"THIS IS BASICALLY JURASSIC PARK... WITH A RACETRACK IN IT" whispers photographer Toby as we enter the Magarigawa Club's imposing main gates, themselves styled around the calm, tiered lines of a Japanese temple. Steep cliffs ramp out of the jungle on either side of our rented Subaru, unfamiliar caws and croaks flicking out from the underbrush. As a UK resident used to windswept, usually lightly industrial venues sheathed in chilly rain, the only thing that springs to mind is that this is about as far from Anglesey on a wet Tuesday morning as it's possible to get.
And yet it is a Tuesday morning. The difference being that we're currently halfway around the world in Japan, at the aforementioned Magarigawa Club, a private circuit that's part Bond villain's exclusive racetrack and part high-end spa, billed as the "world's only luxury driving club". There are 'driving resorts' in the US and Europe of course, but nothing quite like this, so we've come to investigate what Japanese supercar owners do when they want to actually drive rather than just pose in a congested megacity.
The track itself is located in an area called Minamiboso in Chiba, roughly an hour by car from Tokyo, or a short hop by helicopter. The latter being significant as we pass the pristine helipad. But that's not all. On the pretty and landscaped lower reaches of the access road, we come across a modern and fully equipped fuel station. No nipping to the local garage between sessions for these track day enthusiasts, and no anaemic sandwiches on offer. And there's a full-on motorsport workshop with multiple car lifts and professional looking crews next door to a temperaturecontrolled storage facility for several hundred cars. In the first three minutes, you realise Magarigawa is an entirely serious enterprise.
Not flashy or ostentatious, but the whole thing reeks of stealth wealth - the kind of rich that speaks quietly but carries a jet black Amex.
Denne historien er fra March 2024-utgaven av BBC Top Gear UK.
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Denne historien er fra March 2024-utgaven av BBC Top Gear UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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