Two In One Day!

The weather was a lot better the weekend before this one that just passed. Fortunately, that’s when Gus and his girlfriend Josie came to stay at the Chateau. They arrived Saturday night, so on Sunday, we all went out to breakfast. After breakfast, we went back to the Chateau where Gus & Bruce got silly with some refurbishing applicant on Gus’ lower front bumper. The girls hung out, watching Bruce and Gus; I just aimlessly wandered about the driveway, snapping picture after picture.

Once everything was all set, we were ready to go. Andrea slipped into her Crossfire, Gus & Josie were in Gus’ 328 GTS and I was in the TR with Bruce in the fun seat. Off we went, with Andrea in the lead, and the 328 bringing up the rear. A quick stop for gas and we headed for New Hope, Pennsylvania. New Hope is a beautiful, eclectic little town that’s just mobbed with people when the weather’s nice. Driving through the street is like trying to push a golf ball through a garden hose; still, it’s worth it. The funniest thing about the trip, from the time we left ‘til the time we came back, is that the Crossfire got ten times the amount of stares the TR & 328 got combined! One couple, while crossing the street, almost bumped into the yellow beast ‘cause they were too mesmerized by the Chrysler. When Bruce revved the engine, the guy turned around, acknowledged that there was a car behind him and went right back to staring at Andrea’s car! It’s NOT a low profile car, to say the least.

After a while of sitting in near-stand-still traffic, Bruce asked if I wanted to drive. That’s a no-brainer! We quickly switched seats while waiting for the cars ahead of us to move. After filtering out of New Hope, we headed back to the Chateau. That’s when I had the chance to open the car up a bit more. Andrea was still in front, but this time Gus was in the middle and Bruce and I were in the back. Not for long. I followed suit as Gus passed Andrea and it wasn’t long before I took him over, too. There’s just no end to the power in that beastly 12-cylinder behemoth; at least, I haven’t reached an end, yet.

After cruising for a short while, we realized that Andrea might be farther behind than we thought. We decided to pull over and wait. With Gus on my tail, he was right behind us when we parked on the shoulder. I walked over to his car to explain that we were pulling over to wait for Andrea.

“How’s about we switch cars, then? He asked.

I ran over and asked Bruce and he didn’t care, so we swapped. Gus and Josie were in the TR and there I was, in the driver’s seat of his 328 GTS. This was my second time driving a 328 but my first “real” time; the last time I drove one, I didn’t have a chance to get into it.

The 328 and the TR are two completely different animals, so there’s no comparing them. I am, however, spoiled by the TR, so I noticed some differences immediately. First, there’s more head and legroom in a TR. Second, a stock 328 just doesn’t compare to a Tubi’d Testarossa.

Just as we finished swapping cars, Andrea was pulling over, so we all pulled off and headed home. The acceleration in the 328 gets really aggressive after 4,000 RPMs and that’s about when the exhaust note really starts to snarl. I was a LOT more confident in the twisties in the 328 and had no problem accelerating into, through and out of them. I take more caution in those same turns when I’m driving Bruce’s ass-heavy TR. I haven’t driven every Ferrari known to man, but the shifter was pretty much the same as the TR’s. I won’t be so bold as to say that if you’ve seen one Ferrari 5 speed shifter, you’ve seen ‘em all, but there was no adjustment period; I just got in and took off. I didn’t notice and real clutch difference between the two cars, either. I’ve heard people say some clutches are stiff and so on but I guess I haven’t reached that level yet. I push the sucker in, engage a gear and split. That’s all there is to it.

All in all, it was an awesome ride; I think we all had an awesome time. Gus, I really appreciate you letting me drive your car. I know you were nervous as hell, especially not being in the car with me to make sure I didn’t try to hot dog or do anything else silly. Bruce, as always, I love driving your car. It’s such a pleasure and I’ve really been spoiled by it. It was, without question, another wonderful Wellington weekend. Thanks, guys; thanks a lot.

 

Me too...!


Thank you, Pat... i don't know who he is...


Andrew, it's really a beautiful car; i've spent so much time with it, i look at other, different-colored TRs in a different light, now...


Mitch, thanks for the wonderful insight, i really appreciate it and will definitely keep that in mind for next time; thank you so much, really...


Wolfgang, keep us in mind; we would love to have you out here one day...


Chuck, LOL, thank you! i would LOVE my own show... Gus & Bruce are exceptional folks, to say the least...

 

LOL...! i'm not in any of the pictures, so it's hard to remember...

 

LOL... It's certainly possible i'm wearing a black shirt (and black slacks, black sneakers, black socks, etc.) - i just don't remember; it was so long ago that i took those pictures... i have such a horrible memory...