IT WAS LATE AFTERNOON on our second day with the McLaren F1. I was in one of the passenger seats, the driver sitting centrally was someone I trusted completely, and up 'til then the pace was what you might call 'brisk but relaxed. We were exiting a small roundabout on a smooth, rural B-road in south Yorkshire when ahead of us the road appeared empty and arrow-straight for at least a mile. Well, it would have been rude not to...
The throttle was squeezed to the stop, the magnificent V12 dug deeper, the induction bark hardened to its distinctive staccato and then quickly ramped up to a glorious, slightly terrifying howl. The phenomenal acceleration moulded all three of us into our seats and there we stayed. Second gear became third, third became fourth, and almost as quickly, fourth became fifth. Now we were really motoring. We caught the limiter in fifth before our driver backed off. Wowzers. A day or two later I looked up the F1's gearing and discovered that it goes to 180mph in fifth...
When you have the world's fastest, most expensive, most powerful car for 48 hours it's pretty much a string of unforgettable moments. Yet it nearly didn't happen. A few days before, I was at my desk in the Performance Car office when the phone rang. It was Ron Dennis, the boss of McLaren Cars: 'I'm being asked to signoff a clutch change, which is very expensive, so I want to know what you're going to do with my car.' Gulp.
Autocar and Car had already published their slightly chin-stroking reviews so we'd come up with a different angle, but I baulked at telling Ron that I was going to take his car up to Cleethorpes so I could take my mum, my brothers and a load of mates out in it. 'We want to take the world's best car to the people to see what they make of it, I said. There was an excruciating silence as Ron ruminated.
Bu hikaye Octane dergisinin June 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Octane dergisinin June 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Will China Change Everything? - China is tearing up modern motor manufacture but is yet to make more than a ripple in the classic car world. That could be about to change dramatically
China now dominates the automotive world in a way even Detroit in its heyday would have struggled to comprehend.Helped by Government incentives, the new car world is dominated by China's industries: whether full cars that undercut Western models by huge amounts, ownership of storied European brands such as Lotus and Volvo, or ownership and access to the vast majority of raw materials that go into EV cars, its influence is far-reaching and deep. However, this automotive enlightenment hasn't manifested itself in the classic world in any meaningful way - until now.
Jem Marsh
The hard-bitten Marcos boss was driven like few others and never knew when he was beaten. Thankfully
Vandamm House
A Mid-Century Modernist masterpiece that was immortalised on celluloid - despite never actually existing
Making light
Alfa Romeo's post-war renaissance began with the 1900 saloon - and matured with Zagato's featherweight coupé version, as Jay Harvey discovers
FULL OF EASTERN PROMISE
Is burgeoning classic car interest in the Middle East good for the global classic market? Nathan Chadwick investigates
Before the beginning
This rare Amazon Green pre-production Range Rover is Velar chassis number 4. James Elliott charts its historically revealing factory restoration
Ben Cussons
As the outgoing chairman of the Royal Automobile Club hands on to his successor, Robert Coucher quizzes him about the evolution of this great British institution
BULLDOG & THE PUPPIES
We gather five motoring masterpieces by avant-garde designer William Towns - and drive all of them
Below the tip of the Audrain iceberg
As the Audrain organisation grows, we take a look behind the scenes at the huge car collection that feeds it
Flying the Scottish flag
Young Ecurie Ecosse driver Chloe Grant gets to grips with the Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar C-type at Goodwood. Matthew Hayward is Octane's witness