Auto Utopia

Our senior writer shares his fantasy of a car lover’s paradise.

- Jeremy Chua

WHENEVER I want a break from work, I head to our office canteen and find a quiet table.

Admittedly, it is not much of an escape. After all, my bosses and other colleagues can easily find me.

However, what I’m after is just a few minutes of daydreaming and letting my mind wander. And inevitably, I’ll lose myself in my favourite fantasy, which I like to call Auto Utopia.

Indeed, when I close my eyes, scenes of unspoiled beaches and Alpine lakes begin rushing by. When they stop, perhaps I’ll begin hearing the mechanical purity of a naturally aspirated flat-6 or V8, with their revs rising and exhausts popping.

What exactly is in my driver’s paradise? Well, for one thing, it would be a kingdom of sorts, with me as its absolute ruler.

The roads would be designed by me. There would be mountain passes and country lanes to drive sports cars on, and coastal highways for testing convertibles. Naturally, the tarmac would be so smooth that it would be the envy of Japanese civil engineers.

And as the ruler of this kingdom, my main concerns would be traffic laws and driving.