AT THE SUMMIT I CALL MY SON. IT'S NEARLY bedtime back home, but I have to share this. Outside, the sky is a wash of pinks and purples set over a cloud inversion that is filling the valley below like Chantilly cream on a sundae. There is nobody around. My hands are still shaking slightly.
'Hi Daddy!'
'Hi dude, listen to this... and I blip the throttle, once, twice. YEEOW! YEEOW! The cockpit and surrounding mountains are filled with furious five-digit revs. A V12 with the response of a superbike engine.
'Wowww! That is sooo cool!' That is not a generic reaction. He might be only seven, but he knows his cars.
I've just had the most amazing drive,' I say. 'This car is unbelievable! I'm about to head back down the mountain, but I just wanted you to hear that.'
"Thank you, Daddy."
'Love you! Sleep well.'
As the screen goes black I press the tiny, covered button behind the gearlever to still the titanium valves for a minute or two. Take a few breaths, enjoy the moment, be present... all that stuff we're meant to do every day but never have the time for. Because I need to mentally bottle this, tuck it away in the old hippocampus for rainy days years from now. Even in this job, drives like that don't come along very often. I've been lucky enough to have a few in the McLaren F1 and now I've got one in the T.50 to add to the mental scrapbook.
A beautiful, deserted road and a car that requires every bit of your attention but rewards with sensations and sounds that are the stuff of dreams. A car that feels worth its sky-high price tag, yet immerses you in the driving experience so deeply that you forget any such figures and drive it with the joy and abandon of a hot hatch.
And the best bit is that I've still got the return journey ahead of me...
Denne historien er fra July 2024-utgaven av Evo UK.
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Denne historien er fra July 2024-utgaven av Evo UK.
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
Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo - The latest, V6-powered GranTurismo is now available in open-top form. Is its combination of performance, comfort and style a winning one?
How appropriate for a car that includes a variant called 'Folgore' ('Lightning' in Italian) in its line-up that giant forks of the stuff are straddling the road ahead. It's almost as if Maserati has a direct line to the big man upstairs. Then again, giant hailstones are clattering against the fabric roof as well, and then turn to a deluge of water so heavy that to top 15mph feels reckless. Possibly not the environment the Italian firm had in mind when they chose to launch the new GranCabrio Trofeo around the Italian Lakes. Still, if nothing else it's a stern test of the canvas above my head and one that it passes with ease: there are no puddles forming inside, as you would expect of a £169,585 convertible, and it feels as quiet and snug as if I was driving the GranTurismo coupe.
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...