Its been a long time coming! (pics to follow)

[Tilly]

I apologise there're no pics yet ive literally just got home and as you can imagine at this time of night it isnt the best lighting for pics

All I can say is wow! It's been a real struggle getting here but boy was it worth it. Since the original "delivery date" of 10th April I've had nothing but delay after delay and excuse after excuse from the dealer but what it all came down to is Lombard (who the previous owner had financed the car with) proved to be extremely slow, painful and quite frankly, useless!

I was promised alsorts and how it'll be delivered here and you'll have it by then etc etc and it never happened. To say it took the excitement away was an understatement. I was promised the car today but it was something I'd heard before so I wasn't holding my breathe and on a Friday we shut at 5 PM so I was extremely disheartened.

At about four I heard the unmistakeable sound of a V8 roaring behind me, my eyes lit up and I span rond to look out of the window, I was nearly sick when I saw it was an R8 pulling onto the carpark with the same 4.2 FSi V8. By this time I was ready for raging at the dealer and telling him to forget it and I'd find another car out of spite and as I sat and looked out of the window pondering I heard another sweet sounding engine note and I was thinking hmmm... is it or isnt it... something didn't seem right though and I couldn't put my finger on it until all was made clear when a white GTC showed up. At half four there was still no sign some 15 days and several promises later and I thought all was lost.

Luckily at quarter to five I got a phone call asking for directions (the place where i work isnt the easiest to find with sat nav) and he was only a mile away, it was looking promising! I ran outside ready to flag him down and caught a flash of the xenons as he spotted me, fantastic! I was p*ssed off at all the delays and was in quite a bad mood as you can imagine but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't help but grin like a cheshire cat to all my workmates amusements who were all previously more excited than I was after being let down so much.

I had a quick check round the car and I was more than happy, not a single mark on it, the interior is immaculate, carbon dash trims and everything were spot on. The wheels like new with the gleaming two piece drilled discs and gallardo brembos eyeing me up from the inside

I jumped in, clutch down, engine start button pressed and then the sound of heaven followed (after a quick complimentary press of the S button of course) I suppose there was one good thing about the car arriving so late.... at least the engine was already warmed up for the run home!!! I felt a bit silly as all my mates waited behind at work purely to have a quick nosey and watch me set off which could've been quite embarassing after being in an auto for two years and then jumping back into a manual car which coincidentally had a power output that was an annogram of the mercs mere 145 hp but I didn't stall LMAO!

The car itself doesn't feel fast purely because of the power delivery of the V8. It's nothing like a jap motor that feels like you're about to lose your stomach out of your ass as it kicks you back but damn, look at the dials and you KNOW that thing can move, you're at 60 in the blink of an eye and you've hit the national limit on dual carriageways in 2nd gear alone as it revs to the 8,250 rpm limiter although you'd have sworn it was revving nowhere near that with the deep rumble that can be very deceiving.

For a performance car although its not light, in comparison to other big motors it is; the clutch pedal is so much more manageable although someones definitely put some kangaroo juice in my tank lol I'll get used to it in a day or two I'm sure!

I think I have definitely made the right choice and the car is so suited to me, the handling is quite heavy but planted none-the-less, the car is quick without feeling like a rockets gone off up your ass so your driving style is much more calm and composed, I like that. And the toys are all good fun. There are very few motors that I will say I like the interior of but this, I cnt fault. Everything is so well built down to the little flicky up fag lighter mechanism not that I'll use it! And the cupholders which're much better than the mercs! Silly little things but they all add to the feel of a car, its not all about go but the comfort and ease aswell.

The logbook went off today along with the reg docs so I should have the plate on shortly and I'll be calling the insurance in a few days to get a quote on adding wibdow tints similar to what I had on the merc. I'm really lost for words and I used to love the E46 M3 for all its little touches, the tri coloured stitching, the driving position, the door sills etc but I have to to say... In the RS I truly feel at home. I'll get some pics up at the earliest opportunity I can when the weather is nice and its cleaned up but or now, thank you and goodnight!

[dazzer]

Nice one I felt like I was there with you. Now you have left the dark side your life must be truly complete.

[grizz]

Well done , some pics pls and you better come to the next north west pub meet. grizz

[Dom81]

Well done Tilly - don't expect to hear from you for a while now!

[jimbo1234567]

nice one tilly ,what colour do we need to look out for. bet you feel like a dog with 2 dicks at the moment

[Tilly]

Heya! unfortunately I can't avoid work lol!!! It's a black saloon, currently on an 06 but my plates should be on shortly. It still feels quite surreal that I've finally got one and the reactions I get on the road are far different to the merc, people are always pulling over to let you past when you're not even trying to overtake or driving quickly and every man and his dog flashing and I've not a clue who they are!

[Tilly]

Im really really sorry guys I keep saying I'll get pics but to be honest I can't stop driving and it just gets too dark so my plans go arse over tit! (I cant find my camera cable anyways so that's a good enough excuse) but never the less... While I'm at work I had two secs to take a quick snap on my phone, I know the quality is sh*te but you get the idea plus get to see another blood relative while we're at it. I will wash it again and get some proper shots of it at some point soon I'm sure although I may wait til I've sorted my reg and privacy! But for now:

[tartan_rob]

Congrats. You say you get loads of looks..? I get hardly any. I think in black the car looks deceptively like a std car. Having said that, those that know, know and those that don't, don't. For me that is good and very understated, the insurance company charging me £450 odd would tend to agree.

Have fun.

[jimbo1234567]

wtf is that pink thing????????????????????????????????????????????

[jimbo1234567]

i think its an mr2

[Virdee Autos]

First time I've seen colour coded "side blades"...

[Dom81]

It's the rinkydink panther!

[Tilly]

Yeah it is an unusual spec, the more I look at it the more it grows on me. I'm sat looking out the window now and it give the effect that the back end is taller than it is rather than being a sleek low sportscar but when I think about it, being red is unique and I like that but its a catch 22 IMO because personally as much as I love carbon I think borth carbon or silver sideblades would both look to put it bluntly w*nk because it would give a sort of joy boy effect and take away the class of the car. I have to apologise for the picture being rather pink, its my camera phone!! But the car is quite nice really... honest lol

[Dom81]

Oh it's red - not so bad after all (but still not my bag...)