Hi,
I picked up my Thundernight/Cognac (or the Peanut butter-jelly combo) M240 as some would like to call it
finally at the Performance Center on 3/3. The delivery experience was fantastic with the only caveat being they didn't have any G42's in their fleet for all the driving exercises my wife and I did. I imagine due to the demand of the G42, they couldn't manage to ship any to use in their fleet yet. Hence, we ended up in a F22 M240i which is still a great car. I did get a chance to ride shotgun in a G80 with a pro driver and got to experience what those cars are capable of at full beans. Lets just say my adrenaline levels were through the roof by the end of the lap
Day 0 - 3/3/22:
I optioned my car to come with the Performance non-RFT and it came with Pirelli PZERO PZ4 in 225/40F and 255/25R. As a sidenote, the US order guide for option 1VZ in incorrect for anybody looking to get this option on their car. After picking up the car, I immediately swapped out my tires to Conti DWS06+ at Discount tire to a 245/35F and 255/35R before I left town. We drove to Atlanta and spent the night there and the initial feeling with the car on the interstate was fantastic. Its got so much ease with which it carries speed and you hardly feel a thing before you realize you are driving close to triple digits speeds
Day 1 - 3/4/22:
Before we left town, I got a chance to do a small photo shoot with my Thundernight G42 and my cousin's Brooklyn Grey G42 side by side. It was interesting to see how different each of the colors are in sunlight but how they both enhance the car design in their own ways. I then proceeded to leave town and head to the mountains to drive the following roads:
Dahlonega, GA to Suches, GA
Suches, GA to Blairsville, GA via Wolfpenn Gap road (very twisty)
Blairsville, GA to Tellico plains, TN
Tellico plains, TN to Tail of the Dragon via Cherahola skyway
It ended up being over a 7hr drive with multiple stops and pictures along the way. I got a chance to really push the handling of the car and it handled like a dream through turns and altitude changes. I felt the steering was decent for the most part and I drove in Adaptive mode for the majority of the time. We even saw a wild fire in the valley as were on the Cheraloha skyway. Reached Deals gap around 4pm in the evening and it was super empty with only a handful of riders finishing up the last runs up and down the mountain as their adrenaline probably started to run dry towards the end of the day.
I was lucky to get an action shot while going up the tail of the dragon but found a state trooper which I thought was strange on an "off-day".
My wife was ready to punch me by the end of it as she was tired of the twisties and so we proceeded to Knoxville for the night. Had some amazing barbecue at Sweet P's barbecue in downtown and stayed the night in Caryville which is about 30min north of Knoxville on I-75. The view from the hotel was pretty nice with a lake front view and the mountains behind
Day 2 - 3/5/22:
We had a relaxed start to the day and took a nice shot of the car with the mountains behind before we got onto I-75 and headed home to Detroit metro late evening. I was very conscious about altering the revs every few minutes while driving as the car is still under "break-in" mileage. Was about to reach home with 997 miles on the odo and my wife was particular about hitting the 1000 miles mark so ended up going and getting a cake for my birthday (on 3/6)
and reached home with 1003 miles on the odometer.
To summarize, I got a lot of time to spend behind the wheel since I picked up the car and I absolutely love it. Granted, the steering feel could be improved upon but I understand they are catering the cars for the masses and not just driving purists. The brake feel on my car is perfectly fine and neither my wife nor I had any complaints. Infact, she noticed it was too bity and her reference point is a Alfa Stelvio. The damn thing is too efficient was as we averaged 31mpg despite doing speeds well over the speed limit since we picked up the car. I am so happy I optioned this color as it has so much character with different outcomes depending on the ambient lighting.