Cars of Europe 2017

Being a Japan based blog, it is sometimes hard to explain why there is so much non-Japan related content.  We've been to SEMA, Formula Drift Long Beach, drove American Muscle, and so on.  But hey! There is life beyond digital realm and travel is not only one of my passions, but it's also part of my day job.

So here goes...  Being assigned to travel to Switzerland to attend some meetings I managed to to take a few days off to visit London and Paris as well 

Needless to say, the first thing that I packed was my camera.

And for good reasons, because even though I could not locate any unicorns, Switzerland was just beautiful, and despite its size the nation had a very diverse car culture.

Known as home for richest of the rich,

it had a surprisingly large population of American cars

How about this classic Chevy truck parked in front of a chocoloate factory in Versoix? Doesn't get more Swiss that this, does it?

Geneva was struck with amazing weather during my stay, which means no better time of year to take out the convertible classic, even if it means fitting  entire family out in  a two-seater.

Next stop: London.

Since it's far from being the first time, as I spent some time car-spotting there 2 years ago, I knew pretty much most of the spots.

Without wasting any time I went straight to Knightsbridge,

And boy, I was not disappointed,

As hiding behind this daily driven Aventador with scraped paint and a carbon front lip that seen better days

Was truly a sight for sore eyes:

The Bugatti Chiron!

With no known example in Tokyo, I couldn't even imagine encountering one so soon after production has started!

One last shot of the massive brakes that are required to bring this this 1600HP monster to a stop.

With all the excitement I forgot to photograph the Mansory Bentayga that was sitting behind the Chiron.

But at least I got a glimpse of the murdered out McLaren Mercedes SLR!

Later on, kids got out to play.  Couple of youngsters were revving the hell out of this Huracan much to the pleasure of the crowd of car spotters.  So much for unsocial driving ban...

Then this happened: Prior Design Mercedes Benz GLE63 AMG.  Perhaps I should just move on.

If you want real Mercedes SUV - this is the one!

If anybody remembers my London adventures from 2 years ago, they might have recalled a golden 458 Italia sitting in exactly the same corner.  Somehow it transformed into this.

It was also fantastic to see a perfectly modified R34 GTR roam the streets of British Capital!

 Soon the traffic got completely out of Control.

Best idea was to camp about 2 blocks away from Harrods, as you see the same cars, but at least they move around providing a perfect opportunity for panned shots.

 Loved the rims on this 435I!

And how about an Individual Color on this M5?  one of one?

Without a doubt, I was most impressed by number of Aventadors I got to see during my short stay in London!

 In various trims and variations,

I counted at least 10 in 2 days of car spotting!

I knew I was done however, when I saw this:  A buick POS with a big underpowered V8 and a taped up sunroof.  Must have failed the ultimate British Weather test.

Moving on to our last stop: Paris, and although I didn't have much time for cars, because, well, there is just so much to see and eat that cars take the back seat (pun intended),

but what I saw exceeded expectations!

Because, come to think about it, Paris is probably worlds worst city to drive in, and while its public transport system isn't much to write about home either, an overpowered exotic is not the way to travel that comes to mind,

yet the owners of these cars meticulously take them out despite questionable driving habits, no lane markings, and horrible pavement quality. but much to the pleasure of guys like myself

For that reason the Parisian super car owners are true heroes!  Salut!

This concludes our Europe Car Spotting feature as we return to Tokyo to attend the Motor Show!
Please check back soon for multiple features, but before you close this browser session don't forget to scroll down below for more photos of some of the amazing cars I saw in Europe!