[GTO]

NOTE : This report was actually compiled on the evening of 23rd January, 2011.

The Perfect Sunday! Wake up early (ok well, we could change this part), hang out with friends and be in the company of over 60 Supercars. The exotics that showed up today made for over 25,000 collective horsepower . Special mention of "F5" which did an outstanding job with the event management. Our report will be spread over the first 3 pages. Keep checkin'!

Lets start with a short preview:

At Vidhan Bhavan:






On the Worli Seaface:


How often does one get an opportunity to drool over the city's best supercars, all at the same place. Well, the crowds were certainly there (though they arrived later than expected):


And it was the little ones who enjoyed the most


No, you don't need to pinch yourself. One look at the "mirchi-limboo" and you know its for real. Only in India:

[GTO]

Some hand-held and on-car footage Rehaan threw together. Cameras were on GS's Ariel and KBK_75's M3. The most vocal performers were the Maserati and the GTR:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkUbl46FasM

The indisputed star of the show, the Ferrari 458:


And also the most photographed:


My personal favourite. Blood red Ferrari 348:






Ex-Abhishek Bachchan Lamborghini LP640 wore an extremely classy pearl white + black wheel combination:






Hormazd Sorabjee with Sunju Baba's 599. Captured right after he drove to the venue. Guess the wide grin says it all:








The E-V-I-L TRex:




This Maserati Quattroporte had a custom, LOUD sports exhaust. The capacity to keep your ears ringing long after:




Taste man! A Chevy Corvette with 4 onboard (Parents + 2 kids). Made for a very cute sight:






The F430. A future classic? You betcha:






There were innumerable Rolls Royce today:


Supercharged BMW M3 (covered in detail elsewhere on the forum):




And another red F430:




That's KBK75 and his M3:


Representation from Japan. And how!! The iconic Nissan GT-R

[GTO]

Looking comfortable on the Segway. His security guards (running after him all the time) must be wishing they had one too


The Ariel Atom:






If ever there was an award for the best alloy wheels of the day:


Few cars scream power like the Phantom:


And see how it stood out (literally) from the shorter sports cars:










The BMW corner!


A beautiful E46 M3:






A bunch of Harley Davidsons were on display:










And a completely unexpected visitor : The Ford Focus RS! Whoever this dude is, he sure knows his cars:






Thankfully, this hideous vehicle was tucked away in some corner:

[GTO]

Participant pre-event briefing that stressed "This is not a race, its a parade. Drive at such a pace that the crowd can also enjoy the cars":


The LP640 needed some air:


The security needed a push:


And we're on!


























On the Worli Seaface:












Approaching the Bandra-Worli sealink (from the WE highway):










A Mazda RX-8; it actually has 4 doors (rear are suicide-style):




Thankfully, this vehicle was resigned to the back of the grid:

[FlyingSpur]

A few of us (Gordon, V12, Dippy & myself) reached the venue quite early at about 8 am, where things were just beginning to take shape with just the YZP Gallardo standing around. Slowly, the cars started trickling in, marked of course by the entire GS troupe flooding the parking bay. The 458 rightfully took pole position of sorts by the entrance of the pavilion, and was later to be flanked by the stunning white LP640, making the opening duo a formidable combination.









A few select shots from the cars that trooped in. It was raining F430's, for some reason, and it was surprising because a couple of them that were present last year did not even show up. The show saw some interesting cars and some whose presence was, frankly, questionable. The parameters still remain unclear and are the subject of much speculation and many a conversation.



The beauuuuuuuutiful 348 still remains my favourite car of the lot, and leaves the contemporary Ferraris biting the dust in the design department. Only the 355 can beat this one, and that's a sentiment echoed by many, not just a personal opinion. STILL the only car I've bothered to photograph myself with



I have a strong liking for the Corvette below and the bronze R8 pictured elsewhere. Stunning colours. A 6-series showed up with interesting aftermarket rims.

[FlyingSpur]

The event, as GTO said, was rather well organized. This was my ride for the day. If you think you can predict even 1% of this thing's violent explosiveness as a 3-series owner, boy are you mistaken! In BMW terms, M = MEGA !!



The camera we mounted on various cars for some on-board footage



A quick briefing and the convoy was off. And believe me, it was on from the word go. Through the exit gates and the cars blasted away to the next right hander, on to a quick straight, and then jam right onto Marine Drive. Here's some shots of the cars in action.











Everything came to a grinding halt for a couple of minutes at Reclamation for the regrouping. How's this for a traffic jam?

[FlyingSpur]

One of the biggest disappointments this year was the manner in which non-participant cars and the general public were driving on the roads. I understand everyone's excited, and that we're petrolheads after all, but that is absolutely no excuse for over-speeding and driving absolutely irresponsibly on the road to try to keep up with the participant cars.

I saw so many close calls, it's not even funny. And a couple of incidents I witnessed would have become near-fatal accidents. Seriously, we HAVE to cool it and stop doing silly speeds in trying to keep up with the rally participants. A little bit of maturity will go a long way in ensuring a safe and accident-free rally, because such events are just one small accident away from going from being labelled as a "menace".

I hope everyone takes this in the right spirit.

[Rehaan]

And a few random snapshots....

[Rehaan]

Insideman's supercharged E92 M3 : more pics and info


Samstrikes' Focus RS : more pics and info

[PPS]

The Star of the Show!



Insane Machine.









More pics coming up soon.

[lamboguy]

Just a teaser... More to follow.
Let me introduce you with the star of the event...

[shamik.bose]

In the last pic, that group of people is standing in the middle of the road to gape at it! Nice pics, pps. Got me waiting for more. Lots more!

[Karthik-zza]

I agree, the last picture is awesome. There is something about a yellow V8 engined super car that stops you wherever you are eh?

[funkydevil]

Just came back from the rally. Loved the blue XFR, murci and 458. Btw, was the GTR the Bandra one? was LOUD as hell !!!

[jatinpatel]

Had an awsome time in the rally it was fun chasing the cars in my lancer.

Quatraporte and GTR and 458 have some seductive exhuast notes for sure.
Loved the Gray M3 especially the massive supercharger and the way it was changing lanes on the way back on WE.

Will upload pics shortly have to resize them.

Any ideas why SLS was missing?