We’re excited to graduate from four wheels and take to the supercar of the skies with Cirrus Aircraft UK. As the recognised global leader since 1984 in personal aviation, Cirrus Aircraft have delivered innovations that have redefined performance, comfort and safety within the industry.
"Having met SCD member and Cirrus Aircraft UK Director Michael Wright, his passion for personal aviation was infectious and I immediately knew this was a partnership perfectly aligned with SCD. Understanding the busy lives our members lead, Cirrus make taking to the skies accessible and attractive to those who want a more exclusive and efficient way of travelling," Adam Thorby, Managing Director, SCD.
The Cirrus SR Series is the best selling piston aircraft, it continues to transform the industry offering uncompromising safety systems to protect the pilot and passengers. The sumptuous interior combines technology and comfort for the ultimate travel experience, familiar to four wheels on the ground.
Taking it up a gear in 2016 Cirrus launched the first single-engine Personal Jet to be certified in over 40 years. The Vision Jet has since won the world’s most prestigious aviation award, the Robert J Collier Trophy.
Alongside their range of new and pre-owned aircraft, Cirrus Aircraft UK endeavours to offer a turn key solution to personal aviation with a concierge service throughout the lifetime of aircraft ownership. From Sywell Aerodrome, you can receive world-class flight training with a dedicated pilot in a state-of-the-art Cirrus aircraft.
“Cirrus Aircraft UK is excited to announce its official partnership with SCD,” said fellow SCD member Michael Wright, Managing Director of Cirrus Aircraft UK. “We are well positioned to welcome and serve SCD enthusiasts interested in learning more about the freedom personal aviation offers.” Michael will be on hand to support SCD members in your transition to the skies.
Whether you’re looking to accelerate your business or enjoy spontaneous adventures, discovering how personal aviation can transform your life is where The Cirrus Life™ begins.
Introducing our newest addition to our lifestyle partner programme. With over 25% of our members having an interest in yacht charter, it was only a matter of time before we formalised a partnership in this area. Therefore, we’re pleased to be enjoying a slower and more peaceful way of life today as we introduce our newest partner, Moravia Yachting, one of the world’s oldest yachting brands reinvented for the modern world.
The Moravia name dates back over 150 years, but the company opened its first office in Monaco in 1962 before playing a key role in the construction of the first-ever superyachts. Today, Moravia acquire and sell yachts on their clientele's behalf with an emphasis on discretion and excellent service, also specialising in once-in-a-lifetime yacht chartering experiences.
Kurt Fraser from Moravia said “Moravia Yachting is excited to have formed a partnership with Supercar Driver. Our extensive experience, discretion and efficiency sees us well placed to serve the needs of Supercar Driver members – whether it’s introducing those new to yachting to the exciting world of superyacht charter or offering yachting enthusiasts access to some of the most iconic yachts available," says Kurt Fraser, Chief Commercial Officer of Moravia Yachting and Hill Robinson.
Moravia takes a highly personalised approach to charter from Arctic adventure to tropical sun, with each expedition distilling individual demands, whether they be for security and serenity, culture and cuisine or an unforgettable celebration aboard the world’s largest and most luxurious yachts.
Adam Thorby from SCD said “Moravia only associate with the very best brands, so for SCD to be one of those, we are all immensely proud. I am delighted to be offering SCD members a direct introduction to the very best name in Yacht charter. Kurt Fraser and his team have exceptional knowledge of the industry, the whereabouts of the very best vessels and the finest destinations to set sail to. SCD members will be in safe hands.”
We are focused on continually adding value to your membership so you will be seeing plenty more of Moravia yachting this year, especially if you will be on European tours with us!
We’re pleased to welcome PW Pro in Nottinghamshire as our East Midlands car care partner. PW Pro draws on over 12 years of full-time experience using only the very best tools and products to bring the very best out of your pride and joy’s paintwork and keep it looking its best. They have been following SCD throughout their journey and it’s great to have such a highly regarded company on board once more.
Founder Paul says “We are incredibly excited to partner with SCD, providing Xpel PPF, detailing, windscreen protection film and ceramic coating services to members. Established in 2009 and having originally supported SCD back in 2012, it is great to be back!”.
XPEL Ultimate used by PW Pro is truly the most revolutionary paint protection film ever invented and carries a ten-year manufacturer guarantee, backed by PW Pro and the full UK XPEL dealer network. Using XPEL’s Prime series of films, PW Pro can also offer a range of tinting options to improve the appearance of your car and keep the cabin cooler.
PW Pro are also proud to be one of the UK’s longest-serving Swissvax authorised dealers and the only authorised installer of XPEL’s Fusion Plus ceramic coating within Nottinghamshire to give an ultra-slick finish which not only looks amazing, but also keeps your car cleaner for longer and makes it a delight to maintain.
Initially, PW Pro are offering a free car care kit worth a minimum of £120 whilst taking out any car detailing package with full ceramic coating. In addition to this, Paul and his team will offer complimentary windscreen protection on any full car PPF installation (worth £480).
Whether you are looking to protect, improve or completely change the look of your car, PW Pro are looking forward to helping SCD members going forward.
After two fantastic years of partnership with Collecting Cars and having seen hoards of SCD members utilising the platform, we have agreed to partner with their sister company Watch Collecting.
Cars and watches are two passions that naturally fall hand in hand and with over 60% of our membership having a passion for watches it felt right to extend the partnership to include this exciting platform.
SCD members can purchase rare watches and build their collections for a fraction of the price of what they would spend with a jeweller. With zero fees for the seller, selling your watch has never been easier than with Watch Collecting.
Rohan from The Collecting Group said "Following the success of Collecting Cars’ relationship with Supercar Driver it seemed a natural fit to add Watch Collecting as a partner." "Whether buying or selling...," Rohan continues "...Supercar Driver members can expect the same outstanding support and service from Watch Collecting as they currently enjoy from Collecting Cars."
In a previous SCD article we detailed the extensive development and testing programme of our Suspension Secrets Porsche Circuit Handling Pack. After being signed off, our kits have since been in service on numerous 911 GT3s, GT3 RSs and Cayman GT4s across the UK and therest of the world.
Written by: Matthew Cowley
Encouraged by this success, we again enlisted the help of RMA Track Days MD, Leyton Clarke in an attempt to push the kit to its absolute limits and to see what it can really achieve. Previously, Leyton's remarkable speed and consistency as a driver, alongside his technical feedback, was invaluable in the development of our Porsche Circuit Handling Pack, but this time our objective was pure speed.
With Leyton at the helm of his Suspension Secrets Porsche Circuit Handling Pack equipped Porsche 911 GT3 RS Weissach, we visited some of the UK’s toughest circuits and set the car against the stopwatch. Over the course of the last six months, Leyton claimed what were at the time three outright road car lap records at Donington Park GP, Brands Hatch Indy, and Oulton Park International.
During a visit to Castle Combe, Leyton received a rather unexpected endorsement of the Porsche Circuit Handling Pack’s capabilities. In the middle of a session he was black-flagged, and after enquiring with the marshals as to the nature of the black-flagging, he was told he was, “simply going too fast”.
Having tackled some of the UK’s best circuits with success, we looked for the next challenger to overcome and the answer was obvious — the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Dubbed ‘The Green Hell’ by Jackie Stewart, the Nürburgring is widely considered to be the most technically challenging race track on the planet, and is the ultimate test for both cars and drivers.
After some last-minute arrangemenets, the date was set and we made the trip to the Eifel Mountains to tackle the fabled 12.9 miles of undulating and extraordinarily bumpy tarmac that makes up the Nordschleife.
Recently, the Nürburgring has become a battleground, with car manufacturers one- upping each other in an attempt to claim the overall road car lap record. Whilst the purpose of our trip was not to try and set a scorching lap time, we couldn’t help but strap some timing gear to Leyton’s GT3 RS for our own curiosity.
When in Rome...
In fact, the main objective of our visit to the Nürburgring was to gather data on our Circuit Handling Pack and how it performed on the ultimate test track.
One of the key upgrades of our Porsche Circuit Handling Pack is to install a shorter and stiffer front spring. This gives the chassis some all-important rake angle which improves turn-in, reduces nose- diving on the brakes and makes trail braking far more intuitive. This lower front spring is combined with a re-engineered damper cup that allows the front dampers to retain their standard range of operation in combination with the lower front spring.
Leyton’s car runs a lower front spring than usual which drops the front axle quite considerably, and to a point where some have commented that perhaps it is too low for the Nürburgring. Some of the older hands at the Nürburgring even declared running such a low front ride height as ‘impossible’. The consensus for the Nürburgring is to run a slightly higher nose in order to prevent any front splitters from being damaged over the bumpier sections.
In order to test our kit to the fullest, we chose to keep the setup that was applied to Leyton’s Porsche when he set the UK lap records. This meant running a very short front spring and having faith in our redesigned spring cup.
When we discovered that the front splitter, that was sat mere inches from the ground, had barely even brushed the tarmac over the course of an entire day, that was an amazing vindication of our design and our determination to achieve what was considered an impossibility.
We then began our testing regimen and were thrilled when Leyton reported back to us that the stability of the car, even over the toughest bumps and jumps, was infallible. This additional stability, combined with the ability — thanks to the Circuit Handling Pack — to carry far more speed into the corners, allowed Leyton to quickly settle into a fast and consistent pace, despite often heavy traffic.
Our Circuit Handling Pack is designed to be supple enough for the road whilst also greatly improving track performance. In setup terms, the Nürburgring is considered to be more of a ‘fast road’ than a pure track setup thanks to the elevation changes, varying tarmac quality and uneven surfacing. Our choice to maintain this suppleness compared to a traditional very stiff setup that emphasises wrought iron body control, allowed Leyton to tackle even the most treacherous sections of the Nordschleife without experiencing any unwanted suspension deflections.
After two days of intensive testing we were satisfied that we had pushed our Suspension Secrets Porsche Circuit Handling Pack to the limit at the toughest track of them all.
Leyton managed to record a Bridge to Gantry time of 6:52 on a tourist lap, with traffic and in 30+ degrees weather, which was very encouraging and stands as a testament to our Suspension Secrets Porsche Circuit Handling Pack.
We always try to push what is possible with these cars and after two hard days at the Nürburgring we thought there was no better way of celebrating than heading to Europe’s second most famous race track, Circuit de Spa- Francorchamps, where Leyton again put the kit to the limit. Again, our kit’s improvements to the caster and camber settings of the GT3 RS allowed Leyton to really lean on the chassis during the higher speed corners, such as the fast left hander at Blanchimont.
The pinnacle of our visit to Spa was the scarcely believable pace at which Leyton was able to attack the Eau Rouge/Radillion complex at the top of fifth gear only to lift for a slight moment, downshift, and then bury the throttle on the way up the hill.
