Superformance GT40- A Passionate Bond #blogpost by Szymek S

A bit of an introduction

I rarely look back in the past, my live revolves around enjoying the experiences that are happening in the present or ones that await me in the future. Yet thanks to Mark and Kai Faulkner’s, on the 18th of February I experienced something that I will forever look back to with a huge grin on my face.

I’ve always enjoyed my trips to London. I love the city, I love the atmosphere that surrounds it and especially the people that live in it. This trip wasn’t any different from any other I’ve took over the past few years… except it was. First of all I’ve got to meet with Adnan, Alex Kersten, Ethan Smale and Jake Orr at the new CT office. Second of all, I was invited by Kai Faulkner to an undisclosed location an hour from London for a ride along in his fathers Superformance Ford GT40. Was I excited? More than you can imagine!

Morning

I’ve started the day off like I’d start off any ordinary day. With a small breakfast and a glass of water. With every passing hour I was growing more and more excited with the prospect of even seeing the GT40 in real life, let alone being a passenger in one. When it was finally time to head off, I couldn’t contain my happiness- whistling along to songs and smiling at passerby.

Arrival

Upon my arrival I recieved a text saying that I will be picked up in a VW Transporter by Kai and his dad Mark themselves. The moment I saw Kai at the train station it got to me that this was actually happening and I had to pinch myself. I did and it hurt, but it meant I wasn’t dreaming.

At the beginning I want to express my total gratitude to the Faulkner family for the amazing hospitality they provided me with. They truly are an incredible family, that deeply cares and cherishes the automotive world.

After a short little drive we arrived to their beautiful house and I was greeted by a stunning Porsche 993 Targa and an equally beautiful Porsche 968 which for some time served as the families daily driver. Oh and you can’t forget a Brabus Smart, those are apparently one of the funnest vehicles on Earth and I can sort of believe that. They are rear wheel drive and rear engined, it’s basically an over-complicated GoKart if you think hard about it.

There also was a shed and in it, lo and behold, was the Superformance GT40. As soon as I saw it, my jaw hit floor, I deeply regret not having a proper camera with me at the time because my shots don’t do it any justice.

Let’s go for a drive

The first thing I learnt about the Superformance GT40 is that there is no way to gracefully get in it. No matter what you do, no matter how classy you look, you just can’t look good getting in it. The best way to do it, is to do it quickly.
Once you get in it you need to buckle yourself in, as a first-time passenger it took me way longer than I’d like to admit. Then comes the best part, firing the damn thing up. The V8 tuned by Roush makes one of the godliest sounds I’ve ever heard. It’s extremely hard to describe how the GT40 sound makes you feel, it’s a combination of being scared to death along with being swept of the floor by a huge wave of happiness. It’s something you just have to experience for yourself, because the english vocabulary simply doesn’t have enough words to describe it well.

The first time Mark planted his foot on the floor I was left speechless for at least 45, 60 seconds. The acceleration isn’t as rapid as it is in a Tesla, but it’s extremely violent and accompanied by the Naturally Aspirated symphony. The GT40 is a greyhound among cars, it’s always on power, always ready to bite and always loud. Whenever you’re not pushing it, it wants to be unleashed, it pushes you to push it.

After finding myself in a Tesla Model S in November, I can easily say that this is its biggest contrast. The Superformance offers a raw, uninterrupted experience. Being near it is an event, being in it is a truly special occasion and driving it is a celebration of everything I want the automotive world to be. It celebrates the experience of driving and it makes the driver feel like a star- like he’s the most important part of the car.

If the day wasn’t insane enough, after driving the car for about 15-20 minutes up and down beautiful, British b-roads, Mark said that we needed to get milk from the supermarket and so we did. We went to grab milk. In a 450+horsepower GT40. I did many cool things in my life, I doubt anything will ever top that.

Attention, it gets lots of it. People absolutely love this car, even if they don’t know what it is. They’ll come up to you, they’ll ask questions, they’ll take photos. It’s definitely not going to be your stealth machine to quietly drive around, oh no, you’re going to be seen everywhere you drive it. Mark is a great sport about it, he loves talking about it and he knows the car inside out, it was amazing to listen to an enthusiast tell me about Ford’s immense 1-2-3 win in LeMans 24h with the passion that merely a few people I know have for anything. You can tell that the owner loves the car, it’s special to see a man owning his dream car, it forms some sort of a rare bond you can only have with your dream.

On the way back home, once again I got to feel every single drop of sweat running down my forehead, every single acceleration created another group of gorgeous, colourful butterflies in my stomach and every tight turn made my adrenaline level go through the roof. It’s hard for me to compare the GT40 to any car I’ve been in, just because it’s so different than anything. It’s beauty isn’t expressed by design (not saying it’s lacking anything in that compartment), but in its capabilities and how it makes you feel.

Afternoon

When we got back home, I ungracefully got myself out of the car and just stood there for what felt like eternity, letting the moment sink in. Sometimes you just need to stop and appreciate the place you’re currently in, that was that moment for me. The moment I got to appreciate the car world, Car Throttle and most importantly the amazing support I’ve been receiving from You- my readers.

At around 4 o’clock I was given a ride to the train station and I was thanking Kai and Mark for about 10 minutes before they left and went on their way. Once again I feel like I need to underline how grateful I am for that Saturday. Never, ever in my wildest dreams did I imagine that my articles, the way I express myself would land me a ride along to the shops in a GT40.

You Have Now Reached The End

That’s the end of my Superformance GT40 article, for this specific piece I decided to try a new writing style which I really enjoyed. As you can see it’s more of a journal than a review, but it’s hard to review a car from a passenger’s perspective. I’d really like to hear your opinions on how it turned out, any feedback is appreciated!

Once again I need to give a huge shout out to Mark and Kai, they are probably one of the greatest people I’ve ever met and I feel honoured by the experience they gave me.

Regarding my next article, I hope you like 510hp, Italian sedans (yeah it’s the Giulia) [it will be done some time in April]

Cheers,
Szymek S