from Kings of the Road to Kings of the Castles
Pure indulgence could be the only way to truly describe last weekends Rio Road Rally which saw the world’s finest luxury automobiles wind there way across Scotland’s majestic countryside.
It was an experience like no other as the 18 journey seekers jumped behind the wheel of an array of luxury sports cars in this inaugural Rio Prestige motoring event. The highlight was certainly Christian von Koenigsegg, CEO and founder of Koenigsegg Automotive, and Victor Muller’s, founder of Spyker Formula 1 team, guest attendance at the event.
The Rio Road Rally got underway at the ultra modern Dakota Hotel owned by Ken McCulloch and David Coulthard. The hotel is based in South Queensfeery, a small town just south of the historic Forth Road and Rail Bridge, an engineering masterpiece constructed at the turn of the century.
It’s uniqueness as a total package is what really made the weekend for all parties involved. With accommodation, catering and a detailed route all planned out to the finest detail Rio Prestige members relished in the opportunity they had to drive super cars and hyper cars such as the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder and Spyker C8 Spyder on what many agree to be the finest open roads in the world.
After the initial leg drivers began to move away from urban streets and highways and into the real deal beginning on the A93 from Perth where they passed Meikleour, home to the largest beech hedge in the world. The cavalry’s next major stop was Glen Shee where they were treated by the breathtaking presence of Glas Maol, one of Scotland’s greatest Munro’s.
There were visits to Royal Dee through some superb roads lined with the rare indigenous Scot’s pine tree and a visit to Balmoral, the northern home of the royal family, where Prince Charles was currently staying when the cavalry passed through.
Saturday finished up in St Andrews and the night was capped off with a black tie reception and dinner held in the Queen Mothers dining room at Glamis Castle. Drivers had the opportunity to arrive in style taking their chosen car from St Andrews to Glamis and returning by coach later in the evening.
Thirty well rested drivers and co drivers awoke Sunday morning for the sheer adrenalin side of the event, the opportunity to drive the Koenigsegg CC8S and the Zonda C12S, unrestricted, around Edzell airfield. The drive allowed people to truly experience the speed and power of the cars after firstly being driven by their instructors, one being Koenigsegg himself.
After their bash around the air-field drivers leisurely made their way back to the Dakota Hotel where the successful Road Rally was wrapped-up. All-in-all this has been a huge success for everybody involved and an experience which will stay poised in the memory forever.
There were many comical stories emerging from the weekend. When asked by a passer by if the Koenigsegg CC8S was his, Christian von Koenigsegg replied; “No, it’s a hire car”.
Rio Prestige Chairman Bill Gray said:
“This weekend has been an incredible success. All of our RPM club members have had the opportunity to drive up to fourteen different high performance exclusive cars in one weekend. The scenery for this to happen is amazing too, clear weather, open roads and some of the most stunning scenery in the world has been the back drop for our guests to enjoy their cars. Sunday has been the highlight, to be driven by Christian von Koenigsegg, founder of the Koenigsegg motor company in one of his first five cars has been almost unique. A truly incredible experience!”
Victor Muller said:
“I am so pleased to be able to make it to Scotland to drive one of our road cars on the most open of roads in the world. Rio very kindly invited me to this event, one which Spyker are very proud to support. This is a relatively new relationship with Rio and one we hope will grow and allow the fleet of Spykers to increase to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy.”
Koenigsegg Founder and CEO Christian von Koenigsegg said:
“A really great time has been had, this is my first time in Scotland and I have enjoyed the great roads in a Koenigsegg. We enjoy the co-operation between both Rio and Koenigsegg and look forward to developing this to a larger scale. Rio have been a supporter of the Koenigsegg brand and spreading the word around. We are keen to support this with weekends like this and future opportunities.”
List of Rio Road Rally vehicles
Pagani Zonda C12s
Bentley Continental GTC
Ferrari 355 Spider
Ferrari 360 Spider
Porsche Caymen S
Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder
Koenigsegg CC8 S - Held the land speed record for a production car- Driven by Koenigsegg
Mustang V8 GT
Spyker C8 Spyder x2 - Only 4 in the UK
V8 Vantage Aston Martin
Porsche 997 Carrera 2S
Porsche boxster S
TVR Tuscan convertible
With the custom Rio Supercar truck supporting
