Why this one?
When I left home in 1978 I moved into a cottage with a load of mates in Colnbrook. The landlord had a blue 1974 GT4, I fell in love. At the time I worked in a tyre and exhaust depot in Beaconsfield called Broadway Tyres, my landlord asked if I could get tyres for his car. I set up the appointment and we drove over to the depot. Initially I was not impressed, he had to change gear by missing out 2nd, the car felt strangely slow, he explained that all Ferraris were like that until the engines and gearboxes warmed up.... which of course they did :)
Sometime later he floored it, and from that day until the 25th November 2004 I have always wanted a 308GT4 Dino.
Just like it's predecessor before it, my new car was bought as a case of work in progress. I am not one to just buy something and leave it to someone else to keep it going - NO Way!! This car was bought specifically to restore.
The business case for buying my Ferrari was simple, the Spitfire was only a two seater and the GT4 is a 4 seater, therefore I can take and collect the kids to/from school whilst still leaving the 7 seater Discovery for my wife to use.
I spent many months looking for a suitable car, and it is surprising just how hard it is to prise information from potential sellers when looking...
Eventually I found UYR 4S, I did attempt to haggle on the price but was informed that even the number plate was valuable (YOUR ARSE). The owner said that the car once belonged to the legendary stand-up comedian Billy Connolly and "your arse" still being his catch phrase.
(However, I later found out from his company, Tickety-Boo.com that Billy never owned a Ferrari :()