I went out with a driving group named Malibu Autobahn last Sunday. There was first a two hour gathering in the parking lot of a shopping center in Agoura. Then an hour and a half drive through the Santa Monica mountains through Thousand Oaks and Camarillo out to Pacific Coast Highway out to the beach and back to Zuma where a follow up gathering took place. Besides the dozen or so Lamborghinis, and about the same number of McLarens, there were several Ferraris, and half a dozen F-types inluding a beautiful black on black SVR convertible. The young man who owned the SVR came up to me to tell me his dad had a Pantera that looked like mine when he was a teenager growing up in Virginia. Just moments later his dad showed up in his McLaren. Though I've had my Pantera back from restoration/modification for about a year now, I haven't really "opened" her up yet as there have been some issues that have made me nervous about doing so. Combine that with 3 surgeries over the past couple of months, and I just haven't tested the big cat yet. Well, Sunday, that changed. We took some incredible back mountain roads at some ridiculous speeds (with some idiots doing crazy, dangerous stuff), and while I wasn't willing to do nutty things, I did get a chance to do some high speed acceleration runs and get through all five gears at speed. Lot of nerve wracking fun. In the cool 45*F early morning air, the engine and fuel injection were eager to run, no vapor lock issues as when it gets hot sometimes, and roaring so loudly that cars half a mile behind me came up when we stopped to tell me they could hear the roar from their places in the 200 car lineup well behind me.

Afterwards., me and a friend went to lunch at Paradise Cove Cafe on the sand in Malibu, drove back over the mountains to the San Fernando Valley without incident and had a great day to usher in the New Year. Any Jag forum members interested in some great organized driving and showcase events that are in Southern California ought to sign up to receive their information. They are free events, generally preceded by a terrific car show gathering. Lots of fun.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

End of Malibu Autobahn Driving event last Sunday.

 

The Pantera looks great. Glad to hear you got to stretch its legs a bit. Happy New Year!