Scottish mountain roads, alive with the sound of an F355’s flat-plane-crank V8… If you like your red cars compact, lithe and gorgeous, it doesn’t get much better than this
THE CAIRNGORMS MUST SURELY BE ONE OF THE most beautiful places on the planet. Whether you’re standing in the shadow of Braemar Castle, dazzled by the sunlight dancing off the River Dee or, like today, on a surprisingly brisk autumnal morning, high up in the mountains with the impression of standing on top of the world, it’s utterly captivating. No wonder the Queen likes to spend time here. You would, too, and for one other significant reason that I suspect we’d have no trouble agreeing on: the Old Military Road, a spectacular ribbon of asphalt that runs up the spine of this National Park. It has everything you’ve ever dreamed of in a road.
Today, however, the scenery has competition. It’s in the form of an unfashionably small, low, red projectile that’s disarmingly handsome. As far as the subjects of ‘Icon’ features go, few are more worthy than Ferrari’s glorious F355 – a pivotal machine in the history of the most famous car company of them all.
‘Want One’, screamed the cover of the July 1994 issue of Performance Car magazine (evo’s forefather) as it clanked through our letter box. I reached it before the dog, clocked the ‘Ferrari’s £84,000 bargain’ sub-heading with mouth agape, then read and re-read the feature aboard the bus bound for secondary school. From that day onwards, I have lusted after this relatively simple supercar, watched values plummet but still remain out of reach, and then seen those prices accelerate away once again. Despite these towering expectations, driving one has never been a disappointment. Today, on this road, I’m genuinely fearful the needle on the evo meter might bend and break against the stop.
Denne historien er fra February 2017-utgaven av Evo.
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Denne historien er fra February 2017-utgaven av Evo.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Cupra Formentor Abt
It's farewell to the original Cupra Formentor with an Abt-tuned run-out package. It's a quietly excellent car; just a shame about the price...
Renault Sport Clio 200 Turbo
This misguided departure from the French brand's hot hatch heritage saw the Clio fall from grace
REBIRTH OF AN ICON
The Kalmar 9X9 is a modernday reinterpretation of Porsche's game-changing 959 supercar, with a carbon body and up to 917bhp. And evo is helping to develop it
Volkswagen Golf GTI
The underachieving Mk8 GTI gets a shot at redemption with the new, revised Mk8.5 version. Is it the leap forward it needs to be?
BEST BUYS
FAST FORDS FROM THE CORTINA TO THE ESCORT AND THE FIESTA, Ford is responsible for some of the most popular cars in British history. But alongside these everyday machines it has also produced a stream of desirable driver's cars.
HY AND DRY
The switch to electric power means an early exit for Hyundai N's brilliant ICE hot hatch duo. We go for a farewell drive in the 120 N
SEXY BEAST
The Vanquish name is back for Aston Martin's latest seriesproduction flagship, with a stunning new look and simply brutal performance from an 824bhp twin-turbo V12
THE JOY OF DRIVING
From mastering the everyday commute to unlocking the full potential of your performance car, our new series will help you become safer, more confident and ultimately more skilled behind the wheel
TINY DANCER
You haven't seen a Mini dance like this before, but then you haven't seen a Mini with a 4-litre M Power V8 under the bonnet and rear-wheel drive. Introducing Vini...
LAMBORGHINI GALLARDO
Grandaddy to the Temerario and the car that transformed Lamborghini was the brilliant, V10-engined Gallardo. We get reacquainted with a Lambo legend