prindiville-luxury-cars-blog

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

Some old dogs don’t need new tricks

Right now the Geneva Motor Show is in full swing. Already it has been packed with stunning supercar debuts – Ferrari 488 GTB, Lamborghini Aventador SV, McLaren P1 GTR and 675 Lt, Aston Martin Vulcan, DBX and Vantage GT3 racer, Koenigsegg Regera, new Audi R8, and Porsche Cayman GT4 and 911 GT3 RS. No doubt about it, these are good times. Great times. Fantastic times.

And yet, down here at the Prindiville showroom on the edge of Shoreditch and the City of London, the recent arrival of a couple of ‘old timers’ created just as much of a neck-swivelling stir. Two of the poster children of the 1980s turned up on our doorstep and the local area ground to a dumbstruck halt.

White Lamborghini Countach. Red Ferrari Testarossa. Old cars, certainly, but still massively charismatic. Still jaw-dropping in an age where we sort of assume that we’ve seen it all. The crowds on the street outside comprised those who were youngsters at the time this iconic pair were forging life-long fantasies and still yearned to own one, through to youngsters brought up on computer driving games who could nevertheless appreciate ‘super’ when they saw it.

As we closed the showroom doors and the crowd reluctantly dispersed, the Prindiville team enjoyed a private smile – we’re forever being fed the line that the newest is the best (and sometimes that’s very true), but our experience shows that with certain cars, age is absolutely no barrier to their desirability.

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

GHOST IN THE MACHINE

The ex-Senna Toleman-Hart causes goosebumps in Prindiville’s London showroom

‘I don’t believe in the paranormal,’ confesses Prindiville’s founder, Alex Prindiville, ‘but sometimes when I’m working in our London showroom late at night I feel a presence, a change in the atmospherics of the room.

‘This only started happening after we took delivery of the ex-Ayrton Senna Toleman-Hart F1 car that we’re selling on behalf of its owners. It’s not a spooky feeling, but I definitely get the sensation that I’m not alone. Then again, perhaps the goosebumps are simply because I know what a fantastic history this car has, and its ultimate association with one of motorsport’s great heroes and great tragedies.���

The ex-Senna Toleman-Hart TG184-2 is currently on sale at Prindiville for £1million. With a proven provenance, this is the car in which the gifted Brazilian, during his rookie season in Formula One and his first time on the Monaco Grand Prix street circuit, so very nearly won the 1984 event in dismal conditions, despite starting 13th on the grid.

For the Monaco Grand Prix in 1984 the rain was so heavy that the street circuit had more in common with a water park than a race track. The Toleman-Hart was a good race car, but was up against formidable opposition – McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, Renault, Williams, Brabham, Ligier and illustrious others. And while Senna’s talents were becoming more defined with each race of his debut season, on that day he was trailing the big guns of F1 – Prost, Lauda, Mansell, Piquet, Arnoux, Tambay, and Rosberg, to name but a few.

Yet heroically and almost unbelievably, by lap 32 of the waterlogged race Senna was ahead of all his rivals, including race leader Prost. At which point the race was stopped and Senna believed he had won. A controversial decision to base the final race placings on the lap prior the red flag meant that Senna’s victory was immediately ripped from his grasp: was a bitter moment.

However, Senna’s charge through the pack in such treacherous conditions was one of the defining moments of his career, marking out the Brazilian as a maestro of the wet and the elevating the Toleman-Hart from a position of underdog to ‘must watch’.

This iconic piece of Senna’s Formula One heritage can be viewed by appointment at Prindiville’s London showroom on the edge of the City of London. Previous owners of the Toleman include ex-F1 star Stefan Johansson; the Swede also raced this car during 1984 when he was for a short time Senna’s team-mate. The Toleman is in exceptional condition, retains the general livery from Senna’s epic Monaco drive, and comes complete with a thick history file and a full set of studio photographs.

Before use by a new owner the Toleman-Hart will require re-commissioning: this work is included within the purchase price of the car.

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

When men were heroes

This Sunday saw the start of the 2015 Formula one season, which kicked off with the Australian Grand Prix: it turned out to be an easy win for the defending F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton. During F1’s short winter, the teams were frantically upgrading the technology of their cars using scores of technicians and computers costing tens of millions of pounds. But while there’s definitely been more exciting racing over the past two or three years, it’s the tech boys and the size of a team’s budget that determines which drivers are at the front of the grid.

To a degree it has ever been thus. But 20 years or so ago, a truly outstanding driver could overcome such disadvantages and stick an ‘underdog’ car at the pointy end of the podium.

At Prindiville we’ve been musing on how things have changed in F1, inspired by the arrival in our showroom of an ex-Ayrton Senna Toleman-Hart 184-02 grand prix car. This is the car in which the Brazilian prodigy famously almost stole the win at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix during his very first season in F1.

Monaco was wet that year. Sodden. Roads streaming like waterfalls. And while Senna’s Toleman was a good racing car, it was very much overshadowed by rivals Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, Renault, Lotus and more. And Senna was racing against legends: Prost, Mansell, Rosberg, Lauda, Piquet, Arnoux, Tambay. To make matters worse, he started 13th on the grid.

But because of his prodigious driving skills – and not a bunch of clever electronics – Senna was able to battle his way through the spray, picking off F1’s finest lap after lap, until on lap 32 he passed Prost and splashed into the lead.

At this point the race was stopped and although Senna went on to conduct a victory lap, the race officials decided that final positions would be based on how things stood at the end of the previous, fully completed lap. So a bitter and angry Senna had to settle for second place.

Look into the Toleman’s tiny cockpit today and you get a sense of how it genuinely was the driver that made all the difference. Modern F1 cars have more buttons and lights and dials than the bridge on the Starship Enterprise, but in Senna’s workplace there are a scant smattering of old fashioned dials, some crude mechanical levers, and a wooden gearknob for the manual five-speed gearbox. In here the driver does everything, there are no electronics to lend a helping hand.

What makes Senna’s achievement all the more impressive during that bitter-sweet 1984 Monaco Grand Prix is the fact the Toleman-Hart was running more than 1000bhp and the turbo-lag in that era was epically unpredictable, especially when you had to use your brain, and not a microchip, to stay on top of it.

So whie we’re raising a glass to the victor of the Australian Grand Prix and the great team effort that took him past the chequered flag first, we’ll also be thinking about Senna’s car in our showroom and a breed of racing drivers who had to do it all for themselves.

Ayrton Senna’s famous Toleman-Hart TG 84-02 is currently for sale through Prindiville. Please look at our Cars for Sale section for more details, or call us on 020 7624 2911 to chat with us about it.

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

Events Charter - Prindiville

Britain’s sporting and social calendar is packed with world-class events, and Prindiville Luxury Events Charter can transport you to the best of them in unparalleled style. Our luxury aircraft – both fixed-wing and helicopter – will whisk you in and out of the events with minimal hassle and maximum comfort.

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/events-charter/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

Popular Charter Destinations - Prindiville

Prindiville Private Aviation Charter provides competitive prices and excellent service to and from numerous UK and European destination

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/popular-charter-destinations/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

Private jet charter - Prindiville

As increasing numbers of the business community turn to private jet charter for their pan-European travel requirements, Prindiville Private Air Charter is on hand to expedite their flight plans

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/jet-charter/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

Helicopter Charter

Prindiville Private Air Charter’s helicopter fleet includes some of the finest rotary-winged aircraft in the business

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/helicopter-charter/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

Prindiville - Private Aviation Charter

Whether you’re looking to fly by helicopter or executive jet, Prindiville Private Air Charter will ensure your airborne experience is of the highest quality and tailored to your specific needs.

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/aviation-charter/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

Already one of the world’s most accomplished luxury cars, the Range Rover Vogue for hire in London attains extra stature when equipped with the added opulence of the Autobiography interior package

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/range-rover-vogue-5-0-sc/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

Range Rover Sport for hire in London is ready for duty as a luxurious family steed or an imposing executive express

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/range-rover-sport-3-0-tdv6/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

The iconic style of the Evoque is renowned. The Range Rover Evoque for hire in London has the modern trendy looks of an urban warrior

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/range-rover-evoque-for-hire/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

Possessed of all the rugged off-road ability that has made Land Rover famous, the Range Rover Sport for hire in London also shines on-road

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/range-rover-sports-for-hire/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

Thanks to its spacious interior, the Range Rover Vogue 4 for hire in London has a commanding driving position, effortless performance and gorgeously appointed interior,

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/range-rover-vogue-4-4-tdv8-2013/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

A style icon from the moment it was launched, the Range Rover Evoque luxury SUV for hire has the modern trendy looks of an urban warrior.

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/range-rover-evoque-5dr/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

BMW’s X3 for hire in London exudes the class and dynamic ability that infuses all the German giant’s cars. Well equipped and stylishly appointed.

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/bmw-x3/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

Prindiville 4X4 car hire fleet Mercedes G63 AMG with twin-turbo V8 engine for hire in London.

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/mercedes-g63-amg/

[prindiville-luxury-cars-blog]

All the highly desirable attributes of one of the world’s most accomplished luxury saloons this Mercedes Benz S350 for hire London.

http://www.prindiville.co.uk/mercedes-s350-2014/