This was my autopilot, point, and squirt car. Power steering, 1.5 V-Tec Turbo engine, street racing, luxury self-driving dream car. I was 21 when I was handed the keys.
If this car could tell secrets I would go straight to jail, but let me tell you that this gorgeous lady was my longest-serving love to date, and I only sold her cause I got knocked up.
I am still not sure if this is me or my best friend driving 😂😂 my car, my sunglasses, but is that my face?
From dicing my kitchen manager home at 2 am on the West Coast Road at 200km per hour to it somehow magically getting me home after many rough nights, this car was both a beast and my guardian angel.
Technically, an insurance write-off, my then-boyfriend bought the "wreck" from insurance for ZAR18k. IT only had 800 km on the clock. Some government moron got very drunk and wrapped it around a tree basically just after driving it off the showroom floor. As much of a doos as he was, my ex was an absolute genius with cars and had this baby restored to its original glory in no time. He had just successfully proposed to me after the 1st horrific attempt that he chickened out of, and getting him to hand over the keys to me was actually much easier than I could have imagined. When we broke up, all my belongings and cat fit perfectly inside, and honesty, that's all I left with. I often look back and wonder to myself if I should have taken him to court, but I was young and his family convinced me I was worthless. So off I drove with my black bags of clothes and my car.
I restarted my life with that car. Built myself up from scratch and had so many freedom moments in it. It was my first time ever being truly alone or single and looking back it always symbolizes the pure freedom I felt at the time. Heartache and abandonment too, but freedom above all.
If there were a place I could rate the BEST all round car ever, this car would be my 1st choice. An automatic with paddle shifters on the steering wheel if you felt like switching to manual, big fat tyres for extra road grip and a ridiculously powerful V-Tec engine, that if you knew how to work it, could have you leaving Audi's in the dust (which I did several times).
Matthew's dad and I even took it to a game farm. He managed to get it stuck in a ditch, with wheels spinning and no traction. I chased him out of the driver's seat to go talk to the rhinos and after a couple of well-timed revs of the accelerator, we were out in no time.
Many of my friends will tell you of joyrides to Rammstein, Marylin Manson, Nine Inch Nails and Rob Zombie and then sometimes some hard house too... you know, who can resist Sandstorm by Darude as you round your favourite bend at just the right time to slingshot out into beautiful open road at 180kmph and rising.
I will never forget that feeling and I will never forget her.