Guy encounters Ralph Lauren & his Bugatti Veyron

Wow. What a loon. He slams on the brakes in the middle of a highway, does a 3-point turn, hits 105mph on a public road, takes pictures while driving, and buys clothes from a designer because he appreciates the designer's cars. He also figures it's no big deal to do all these things because if you own a car like that "you have to expect it". It's interesting to know that a guy could kill other motorists while fumbling with a camera and speeding, then blame it on the guy who bought an expensive car. Damn.

 

I think he scared Ralph, personally. Look at his face.

 

This "loon" is a popular and liked F-chatter. He frequently well-documents his sightings and is pretty familiar with how to drive and take a pic at the same time. If you'd seen his myriad of work you would know what I'm talking about. I think the effusive (read: reckless) enthusiasm in his story just comes across the way it did because it was the first Veyron sighting he'd ever seen on public roads. Although I'm sure he scurried very quickly to catch up to it, I doubt he did any real endangering of anyone's lives. Artistic license is in there since he obviously is regaling us in story form. He also posted later about chatting with RL and how he was cool with him taking pics of the car; it was only happenstance that the car's owner was such a celebrity. He was stalking the car down, not RL personally.

 

A loon by any other name is just as loony. It's creepy and disturbing, I don't really care where he posts or who admires him.

 

So what is his name?

Reveal yourself ya loon!



That's a pretty normal story. I've been known to chat up other exotic owners myself.

RL is a pretty famous guy, so I'm sure he's used to the heckling/stalking/paparazzi treatment anyways.

 

Hey pal, you need to chill out.

 

+1. The person in question is offline now, but I've sent him a PM to review this thread so if he wishes he can respond for himself.

 

Hey folks! I took the photos and would be happy to discuss my driving style with anyone on this forum, but only privately. As it's been almost five months since I originally posted this, one thing I've discovered is that on public forums people can be somewhat negative - perhaps in order to look tough for other users - but once the discussion turns private, where only I can see their responses, they lose some of their edge and become considerably more reasonable. However, publically I will state that I've been driving for nearly five years and about 80,000 miles now and I have yet to be involved in any sort of car accident. How many of you can state that you got through your teens accident-free?!

For the record, this sighting has been already covered elsewhere on this forum (to mostly positive response) and, oddly, I have gotten very little negative feedback overall, save a few negative comments about my driving from people who were not present.

As for the sighting, it was one of the more ridiculous experiences of my life. We've got a Veyron in the Denver metropolitan area but I'd long since given up hope of seeing it, as the owner is more than a bit careful about driving it (in my view). I had completely spaced out even the existence of Ralph Lauren's ranch until we were within sight of it, and when driving by it I only jokingly considered the possibility of an exotic car sighting. The Veyron is in fact my favorite vehicle, but I thought that a road sighting would only be possible during Grand Prix week in Monaco - or unless I got ridiculously lucky. As you can see, the latter occurred.

One point that the non-car enthusiast who posted in this thread should keep in mind is that I couldn't have cared less who was driving the car and I still don't. I saw a Bugatti Veyron. That I spoke to its owner was secondary, and that its owner was Ralph Lauren was tertiary (by a distance). It's a Bugatti Veyron: of course someone famous is going to own it. I like cars, not celebrities, and if the car was being piloted by some total unknown who sold his children to get access to it, I would've done everything exactly the same way. To you, I may have been following Ralph Lauren, but to me I was following a Bugatti Veyron, plain and simple.

Further comments welcome, privately or otherwise!

 

So you brag in a public forum about driving dangerously but you don't want to discuss it publicly. Go figure.

It doesn't matter that you were chasing a car and not the people inside. There are still people inside. The fact that Ralph chatted and posed for photos with you in meaningless. It says nothing about his reaction to you. He could have thought that you were a psychopath and the best course of action was to not piss you off.

 

Sounds good! Naturally everyone is entitled to their opinion and yours is not unappreciated and as a point of fact is understood.

 

Agreed! Good thing there was a tail wind, or he might not have caught him!

"Me: Is it unlike anything you've ever experienced before? Is it just incredibly fast?"

....Does it really have 4 turbos? Does it really have 4 wheels and tires?!
creepy

 

Chill the **** out

 

+1

 

nice link thanks,

 

I met Ralph L. on the road in Bedford shortly after I bought my 550 Barchetta. He was driving a 360 spider, and as I approached him, neck and neck, he thought I wanted to race. I didn't realize who was behind the wheel of the car, and said I was just saying hello to another Ferrari driver. He signalled to pull over, got out of his car, and as he held out his hand and introduced himself, it dawned on me who he was. He was down to earth, commented on my car, saying that he had passed on buying one, but liked it in black. We chatted for a minute, and like a fool, I failed to ask him if I could arrange a time to see his collection.
I have seen him since a few times in restaurants in the city, but never wanted to bother him. His cars are astounding, as all of you know.

 

Ralph is a really nice person. When I worked at the Bedford movie theater he came in for a movie and after I ended up talking to him about cars. It was nice of him to take time to talk to me, even though I only worked at the concession stand.

 

All I ever wear is shorts and t-shirts, aside from my suits. I am pleased to hear he was so kind to you. Great pics--thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks for the positive comments!

As for Ralph, everyone I've heard from - on this forum and on various others - has all been in affirmation of Ralph's status as a good guy. It's nice to know someone like him can be so down-to-Earth. Car enthusiasts really are the best people!

 

I just saw a commercial for a show about Ralph Laurnes Automobiles, its coming Saturday at 8pm eastern time. He has some nice classic cars.

 

Thanks ! you made my day

this must be the thread of the year!
Congrats !