was something me, me as we were driving along the road.
And as we, as we came in, came back up the lane, parked up, switched the car off,
and there was kind of that little beat of silence. We looked at each other and just laughed. We
cackled and yeah, sat in there for a good two or three minutes, just giggling like children.
It's fine. That's it. That's the moment. The first time I met Alex, it was pretty much the
first story he told me. And there was like, there was that giggle of excitement, but also of like,
thank God I survived. Thank God I bought it home. I bought the car home in one piece with,
with just a slight, a slight granule of PTSD. So a wonderful, what a great way to end the
pod. And on that note, I'll see you next Tuesday. Thank you everybody for coming out and yeah,
big up for Peter. Thanks guys.
About this episode
Peter McAlpine from Gerardo & Co joins the hosts, and the conversation swings from daily EV commuting to an “unlimited budget” showroom tour. They point out specifics like a manual Ferrari 360 in Rosso Corsa, debate how debut colors shape criticism, and talk about rally and endurance provenance—Alitalia Works Stratos, Group B homologation, and Ferrari 458 GTE/GT3-era differences. The episode also digs into modern ownership realities: hybrid battery costs, Ferrari Corsa clienti support, and how collector-car values and “hero cars” evolve.
What happens when you're let loose inside Girardo & Co with an unlimited budget to build the ultimate two-car garage?
As you may now, Girardo & Co is one of the most prestigious car sellers in existence, with a showroom packed full of unobtainium that only a handful of the world's wealthiest individuals can afford. Fortunately, they invited PistonHeads along for an evening of story telling, food munching and podcasting for our new and exclusive club: 98 Collective.
Here's how it all went down...
🏎️ Sell your car on PistonHeads auctions: https://www.pistonheads.com/sell/auctions
🎟️ Get your Annual Service 2026 tickets: https://www.pistonheads.com/events/annual-service
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:26 Welcome Girardo’s Peter Macalpine!
10:00 What’s in stock at Girardo?
21:09 What is Girardo & Co?
25:25 How’s the collector market looking for classics and modern classics?
39:25 Two car buying challenge
48:00 Cars that are as good to drive as everyone says they are, and ones that aren’t
