Fast Finns
Chapter 2 of my trip to Finland - with the really important toys.
Thanks Malcolm for sorting out the technology.
As I was saying…
I travelled to the Concours at Turku in style. My new friend Harri arranged for me to be picked up from the Klaus K hotel in Helsinki early on the Sunday morning. The Klauis K is a ‘designer’ hotel - which basically means it relies on style over comfort.. Shame this hotel’s owners don’t realise that business travellers like a) a comfy bed, b) lots of hot water in a bath, c)a decent bar and d) a decent easily accessible breakfast… Oh - and lighting that is easy to operate in the room!
I was up bright and early on Sunday wondering what wonderful vehicle I would be whisked off to Turku in when…
 … a Porsche Cayman arrived.
Not wishing to be considered ungrateful I smiled and said ‘Lovely car’ but thinking - ‘Oh no - a Porsche’. Turku is a two and a half hour drive from Helsinki along some pretty open roads and we made good time for an hour, until my friend Jan declared it was time for coffee and wait for ‘the others’.
It was not long before three magnificent cars growled into the carpark alongside the Porsche, all owned by one family. A Lamborghini Countach and two Ferraris.
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Remember Jeremy Clarkson squeezing into the Countach? well i can confirm the tightness of the fit - and I’m short of JC by a good three inches.
The choice: stay with Jan in the porker; ride with Mikhael in the Countach; or ride in the red Ferrari 308 with Mikhael’s young sister Amelia - now call me a red blooded, middle aged letch if you will, but there was no contest!
Watch the video and tell me you wouldn’t have done the same.
And yes, we were pulled over by the fuzz. But Finnish fuzz are pretty friendly - unlike US cops who would have shot me for taking their photo.
The Concours was great - I met Harri who introduced me around to various people - including Finland’s answer to Clarkson, but with less hair. Jussi Halli presents a programme called Ajonuevos, if you click on the link you will be able to watch episodes of the programme - which are great!
At the show I saw some cars I had never seen before, like this beautiful Renault Alpine
This Mercedes was one of my favourites
There were plenty of humbler cars too - like these Saabs
The show was all too early over. Harri gave me a lift back to Helsinki in his lovely V8 OI. On the way he showed me a DVD of Ajoneuvos in which Jussi had featured his car. How bizarre to sit in a car and watch that very car on a TV programme…
Watch the video and you will see what I mean. We drove in convoy with the Lambo and two Ferraris - and every now and then would play at ‘leader of the pack’. This time avoiding the attention of two-wheeled plod.
It was a lovely day and I feel that I made some really good friends among the Fast Finns.
Chop Chop..
From speedy toys to a very dextrous one - on the last day of my trip I visited the plant of UPM paper, and took a trip into the woods to see them harveting trees for the mill - check this video out.