AUDI R8 - SUPERCAR EXPERIENCE 

This blog is dedicated to my friend Evan whos having an Audi r8.This is his side of the story which I m writing as a blog lets start this For me, growing up it was always family first. We really lived by that. Everything we did, almost everything we did was centered around the family and cars were a big part of that as well. So one sister, mom, and dad. So, cars weren't the center of the family, but it was definitely an integral part of what we did as a family. I drive a 2012 Audi R8. It's a V-8. A gated six-speed manual.

                                                                 

                                                     

It's referred to as a Gen One because it was the first generation of the R8. When it comes to hardware it has H& R coil-overs and a stainless Tubi exhaust. That's pretty much it on the hardware upgrades. Exterior It has the aftermarket honeycomb grill, carbon fiber canards in the front. It also has rocker panels that are in white, carbon fiber mirrors, and then, in the back, you have a carbon fiber rear diffuser. And, also, a carbon fiber rear spoiler, and then the OEM spoiler that was in white is also done in carbon fiber as well. Then, the interior is stock, except for a BFI heavyweight shift knob that I put in about a year ago. This car, my friend had for two years. It's been a lot of fun. I sort of wanted... I loved my nine eleven. I wish I could have kept that and also bought this and someday I'd like to get another Porsche. 

                                                           

But, this car really checks all the boxes for me. It's not gonna break the bank when it comes to service. The drivability, it's really a good drive. Obviously, it can go like that when you want to but it really just drives pretty much like a normal car. And the fact that you can take it to any Audi dealer in the country is a big benefit. And, so, when I was looking for that next car I actually talked to a bunch of people. I had a conversation with my nephew who is sort of a walking encyclopedia of cars. His name's Ethan, and I told him what I wanted and we narrowed it down to a few cars that would be all right really but this one, you know, checked all the boxes.I think it's a pretty neat story. My dad came to the US in 1955, he was 21 at the time. His family never owned a car in Italy. So, I imagine he got on the streets of New York after going through immigration... like, wow, imagine the cars in 1955. '55 Chevys or '55 Fords. My guess is he was pretty impressed because two years later he bought a '57 Ford Fairlane. You know, both of my grandparents on both sides, my mom's side, and my dad's side. Before them, none of them had a driver's license. None of them owned a car. So, my dad's really the first person in his family to own a car. So, to go from that, he became a real avid classic car collector. Mainly Fords. He started with a 1932 Model A Ford. That was the first car that I can remember him having as a weekend car. That was a really neat car. He had that for a good number of years. Took that to some national car shows. And, so that was really my first experience going to car shows, on the weekends.

                                                               

 Then, he started collecting1955, '56, and '57 Thunderbirds. I think '57 was his favorite, also my favorite. It had the removable hardtop with the porthole window. Most of these cars had V-8s, not super powerful or super fast but just really clean looking cars. And, he also then started collecting Mustangs. '65 all the way into the early '70s. In the heyday of his collection, he had 30 odd cars, 35 or so cars. He was a mushroom farmer, so we had a mushroom plant, a big warehouse, a garage where a mechanic fixed all their trucks and tractors. And, so that's where most of his cars were kept. Most of them weren't kept at home. We had a few that we kept in the garage at home. So, that was... It was fun. We worked there in the summers. Then, we'd go in and check out his latest barn find or whatever car he wanted to buy or was trying to track down. We had a joke about it. He was similar to Wayne Carini but just not chasing the big, high-end cars. It was normally chasing Mustangs and Thunderbirds. So, it was kind of fun. One of our old family stories, he was going to buy a Mustang. I think it was in the late '60s. And, waiting for him to bring it home, and he actually stopped to grab something for dinner on the way home and met someone and sold it. So, we never got to see the car. He bought it and sold it on the same day. So, that was... I think he liked, kind of the chase and the buying and selling and negotiating, which was so different than what he did for his everyday job at the mushroom farm. Yeah, I've been pretty fortunate. I've been in sales for 20 plus years. And, the last handful of years, I've had global roles. 

                                                                      

So, it's really been an opportunity for me to go to Europe and Asia, South America, even the Middle East for a trip. And, if I can I usually try to book a few day's vacations and do some car things. I'm normally by myself. So, I'll, you know, hit the car museum. I've done the Porsche factory tour. I've gone through the Porsche museum. I've done the Mercedes museum. We had a family vacation a few years ago in Italy. So, we made sure the trip included a day at the Ferrari museum. So, it's always... I've really been fortunate to either travel for work or travel on vacation and try to squeeze in at least a few cars. We did a west coast vacation, and we did the PetersonCar Museum as a family. So, it doesn't take up our whole vacation, but we try to sneak in some car attractions when we can. Yes, I think as my kids get older, I'm kind of looking forward to them, you know, starting a family. And, eventually, getting to the part where I got, where they're gonna bring in some nice cars. And, I'll be switching up to different cars and so I think it all goes full circle. 

                                                        

You know, I really believe in and live by family first, and make sure my wife and my four kids are safe and have what they want, and are doing well in school, or doing well in their careers, and working hard. And, doing this up, I try to make my dad and my mom proud every day. I think my kids are trying to do the same thing and make us proud as well. And, so I'm hoping I'm sort of passing on that legacy.  I don't know if it's really called a legacy (laughs). I've actually owned the car for two years, and it's been really fun to drive. I think one of the things that's surprising for me is younger kids really like it. I didn't realize this because I'm really too old for these video games, but there are some video games out there where the R8 is one of the cars you can pick. So, it's pretty common if I pull into a grocery store, Home Depot, or Lowe's it's the 15 and under crowd that will come over and wants to look at it and never saw one outside of their video game. So, it's been a real fun car to drive. People always want to talk about it, so it's great when I'm at the gas station or Walmart or really wherever I'm at I usually get to meet a lot of nice people in the area.  I'm Jim Filippini. I live in Wake Forest, North Carolina. I'm a real person, with a real story, with a real ride.  

                                                             

                                                     

CONCLUSION

If you hit the lottery, what car would you buy? - Wow, if I hit the lottery today, I'm not sure what. I guess I'd buy a few cars, but what car I would buy? I think Ferrari is top on my list. The 458 in particular. I think the lines are just so classic. I like Lamborghinis, but I think the Italian cars, I like. You know, the newer McLarens. I mean there's just so many nice cars. Like a 911 Turbo, I would love to have it in the garage. So, there are four or five cars I think I would like to have if I hit the lottery.