Typical London weather started the day off on Sunday. This, however did not stop Yianni from "Yiannimize Refined" bringing Knightsbridge Alive! Yiannimize Refined is mainly a wrapping company operating from Enfield famous for beautifully wrapping lots of Celebrity's cars. As he recently announced, he is going to be selling off his Aventador LP 700-4 and decided to showcase one last interesting wrap infront of "Super Car Corner" - Harrods. How the Aventador would be wrapped was all part of the mystery hence why hundreds was gathered at the specified location at 1pm; Photographers, reporters, spotters and simply petrol heads, all eager to be the first to witness Yianni's latest wrap!
What greeted me as I arrived was huge roars of delightful engines screaming from all corners of Sloane Street. The first car to arrive was a simple mini.. I say "simple" due to its physical appearance but to my surprise, I was starring at the culprit at the bully of the roads. Under the bonnet, completely modified and a pleasant surprise for everyone. What followed was Yianni's convoy - a Mansory Matt Purple Bentley, Matt Purple C63 AMG, Light blue C63 AMG Black Series, Yianni's Chrome wrapped with snake skin finish E63 AMG, Chrome Blue Maserati, a couple of BMW M5's and of course Yianni's Aventador.
I wouldn't say "the best saved for last" in this case as although the wrap was very interesting and got all the attention, I rather had my eyes on the rest of the convoy - especially the E63. The surprised was revealed. Yianni had his famous bull clothed in the World Cup flags as well as with famous football players including Bacary Sagna, Cristiano Ronaldo and the Ox. I would say the timing was perfect, although this was a marketing stunt to promote Yianni's Wrapping company, it brought the World Cup Fever back into the the crowd.
The convoy was creating huge traffic but nobody cared as the sound of horns was eclipsed by the sheer Growls of the cars above dominating the streets. Impossible to get clear shots, I tried my best to capture what I could before the crowd got the better of me. As Yianni stopped his car and started to rev, it could only mean one thing - it was time to see some fire in this party. All eyes on the Exhaust as the revs got louder and louder and there it was, huge spits of flame getting stronger and stronger with each rev. It even tempted someone to light their cigarette up with it!
As the crowd got bigger and bigger, the cars continued to race up and down the road, to the joy of spotters but dismay of the approaching traffic warden and police vans. As the crowd silenced on their arrival, it quickly burst back alive as the van just went past. Too bad Yianni received a parking ticket, crowd booing the traffic warden didn't help much - nice cars may get all the attention but unfortunately doesn't stop the fines! And the Party continued. As Yianni and his crew stepped out to speak to the crowd, others joined the party. Just to name a few, a yellow C63 AMG Black Series, a cream F12 Berlinetta, a couple audi R8's and ofcourse Dan with his Lamborghini Performante.
After an hour or so of more racing and reving, Yianni announced that he would be taking his crew and convoy to see Bacary Sagna to get his Wrap Signed before he takes it off, in time to sell it next week. As the cars sped past the oncoming traffic on the way out of knightsbridge, it took with it, the atmosphere and the rest of the cars that had joined in on the fun. Knightsbridge returned back to it's temporary peace as the crowd dissipated. For me, this was the end of my fruitful shooting day as I left the scene. Little did I know that Billionaire James Stunt was on his way along with a convoy of his own. His Aventador 50th Anniversario, two mansory range rovers, two mansory rolls royces and a normal rolls royce. Self made Business Tycoon, James Stunt wasn't going to let Yianni make his mark in Knightsbridge without him showing off his collection. His Aventador fit in perfectly with Dan's performante - Black on Black on Black! but that was only temporary as a matt yellow Aventador also joined.
Fair to say that Knightsbridge was lit up yesterday and served as a reminder to car enthusiast of what London has to offer. Forget Monaco, this summer, looks like London will be a prime Location for Petrol Heads!
Photo's by: Sifat Ahmed
