We live directly across the street from the Ferrari, Lambo, Maserati, Lotus, etc., dealership. Just beyond this store is my Porsche mechanic with at least a dozen Porsches at his shop at any given time. Supercars & wannabes are a daily occurrence on the street around here. On the other hand, never have I seen a rolling FGT in the entire state.
Despite the fact that there were a few thousand produced. I can hardly think of any contemporary car with rarer sightings...and certainly with more passionate reactions. On Thanksgiving, my wife & I decided to take advantage of the light holiday traffic and drive to the North Shore to have breakfast and catch the Triple Crown of Surfing. Everywhere we stopped the usual crowds gathered and as we drove the big thumbs up (and of course shakas) and camera phones pointed in our direction. As we made our journey along the coastline, enjoying the scenery and open roads; we stopped at this particulary scenic and somewhat isolated spot to take in the views and snap a couple photos. Off in the distance, we saw this man down the beach a ways waving his arms frantically trotting towards us. Long story short, this gentleman in his late 50s with only his bathing trunks and camera on was visiting from the UK. He shared with us that the last time he saw a GT40 was in the 60s and that he told his friend (whom he left far behind on the beach) that ours was the real McCoy and not a kit car. I think he snapped out the rest of his film roll and his smiles were from ear to ear.
I recall a couple comments made by wife during our drive: "Is this what it's kind of like being a celebrity?" and "You make so many people happy and bring back such fond memories."
I drive the FGT as often as possible, first and foremost, as it brings me such great enjoyment. If there ever was a car that was meant to be DRIVEN, This Is The One. Second, as it brings as much joy to others as it does me.
So, whether you adore yours as a garage queen that never sees the light of day like EP's or you delight in your daily driver; to each his own and we're just fortunate to be able to call it our own. And at the end of the day, and that end will be somewhat different for each of us, if our FGTs have appreciated a bit - then what a bonus on top of an incredible ownership experience!
