Super cars whatever the weather

IT MAY have been one of the dreichest days in memory, but Sunday saw a gathering of supercars in Aberdeen worth more than £4.5million.

The cars, including Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Aston Martins, were at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre as part of the Clannonball Run.

The event allowed lucky spectators to bid for a ride in one of the cars as they made their way to Balmoral Castle.

The car run was part of the UPprentice, a competition based on the Apprentice TV programme, which involves 15 north-east companies aiming to raise as much money as possible for cancer charity Clan.

The Clannonball Run was organised by Grampian Fasteners, which set up a team called No Black Cab.

Organiser and member of No Black Cab, Gary Henderson said: “How could we pick the wettest day that I can remember to run this event – especially after it had been a glorious day on Saturday?

“The owner of the Koenigsegg CCX had said that he wouldn’t bring the car in bad weather, but he was the first to arrive. Everyone really appreciated the opportunity to see and hear one of only a handful of this type of car in the world.

“The appearance of a Ferrari F50 was also the kind of sight that you’d only expect on a fine summer’s day. Seeing all of the cars lined up in front of Balmoral Castle was spectacular.”

No Black Cab put in a tremendous amount of organisation and managed to raise more than £3,000 for Clan through the UPprentice competition.

Gary added: “This is the first time that we’ve done anything like this and the feedback from both the drivers and passengers has inspired us to run it again. Clannonball Run 2010, anyone?”

One of the lucky passengers on the day, Stewart Maxwell from Cults, said: “After the ride in the Lotus 340R, I looked like I’d been swimming, but had a fantastic time nonetheless.”

Passenger Jamie Easton, from Aberdeen, said: “I was a passenger in an Aston Martin V8. What a car, what an absolutely fantastic car. The noise is just fantastic. The driver was a really great guy and true petrolhead.”

David Jackson, area organiser for the Ferrari Owners Club GB, took along one of his cars.

He said: “It was a great privilege for us to be involved with the Clannonball event.

“Although the weather was against us, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the drivers and passengers. It certainly dispels the theory that Ferraris only come out to play when it’s dry. Some of us almost floated back home, with one of the 360 Spiders finishing up being stranded in floodwater.

“All the Ferrari drivers had a great time and we look forward to participating in next year’s event – in the summertime please.”