HELLO THERE! NICE TO MEET YOU!
I decided to introduce myself first. It's only fair to start this way!
My name is Elena Dimitrova. I'm a fashion designer, photographer, car enthusiast, crypto advocate and entrepreneur. I'm currently living between Europe and North America. Obviously you're here for the cars and we won't be discussing hem lines or Bitcoin. Or why not?
My relationship with cars started almost immediately after I was born. I was into cars instead of dolls for my parents amazement. Growing up in Eastern Europe has been beneficial too. There's a huge car culture in Bulgaria. Honestly, it was the first place where you could spot the new S-Class just a few days after it was available for purchase. If you've been to Dubai, multiply the number of cool, exotic and luxury cars by 2 or 3 and that's where Bulgaria stands. Sofia is a great city for car spotting, no question about that!
Besides the environmental influence, I happen to be a huge fan of Formula 1. I have missed only 3 or 4 races since 2005 (due to unforeseen circumstances). Being one of my big passions, F1 additionally shaped my taste and understanding of cars (hence the main purpose of this blog - the SLR).
I got my driving license pretty late (unlike my fellow Bulgarians who get them as soon as they turn 18. It's almost like a gift for successfully making it to adulthood), because I lived mostly in cities like London and until that point my appreciation for cars has been solely based on books, YouTubers, movies and car spotting. So I divide my timeline in 2 - before and after I got my license. I felt complete once I was holding it in my hand, like I enabled the person I was supposed to be. And that was the moment when my until then "theoretical" passion turned into self-fulfilment and self-exploration.
Being a 90s kid, I consider the Murciélago and the SLR as the supercar icons of my generation. These two alone represent the 2000s better than all other cars from that decade combined. It's only natural to be attracted to them. I would even dare to say they’re “cultural phenomenons” due to their influence in contemporary pop culture. You could spot them in movies, music videos, games, magazines, even on page 6 paparazzi photos. They were everywhere.
Yet, unappreciated and “forgotten” according to Google. Now, almost two decades later, these cars are engaging the minds of car collectors around the world. Was the SLR ahead of its time? Has the time finally come to fully appreciate this automotive masterpiece? “Better late than never” I guess. Was it the price tag and the competition the media was putting it against in the mid 2000s?
To me, plenty of factors have played their roles in the destiny of the SLR, but the biggest one is the fact it was misunderstood. It represents peak automotive engineering combined with the best Mercedes-Benz and McLaren had to offer. That’s it, but that’s plenty. There was no need to compete with Enzo or Carrera GT.
The SLR is better appreciated on its own. And that’s what I’m going to do on this blog. I’ll put the SLR under the projectors like never before, because it deserves it.