GUMBALL 3000 HITS MANCHESTER – PHOTOGRAPHY 

“A Vivid team outing!”

Karl and Helen Hartey driving their Jaguar F Type at Gumball 3000

Karl and Helen Hartey driving their Jaguar F Type at Gumball 3000

I only found out about Gumball 3000 hitting Manchester on June 8th a couple of days before the event. Anthony, my 6 year old loves cars. I suppose most lads do. So I promised him on the way back from visiting friends we’d call in at the City of Manchester Stadium to have a look. As it turns out we bumped into Glen and his family as he’d had a similar idea.

Lamborghini Gallardo at Gumball 3000 Manchester

Lamborghini Gallardo at Gumball 3000 Manchester

Apologies at this point for the photo quality, I only had with me a trusty little Panasonic point and shoot compact, as to be honest the forecast was for heavy rain and didn’t think we would actually go.

For those that don’t know what the Gumball 3000 is, think back to the Canonball Run films from the 80’s. Lots of fast cars, drivers having fun and big crowds following them. The route changes each year but they cover 3000 miles. This year it’s Miami to Ibiza. Did I mention the entrance fee? This year only £40,000!

Team 46 Bugatti Veyron at Gumball 3000, Manchester 2014

Team 46 Bugatti Veyron at Gumball 3000, Manchester 2014

Anthony’s favourite car is the Bugatti Veyron and costing over £1m you don’t normally see them. When one turned up, he had a smile from ear to ear.

There are often a few celebrities that enter the Gumball, this year Jonathan Ross turned up in Manchester in a Lamborghini Gallardo he hired especially for the race. He’d just collected it from Edinburgh where he stalled it and it took him 30 minutes to figure out how to get it started again…oh well!

Jonathan Ross in a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder

Jonathan Ross in a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder

Another firm favourite amongst the crowds and certainly those that remember the 80’s was Team 37 a Dodge Challenger, painted like the ‘General Lee’ complete with a Dukes of Hazard air horn. Geek Fact – The original General Lee was in fact a Dodge Charger but the new Challenger looks more like the old Charger.

Team 37 Dodge Challenger 'General Lee'

Team 37 Dodge Challenger ‘General Lee’

It’s not just the new Supercars that enter Gumball, check out Team 40 in their 1963 Jaguar Mk2…with a few modifications under the bonnet!

Team 40 - 1963 Jaguar mk2 in the Gumball 3000

Team 40 – 1963 Jaguar mk2 in the Gumball 3000

There was also this monster of a truck that was entered by Team 63, it was recently featured on Top Gear and is a Brabus Super G 700 6×6! It was a real crowd pleaser due to its shear size and noise from the engine. All these cars love to rev their engines!

Brabus Super G 700 6x6 Gumball 3000

Brabus Super G 700 6×6 Gumball 3000

There were many other cars that turned up on the day that weren’t actual entries in the Gumball, some of which were absolute classics. Here’s a few of our favourites.

A stunning bright orange BMW 3.0 CSL

Bright orange BMW 3.0 CSL at Gumball 3000 Manchester

Bright orange BMW 3.0 CSL at Gumball 3000 Manchester

2 for the price of one next. Two of original batch of new breed Super Cars, the Ferrari F40 and the Jaguar XJ220 parked next to each other! You don’t see that every day.

Ferrari F40 and Jaguar XJ220 together

Ferrari F40 and Jaguar XJ220 together

Last is a car that to be honest I was unfamiliar with, it was Glen that knew what it was. It’s a Ultima GTR, the quickest accelerating and decelerating super car of all time. Multiple world record holder and general all-round speed machine.

Ultima GTR at City of Manchester Stadium - Gumball 3000

Ultima GTR at City of Manchester Stadium – Gumball 3000

After seeing a few tasty cars me and Glen thought we’d pick our Top 5 cars that we’d like to own.

Glen’s Top 5 Cars would be:

  1. Jaguar D Type
  2. Jaguar E Type
  3. Dodge Challenger, old & new
  4. Corvette Stingray (early 70’s)
  5. Ferrari 308GTS

Mine would contain a few a little more modern I think;

  1. Lamborghini Aventador LP700
  2. ’66 Shelby Cobra
  3. Ferrari 458 Italia
  4. Porsche 911 GT2
  5. Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

I hope you enjoyed this quick blog and some of the cars on show. If anyone would like to put up the entrance fee and a car for next year, the Vivid boys would be glad to participate! We’d make you a video.