IN THE LATE 1990s I SPENT A DAY AT MARANELLO working on the production line. It was an amazing experience, kitted out in official Ferrari overalls and eating lunch in the staff canteen. In truth I wasn't on the line helping to build F355s, I was next to it in a sectioned-off area in which a small team of people were hand-building F50s.
My partner was a guy from Sicily who spoke no English, which, with my limited Italian, meant that we had to use hand signals. It worked well enough for me to fit a whole powertrain into the back of one F50. I signed the chassis while nobody was looking and, assuming that the complete rear-end of the car didn't fall off due to Goodwin finger trouble, that car probably still resides in a collection somewhere.
Today, greyer but no less excited, I am helping build a new Ferrari. It is a much simpler car than the F50, although still rear-engined, and I am in Bicester, England, rather than Maranello, Italy. I suspect also that there will not be pasta for lunch. Or football on the screens in the works' canteen as there was at Ferrari.
At first I didn't get the point of the small-scale, electric replicas of the Aston Martin DB5, Bugatti Type 35 and Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa made by The Little Car Company. Too expensive and with a limited use. This from someone who on a trip to Harrods with his mum in around 1967 saw a child-sized replica of a 1920s Bentley and nearly hyperventilated, if a four-year-old can do such a thing.
この記事は Evo UK の May 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Evo UK の May 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
BMW M135 xDrive
The M135 has lost an and gained chassis revisions and a restyle. Is it enough to make it a benchmark hot hatch?
Audi S5
S5 by name, S4 by nature, is Audi's new mid-size petrol-powered saloon a step in the right direction?
Lamborghini Urus SE
Lambo's super-SUV gets a major mid-life overhaul, going hybrid in the process. Has it become any easier to like?
HALL evo OF FAME
The evo Hall of Fame was established to recognise the great and the good of our corner of the universe. Prepare to welcome this year's inductees
CIRCUIT DAY
After three days of assessing their behaviour on the road, it's time to head to the Circuito de Navarra to find out how our nine contenders respond when their handling limits are explored
EVO CAR OF THE YEAR 2024
Nine brilliant cars, from flyweight roadsters to bombastic supercars to a be-stickered estate(!), do battle on some of Europe's finest and most spectacular roads. Which will emerge victorious? Place your bets now.
Porsche Panamera GTS
It lacks the raw power of its hybrid rivals, but does the new GTS’s more traditional approach give it its USP?
Alpine A290 GTS
The new electric Renault 5 has won plenty of plaudits. Is the hotter Alpine version a car to win petrolheads' hearts too?
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop