The Italian Job

Navigating the narrow country roads of Italy at 150kph

- Farhan Shah

I REMEMBER THE PRECISE MOMENT when I became hooked on the Ferrari GTC4 Lusso T. I had just passed Castel San Gimignano, a small hamlet in Tuscany where the tallest building had just three storeys all made of brick. I had been driving for an uneventful 30 minutes, and then the twisting, narrow roads suddenly turned ramrod straight for as far as the eye could see. I didn’t need further invitation.

Third gear, 70 kph. Fourth gear, 90 kph. The pulse quickened. Fifth, my heart started racing, the steering wheel vibrating beneath my hands. Sixth, the countryside became an exhilarating blur. Seventh, the V8 turbo engine growled into an assertive roar. I was whooping. Screaming. Laughing.

Then I saw a right turn from a distance. I released the accelerator pedal. The car slowed down. I paddle shifted downwards. Down. Fifth. Down. Fourth. Down. Third. I turned the wheel, eating up the paved road at a measly 80kph. My heart too slowed down.

Speed is a drug, and I had become an addict. I gunned the engine, searching desperately for the next high.

UNDERNEATH THE HOOD

The GTC4Lusso T was unveiled late last year in Paris, the spiritual successor to the GTC4Lusso. Unlike the other supercars in Ferrari’s well endowed stable, the GTC4Lusso T was created for the rigours of city driving. It’s meant to be your daily automobile beater, assuming your daily life involves looking nonchalantly at the seven-digit figures in your bank balance.