How to sneak into a rich person's club
Having a crappy car didn't stop me from joining an exclusive supercar club
A couple of months ago I was walking along Bondi beach when I heard the unmistakable sound of a supercar revving its engine.
I followed the noise and came across a casual supercar club meeting. There were a couple of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and a McLaren all double parked out the front of the Bondi Pavilion.
But not just any McLaren. A McLaren Senna.
For those of you who are shrugging your shoulders right now, that’s a car worth well over a million dollars. There aren’t many in the world, particularly with right-hand drive.
I managed to work out who the owner was pretty quickly. He stood a little separately from the crowd, arms crossed, watching people fawn over his car.
I sidled up next to him.
“Yours?” I asked gesturing to the Senna.
He nodded.
“That’s a pretty serious car.”
“Eh,” he said shrugging his shoulders. “I’d say it’s one of my intermediate cars.”
The rest of the supercar owners were milling around nearby, talking about their plans for the rest of the day. I was unsurprised that golf featured heavily.
The Senna driver mentioned he was going to play at a course near Ryde.
“Ah,” I said. “Are you going to drive the McLaren there?”
“I’ll probably take the Bentley,” he replied after a moment’s consideration. The rest of the owners nodded sagely. A good choice.
“Or,” I quipped “you could take the bus.”
This was a mild gag at the best. A butter chicken of the joke world. But let me tell you, it brought the house down.
Imagine, just imagine taking a bus. What a jape.
Maybe because my bus line landed so well, or maybe because rich people need a foil, one of the Ferrari owners was kind enough to tell me about another car meetup she was holding. I was welcome to come along, she said.
Which is how I became part of an exotic club as the owner of a 2014 BMX X1.
I’ve been to a few of their meetings now. They mostly involve chatting to car enthusiasts, driving from one location to the next, and me trying to keep my BMW out of people’s pictures.
But here’s the thing. There’s another meetup happening this weekend and I thought it would be cool to turn up in something interested for a change.
I contacted a couple of supercar rentals and asked if they’d give me a good deal for the day. I have been - very understandably - completely ignored. So now I’m wondering if I go the other way. Turn up with the worst possible car I can get my hands on. A car so comically shit it steals the show.
If you can help in either direction, please reply to this email or forward it onto someone who can.
As for the Car Pit, here’s what’s new this week:
Did you know that self-driving taxis have been on the streets of San Francisco for around two years? Not everyone’s happy about it. Here’s how vigilantes are fighting back against billion-dollar tech with a hilariously simple technique to disable the cars.
Also, the 2023 Formula 1 season has been almost entirely dominated by Red Bull. But what’s in store for 2024? Do you want to hear from a respected sports journalist? F1 expert? Tough! I’ve asked writer Hannah Mayjor - who has never watched a car race in her life - to make predictions based entirely on driver headshots.
“Verstappen looks like the kid sitting behind you on a long haul flight who keeps kicking your seat,” she writes about the current world championship leader.
And if you want to feed your short-form video addiction, here’s a new video “review” on the Car Pit’s Instagram.
Hopefully that’s enough to keep you distracted this morning. Have a lovely week and I’ll be in your inbox again next Monday.
Steph