12:34 pm, August 15, 2010
PEOPLE do very strange things when you rock up in a bunch of supercars – and today was a good example of that.
Sunday was location-scouting day for tomorrow’s big shoot and we headed to Black Rock Sands beach, near Porthmadog, where we’ll be shooting the cover for the next issue.
It was there we met Shanelle – the girl draping herself all over the Porsche Boxster Spyder and Audi R8.
Now don’t think for a minute we actually asked her to drape her body all over the cars and strike these model poses. We didn’t. She actually asked US if it was okay.
She wanted US to take photos of HER. Strange, but true. Obviously Dean Smith, our snapper, and Dunc Chappell, were more than happy to oblige and we thought it would be rude not to share them. Click on the picture above right for gallery of today’s pictures.
SUPERCAR TRUMPED
It wasn’t all girls in bikinis on beaches – despite tooling around in cars collectively worth £350,000 we were still trumped today by one very special motor.
I’ve only ever seen one of them on the road, but when we pulled up just outside Porthmadog for some fuel there was this Carrera GT filling up too.
I was surprised at how small it was, but the sound as it accelerated away was immense. Fortunately I caught it on film to share with you. Shame the owner was a bit of a bore – all he said to us was ‘615bhp mate’, then shut the door and drove off.
It was funny spotting the Carrera GT though as I’ve been ensconsed in the Boxster Spyder for the best part of today and it’s clear the hypercar’s little brother has taken a few design cues from it.
At first the Boxster felt loose and twitchy in comparison to the R8 I spent yesterday enjoying, but as the miles clicked on I really began to enjoy the Porsche.
It doesn’t have the aural drama of the Audi or the Aston Martin, but it certainly has the ability – on these Welsh roads it’s addictive and extremely capable.
After the Audi I didn’t think it would be as impressive as it is, but it’s a delight to drive. On some of the knarly stretches of tarmac we’ve attacked today, it has given me a few lumpy stomach moments, especially on off-camber bends when the steering goes light and you can feel the suspension working overtime. But overall I love it. It’s going to be very hard to choose a winner out of this lot, that’s for sure.
Tomorrow I’ll be spending most of the day in the Aston Martin Rapide. I’ll have a long time to enjoy it too – we’re starting at 3.15am. Yes, really. That’ll get us to Black Rock Sands before sunrise and hopefully bag us an incredible cover shot.
Right, more about that time tomorrow – I’m of to bed. When I say bed, I mean beers…
James
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