Ferrari 360 Modena

 



Second car from the list of cars I saw today, a 12 year old +Ferrari 360 Modena. This picture was taken on the main street in Alderley Edge. 4.5 seconds between 0 and 62 and flat out, you will reach 183 mph (295km/h) thanks to a 400bhp 3.6l V8 engine. I wouldn't buy a Ferrari, but would still love a go in one!

Mercedes ML63 AMG

After a disappointing morning in Manchester yesterday (not a picture taken!) I decided to make the most of the nice weather (for once!) and go for a walk around Knutsford and Alderley Edge (Premiership football player territory) with the hope of a few snaps. I struggled to get started but with a bit a patience, I managed to secure a few nice shots, including an Aston Rapide, a Rolls Royce Drophead Coupe, an Audi R8 V10, a Maserati Gran Turismo, a Lamborghini Gallardo LP-560-4 and a few other nice surprises which will find their way into my posts soon.

However, before getting stuck in with any of the cars I have just mentioned, I will start with a type of car I am not the biggest fan of: SUVs. I know many people love them, Range Rovers in particular (as you can tell from looking at roads in Cheshire!) but the first SUV I am going to write about is the ML63 AMG. Why? Well because it is the first one I saw today, and also because my friend Maxime has been going on about the ML AMG for years (starting with the ML55). And as he turned 30 a couple of days ago, I thought I would dedicate this post to him (and all of you who love SUVs!)  

 

 

I spotted it on a street in Knutsford, it has a 5.5l biturbo V8 engine developing 525bhp. It is capable of reaching 62mph in just 4.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 155mph (250km/h)

Not bad performance for an almost 2.5t elephant!

+Mercedes-AMG 

Audi R8 V10 Spyder

Car parks in Manchester are always a great place to spot Dream Cars! I could just spend the whole day there, watching cars driving in and out... (I know, my enthusiasm is turning into obsession if not addiction!) 

Here we have an Audi R8 V10 Spyder. 10 cylinders positioned in a V shape, 5.2l and 518bhp. 0-62 in 4.1sec and a top speed of 194mph (312km/h) I am not sure I would drive at over 190mph with the roof down though!

 

+Audi International 

TVR Tuscan Speed 6

 

Parked outside a café in a seaside village in Cornwall, this is a very nice English built TVR Tuscan Speed 6. It has a 4.0l straight 6 engine which delivers around 400bhp, allowing the Speed 6 to get to 62 in about 4 seconds and reach a top speed of close to 200 mph or 320km/h (on a track of course...) 

I know TVR do not have a good reputation in terms of reliability, but what a car for the price of a top of the range BMW!!! (I would still prefer it in one of the pearlescent colours though!)

Mercedes SLS Roadster

Ellesmere Port a few weeks ago, a very nice +Mercedes-AMG SLS Roadster in Mystic White. There aren't many of these around. Under the bonnet, you will find a 6.3l AMG V8 with 571bhp which will take you to 62mph in 3.8 seconds and up to the electronically limited speed of 197mph!!! (317km/h)

Nice car but I would rather spend the £180,000 it costs on a DBS!

Insider - Ferrari 458 & Audi R8 V10

 

 

2 steering wheels, 2 cars, will you guess which cars they belong to...?

I know, a prancing horse on a yellow background is likely to be a Ferrari and four rings intertwined an Audi!!! But which one?

OK, for the top one, the clue is in the left dispay and for the bottom one, the clues are on the steering wheel and on the speedometer! Yes, Ferrari 458 and Audi R8 V10!!!

;-)

Diary entry

I have just been browsing through my "car files" on my computer and came across a document I had started over three years ago. I had called it Great Cars Diary (just realised I am lacking a bit in terms of imagination here: Great Cars Diary / Dream Cars Spotter...) and had started to keep a daily log of the cars I used to see. I think the 06/08/2009 entry is a particularly good illustration of what I mentioned in my very first post. To see all these cars in my home town in France would have taken me more than a lifetime!!!

I saw these cars mainly on the motorway to and from the island of Anglesey (North Wales) where I spent the day.

Aston Martin DBS
Aston Martin DB9 Volante
Audi RS4 Avant
Audi TTS
Bentley Continental GT
Bentley Continental GTC
BMW M3
Caterham
Ferrari 355 Cabriolet
Ford Focus RS (old and new model)
Ford Mustang
Honda S2000
Hummer H2
Mercedes E55 AMG
Mercedes E63 AMG
Nissan GTR
Porsche 911 Cabriolet
Subaru Impreza WRX STI
Toyota Supra
TVR Sagaris
Vauxhall VXR8

Aston Martin V8 Vantage

I took that picture while on our way to the Lake District last year. We were on the M6 heading North (I wasn't driving!) I loved the fact that the +Aston Martin V8 Vantage is heading towards brighter skies!!! A very desirable car with a 380bhp V8 engine, capable of doing 0-62 in under 5 seconds to reach 175mph (282km/h)

I should get one...

Chevrolet Camaro V8

The first muscle car on Dream Cars Spotter! And it is a +Chevrolet Camaro spotted in Cheadle. Powered by a 6.2l V8 engine with 426bhp, the Camaro can reach 62mph in 4.7 seconds with a top speed of 155mph electronically limited. With such a colour, you are sure not to lose it in a carpark!

Lamborghini Murcielago

Here is something much more exotic and much rarer than the BMW M3, spotted last year on the John Lewis Cheadle car park, the +Lamborghini Murcielago. It is one of the rare Murceliago I have ever seen. Don't be fooled by the pictures, it is much bigger that it looks! Its 580bhp V12 engine takes the Murcielago from 0 to 62 in just 3.8 seconds with a top speed of 205mph (330km/h) Impressive!

BMW M3

I know a +BMW M3 can't compare with an Aston or a Lamborghini, but it would still be of my Dream Cars list. I don't particulary like the 3-serie saloon, the coupe is OK, but the M3 is a great-looking car! I found this M3 in a Lake District car park: 4.0l V, 420 bhp, 4.6 sec to 62mph and a top speed of 155mph electronically limited!

Lotus Esprit V8

 

I tend to prefer newer cars but I think older sports car are still worth the part!

Here, one of the last Lotus Esprit V8 seen in Manchester over a year ago. The bonnet hides a 3.5l V8 engine with 356bhp. Very respectable performances with a 0-62 in just under 5sec and a top speed of 176mph (283km/h)

 

+Lotus F1 Team 

Aston Martin V12 Vantage

Beautiful V12 Vantage +Aston Martin filmed outside Manchester Aston Martin dealership. I was lucky enough to be there when they had to move the car, so I quickly grabbed my phone and here is the result! Great sound for a beautiful car.

One day, you will be mine!

Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder V10

Again, the Trafford Centre seems to be hosting some Dream Cars. Here, a +Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. The colour scheme for this particular model is rather understated compared to some more flashy Lambos (orange, bright yellow or acid green). As far as performance is concerned, we have a 5.0l V10 engine developing 520bhp, for a top speed of 193mph (310km/h). 0-62 is done in 4.3 second. Not bad for a 7 year old car!

Rolls Royce Ghost V12

 

 

The "Baby" Rolls near Old Trafford!!! The Rolls Royce Ghost with a 6.6l V12. Huge baby! Nearly 3 tons and yet it has real sportscar performance (4.7sec to 62mph and 155mph limited electronically)

You just need a chauffeur!

+Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Bentley Continental GT

One of the many Bentley Continental GT you see around Manchester. This particular one was parked outside the Trafford Centre a few weeks ago. To me, not in the best looking colour but still... The 6.0, 575bhp, W12 engine takes the 2750kg GT to 62mph in 4.3 seconds and up to 198mph (318km/h)

(Notice the Porsche Boxter behind... not the same effect on me now!)

+Bentley Motors

Aston Martin DBS

One of my favourite, from my favourite car maker: +Aston Martin. The DBS we have here is a 6.0 V12 engined car with 510bhp. 0-62 in 4.3 seconds. 191mph max (307km/h)

I saw this car as I was leaving the car-park from the Hollies farm shop in Lower-Stretton a few weeks ago. It is a stunning looking car and that's why I couldn't resist taking a picture even if it meant having my front windscreen in the way...

Maserati Gran Turismo V8

Spotted in affluent Wilmslow today, we have the beautiful looking +Maserati Gran Turismo V8 in petrol blue. It has 400bhp and reaches 62mph in just 5.2 seconds with a top speed of 177mph (285 km/h). I could nearly forget Aston Martin when I see one of these!!!

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

 

For my first Dream Car post, here is the brand new +Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. The car was launched just a week ago, and here it is, in its full glory: V12 engine producing 730bhp, 0-62 in just 3.1 seconds and a top speed of 211mph (340km/h for my French readers!!!).

Ok, I must confess, this F12 was parked round the corner from the Ferrari dealer in Manchester, so it was on the street, but I got a bit of help from the dealer here!

The first one

Bonjour à tous!

or should I say Hello to you all!

First of all, thank you very much for giving my blog a go as I am sure there are thousands of others  like mine out there, but I will try to make mine as special as I can!

As my first two lines might suggest, I am a French man who works and lives in the UK. I have lived near Manchester for the last 6 years and grew up in France in the countryside. Now, you will say, what does that have to do with the title of the blog? (Yes, "Dream Cars Spotter" implies posts about cars not my personal life!) The link is that where I grew up, "Dream Cars" were nowhere else to be seen but on TV, in magazines or online, certainly not on the street... Seeing a 911 or even a Boxter would make your heart pounding as you wouldn't see more than 2 or 3 a year. So the sight of a Ferrari, an Aston Martin or a Lamborghini would probably make your eyes explode and your heart stop!!! That completely changed when I arrived in the UK in 2007. As a huge car enthusiast, arriving in Manchester was like having reached heaven (well, car heaven!). The number of Bentleys, Astons, Ferraris, Lambos, Rolls etc. I was seeing on the motorway or just parked along the streets on a daily basis was just unbelievable, particularly for someone who had never come across most of these cars before. They had always been out of reach fantasies and now they were all there, in front of my very eyes, dream becoming reality (ok, only part of the dream, as I now need to fulfil this dream with a purchase...).

Now I think it is time for me to share my dream and my passion for cars, that is why I have decided to create this blog. The idea behind it, is to try to capture Dream Cars on camera (well, iphone camera most of the time...) and just upload the pictures to share them with you and to show people who have never seen such cars around, what they look like on the street rather than in the pages of magazines!

Profitez-en! / Enjoy!

E.