Porsche 718 GT4 ownership experience

Richard Ashmole 

Hi. My name’s Richard, born and bred in Darby. I run a software consultancy business called Aspire CRM with my partner Jeanette Stephenson. Yeah, and im mad about cars which is why we’re talking here today.

 

Darren Selig 

What was your poster on your bedroom wall?

 

Richard Ashmole 

I actually didn’t have a poster on my bedroom wall but I would say poster car was the Murcielago when it came out balloon white Murcielago roadster, of course, with the with the side vents up and then it was in the Batman film and I thought wow that just looks that is a supercar right and that Murcielago brilliant so yeah that definitely my favourite.

 

Darren Selig 

Earlist car memory?

 

Richard Ashmole 

Wow tough ones loads of them it’s probably when I was the age but I was gonna be six or seven my brother had a V6 Vetra. Which you know when youre six or seven is like the fastest thing ever when you first go out in it. And I remember him just just taking me up and down the roads trying to scare me senseless in it. And that probably got that bit of addiction for cars then after that first car was a mark six Ford Escort. Yeah, brilliant car complete rust bucket, but I did it up as you do with your first car and I thought it looked quite well.

 

Darren Selig 

Favourite motoring memory?

 

Richard Ashmole

Probably some of the SCD drives we’ve done. couldn’t pick out a specific one. We’ve had so many great jobs with SCD. I mean, we’re here, Munsellhead today and we had a drive from here. And it was just the weather was perfect. The cars were great. It was just a great day. Yeah, couldn’t say more just when everything clicks together and the driving is great. The roads, the weather, the friends everything. Really, really, really great day will never forget that.

 

Darren Selig 

Tell us about your car?

 

Richard Ashmole 

Caymen GT4 collected January 2020 from Porsche Silverstone had it for well, that’d be about a year and a half now i would say and thoroughly enjoying it. So spec is racing, yellow, classic Porsche colour, and we’ve got club sport pack on it and key goods on a car like this Porsche ceramic brakes again, the yellow callipers with the satin black wheels really sets it off the yellow stitching on the inside on the leathers. It’s got the full bucket seats. Additional Little things like leather stitch column, which you think will actually adds a nice touch to it.

 

Darren Selig 

How does the car feel to drive?

 

Richard Ashmole 

I’ve got a bit of a racing background. So I’ve been racing for a number of years. And for me, it’s all about how the car feels and handles how the balances around the corners not just the pure straight line speed. So I guess mid engine so it’s got a lot of balance. So the car rotates nicely. It’s not too snappy, you can sort of judge what it does the steering on it is great, you get plenty of feedback brakes it is it is probably the ultimate drivers car at the minute I would say.

 

Darren Selig 

What does the future hold for the internal combustion engine?

 

Richard Ashmole 

I think in the short to medium term it’s still got a place I think hybridizations gonna come into it massively you know we look at some of the manufacturers in what they’re doing. They’re definitely keeping their natural aspirated engines and turbo chargers and bringing hybrid into it so I think in the short to medium term it’s got a playbook you can’t ignore electric. We’ve got a Tesla and it is brilliant because you know a lot of people who against electric as petrol heads but you can’t ignore that that changes come in and it is a good change to go out and some of these electric cars today the performance is mind blowing and cheap to run. Yeah, it’s unavoidable in the long term electric.

 

Darren Selig 

What makes the car community so special?

 

Richard Ashmole 

I think it’s you can you can be yourself with the car community with other people. I’ve got a lot of friends that probably aren’t car people and they probably get a bit bored or switch off soon you start talking about cars but when you when you with other like minded people. And again one of the reasons to join SCD is you meet those like minded people, you share the passion you can talk about it all the time, because you share that passion you gel as a person with them without the person so yeah, definitely.

 

Darren Selig 

How much hard work has it been to obtain this car, and was it worth it?

 

Richard Ashmole 

How much hard work is it taken to own cars like this And was it worth it? A lot of hard work for sure. You know, people just see the nice things that you have and some people can achieve all those into it. But it is all worth it when you collect the car. For me. You know a big experience of these cars is collecting and the excitement around collecting them looking after them maintaining them. So when you do that and days like today You’re driving the car, it’s all worth it.

 

Darren Selig 

What would 8-year old Richard say to current Richard, owning this car?

 

Richard Ashmole 

You won the lottery or something? What would he say? How did you do it probably? How? I think if you if you’d asked me that question when I was eight years old, you know, would you have this car? Especially it might still relatively young. Let’s say he was absolutely cloud cuckoo land you know you think of these supercars as if you think are yeah maybe maybe when I’m in my 60s and I’ve won the lottery or something but you know with with JBR they give you that accessibility to get to these cars.

 

Darren Selig 

Why JBR Capital?

 

Richard Ashmole 

I think where JBR sets themselves against other lenders is they understand you and your situation as a client. So I run a business who have different streams of incomes with my partner Jeanette, so they understand self employed people and there’s not just a yes no computer says no kind of answer. They have a discussion with you understand your situation. And yeah, it’s JBR are just great. Great for that. So yeah, that was highly recommended.