Christian Williams spends his life behind the wheel of a supercar as he dashes across the UK and Europe surprising people with the car of their dreams for BOTB.
In the latest instalment of his motoring column, the DJ and presenter has an embarrassing moment on the Isle of Wight.
Scroll through the gallery of pictures above to see more of what Christian has been up to this summer...
Come on, let’s get the laughs out of the way early on, says Christian.
It doesn’t matter if you have the most saintly spirit or you’ve got a bit of devil in ya, everyone loves to have a giggle if they see someone in a sports car sat on the side of the road with their head in their hands.
Christian Williams onstage at the British F1 Grand Prix earlier this summer.
It doesn’t really matter what sort of car it is, or what age it is, as long as it looks pretty flash and it’s in some kind of distress.
You know, you drive past with a little chuckle thinking ‘they’re properly in the poo’ while crossing your fingers you get through your own journey unscathed.
So imagine the scene: here I am, showing off my Ferrari 458 by razzing down to the ferry port to collect my uncle.
The sun is blazing and the roof is down. It couldn’t be more perfect.
In fact, if I’m honest, these are the days I bought it for — blue sky, wind in your hair, life-is-good-V8-moments you need to cherish.
Apart from when I went to put the roof back up it stopped halfway…the canvas sticking up three feet in the air like a giant windbreak.
The funny glances started immediately as I wrestled with dozens of flashing lights and notifications all saying ‘return to dealer immediately’.
They may as well have flashed a handful of pound signs or automatically deducted thousands from my bank account, such is the nature of any Ferrari repairs.
And with the dealer back in London naturally, the thought of a weekend with the roof pointing skyward didn’t encourage good thoughts.
Yet despite my obvious embarrassment thankfully lots of people at the port were either offering help or advice, admittedly along with wide smirks.
The natural temptation in these instances, of course, is to adopt a brute-force approach, but brute force and supercars are uncomfortable bedfellows, however… after disconnecting and reconnecting the battery didn’t work, my Dad did give the roof a persuading ‘nudge’ and it went back down. The car wasn’t happy, but at least we could drive away from the growing crowd with a modicum of dignity!
It did, though, make me think back to the days when I used to drive around the Isle of Wight in my old MX-5 as a relatively new driver…halcyon days where the car and the fuel cost next to nothing!
For regardless of the marque, or the price, there’s something deeply powerful about driving a car with the roof down.
It’s like everything comes to life — the engine, the steering, the scenery, the senses.
It’s the perfect way to connect the driver with the machine and there’s plenty of convertibles about to tempt you.
Maybe I’m biased but the new MX-5 still retains that very essence of the seat-of-your-pants top-down drive, albeit with plenty more comfort than I had 20 years ago.
The new soft-top variants showcase some incredible colour combinations and I’m sorely tempted to get back in the saddle.
If you’ve got a bit more cash to hand, the Porsche Boxster GTS is a beast of a car.
The four-litre engine, planted firmly in the middle, has plenty of grunt and can propel you from 0-60mph in around four seconds.
The Boxster has been around for 25 years now and is the embodiment of unbridled driving pleasure; this latest version putting the cherry on top of a really stunning cake.
Christian Williams says the LaFerrari Aperta is a great choice if money is no object.
As for ‘dream’ convertibles, if money was no object (and when you Google the price you’ll realise that money has to be no object for this purchase) you should look no further than the V12 LaFerrari Aperta.
Words fail me when talking about this car other than it’s simply the most beautiful creation every to grace the tarmac.
And thankfully it has a carbon hard top to avoid any embarrassing moments other Ferrari drivers may have!
So, if you’re driving around on the Isle of Wight and you see someone driving with the roof down, give them a thumbs up because no matter what car they are in, they will be having a lot of fun... Unless they are on the side of the road with the roof stuck up.
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