“Chippenham, Wiltshire!” he radiates. “Every time they ask me how long it took me to get to a meeting here in the southeast, I say ‘two hours’.”
“That’s why they call him Two O’Clock Pete,” another member helpfully chimes in.
Behind every successful automobile club is a strong group of dedicated enthusiasts; people ready to give their time to organize meetings, maintain the club’s website and maintain the flame. Although he does not thank me for saying so and insists that the club has no hierarchy, John Wildey is one of those people that the AOCSSH depends on. His passion for Abarth is evident. He’s done no less than 84,000 miles in his 595 Competizione, which he bought new in 2018, and I have the good authority of someone unrelated to the club that he drives it about ten tenths wherever he goes. “Every day I arrive at work, he’s right behind me, pressing the accelerator so I can hear the exhaust,” they say, eyes rolling.
His previous car was an old Peugeot 306 GTI-6, which he drove until it broke down. “I wanted an underdog like him, that’s how I bought my 595,” he says. He says the aim of the club is to help other Abarth owners become friends, to show them what kind of mods are possible (most Abarths here are mapped) and, above all, to help maintain the passion members for their cars. In these digitally distant times, I can’t argue with all of this.
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-06-18 23:01:23