As this will be my final Blog for 2012, I have decided to take the opportunity to recap and summarize my year with supercars.  As much as things change, at least in my garage, the core pillars remain the same. The Ferrari F40 & F50 are parked exactly where they were when the year started.  The Jaguar XJR-15 also occupies the same garage slot.  After those three, there have been quite a few changes.  A Ferrari 430 Scuderia is now nestled in between the XJR-15 and F50.  The Scuderia has been a brilliant new arrival that is always hugely engaging to drive.  My only regret now was not buying a Scuderia earlier.

The 1st half of 2012 marked the departure of the Audi A8 and Koenigsegg.  All of my friends told me I was crazy to buy the K'egg, that it would be nothing but trouble, and a hateful ownership experience.  They were all wrong.  I quite enjoyed my time with the Swedish Supercar and never had a single issue with it.  The Koenigsegg is different, it is quirky, and if you can, owning one once deserves a spot on the bucket list.  A Ferrari 612 joined the stable for a few months.  The 612 is a great GT and it would still be around if a friend had not approached me about acquiring the V12 continent crusher.  This was around the same time that we had decided to trade one of the RHD cars in for a LHD for use on the far side of the English Channel (more on this later) so parting with the 612 made sense.  The final departure of 2012 was the great Mosler MT 900S.  While my name is still technically on the V5, hopefully it will find a good new home soon. 

Cars that I came close to buying this year but did not include a Ferrari Enzo, K'egg CCXR and a Ferrari 430 Spider.  The deal on the Enzo fizzled after a discovered it had a "colorful" engine history.  Longer term the Enzo is still definitley on he bucket list.

In major Supercar news, more details have emerged on Ferrari's next limited edition Supercar and it looks like to could be another game changer.  The new Ferrari F12 is brilliant but everything I am hearing indicates that the new Enzo/F70 blows it into the weeds.  McLaren unveiled the P1 right on schedule.  From the pictures I have seen it looks hugely desirable.  I sadly missed my one opportunity to see it up close in all of its carbon fiber glory when a meeting ran long.  I did finally get a ride in the MP4-12c but still have not driven one yet.  At least test driving the 12c Spider needs to be on the 2013 “to do” list.  I am still not sold on the Porsche 918, it looks to be far too heavy on the tech and light on emotion.  Let’s hope it is closer to the Carrera GT than the 959 when development is finished.  Finally Jaguar’s new supercar project disappeared with the same lack of general interest that its initial announcement gathered.  Trying to build a million £ car around a 1.6 liter four cylinder engine was badly misguided from the start.  The good news on the Jaguar supercar front though is after 20 years, the XJ220 seems to finally getting the respect it deserves.

Going back to my earlier comment on the LHD Ferrari for use on the continent, I finally saw a few great cars last week.  I have asked to have one put through a detailed pre purchase inspection and if it passes, an offer will be put on the table shortly.  Unlikely that this is all wrapped up before January but things are now moving forward smartly.  One complication, I got an email from a good friend and serial car collector last night regarding a mint LHD McLaren 12c that will be for sale privately in the next few weeks so we now have one more unexpected option under consideration.

A very Happy Christmas to all and safe driving in 2013.

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