10.

CHRIS HAS PENNY A DAMP ARMY TYRE WEAR

Answer (9): PAGANI HUAYRA LA MONZA LISA

The best car or the best driving experience?

The two can be poles apart

Earlier this year I got to drive my dream car the epic McLaren MP4-12C it truly is phenomenal, it looks amazing, it is comfortable, super quick and the ride is sublime. Just imagine the most comfortable you have ever felt, maybe laying on a memory foam mattress surrounded by pillows, this is not as comfortable as the ride in a 12C at 116mph, believe me it is simply astonishing. 

Out of all the sports and hyper car battles past and present; Porsche 959 versus Ferrari F40, Lamborghini Countach versus Ferrari Testarossa, McLaren P1 versus Ferrari Laferrari, the 12C versus 458 is the battle I love the most. This is mainly because I love these two cars equally although in many different ways, so it was only natural to want to drive them both. Therefore to complete the dream I have booked a drive in the Ferrari 458, same track, same distance early in the new year (2015). 

The 12C and the 458 are a few years old now so they have both been reviewed by all the major automotive magazines so I have a good idea of what I will expect from driving the 458 and I will probably confirm that the 458 is the car to buy if you have the money (I would still buy the 12C spider), but why? This is the question that has led me to write this article and it all stems from what the car delivers or what the manufacturers have set out to do. McLaren have obviously set out to design and build the best car and Ferrari have set out to design and build the best driving experience, two completely separate definitions one aimed at pure performance the other at the experience. 

This is such a simple thing to understand but is a concept that sports car manufacturers need to digest in their pursuit of the ultimate performance car. In any business you can never under estimate the power of what the customer wants and the experience he/she expects especially with something as emotional as the car. It seems ironic that in pursuit of perfection some auto manufacturers could actually produce a product that is perfect but not epic. Take Mr. Hammond's point-of-view when testing the Aventador, it is undeniably a much better car than its predecessors but did the Hamster have an earth shaking experience from driving the Aventador, did he feel like Chuck Jaeger?

This year has been dominated by the Mclaren P1, LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 with a focus on performance measures, but what is important is the experience of driving one of these magnificent cars and the thrill you get, does it get your pulse racing, the adrenaline flowing around your body? There is no doubt that the power that these three cars deliver is in no way going to put you in a coma but a great experience is more than that it is a combination of sounds, sights, feelings and emotions. 

Put it this way my M2 Focus ST delivers 250+ BHP with a DS re-calibration and when I nail the accelerator in 3rd the turbo kicks-in between 2500-3000 and the engine delivers a deep burble with the addition of a bit of torque steer but that just adds to the experience because it engages me into controlling the car and the resulting satisfaction of when I do control the car it makes me feel like a matador controlling a bull by grabbing its horns. This is all personal to me but a great driving experience might mean something different to someone else. However, I love my ST not because Ford have made the best car but they have made an epic driving experience. 

With all this in mind I expect that my drive in the 458 will undoubtedly prove that the Ferrari is the better experience and that is the main reason why the Ferrari edges the 12C in all the reviews? 

The experience is so important a worthy lesson to all sports car manufacturers, firstly you need to ask what do you want to achieve the best car or the best experience?

Hyper Cars…follow the Italian road? 

I have two hyper car buddies two people who are extremely knowledgeable about cars and who inspired me to start this blog, a blog that is not too serious a way of posting some topics about hyper cars and other subjects that amuse or delight. Unfortunately one of these hyper car buddies, an Italian guy (Mr.Torti) leaves the company I work at and when I say unfortunately it is unfortunate for the company but a blessing for the individual and I wish him every success. 

Let us reminisce for a bit, my hypercar blog was started on the 8th February 2014 with the “Six Pillars of a Hyper Car” (below), which I still enjoy reading today as I remember the discussion we had to create it which still makes me laugh.

This article is to wish my hyper car buddy all the best for the future in a unique way but to look back on a blog that has been inspired by the country that invented the hyper car, Italy. 

In whatever subject you are discussing it is important to acknowledge and admire other countries achievements and the people that make it a reality. When I think of Italy there is a lot to acknowledge, great football teams, great cuisine but there are two areas where they excel in way that is so natural it becomes almost effortless? I think that all Italians have two remarkable genes, one is the motorsport gene the other is the fashion gene. An Italian woman can throw a piece of silk into the air and it will land on her in such a way that it will be copied around the world by all the “fashionistas” in less than a week. An Italian motorsport Engineer can take a standard hatchback and have it race prepared to win the WTCC in less than a day. 

Some people work hard but it still won’t be enough to obtain greatness, Usain Bolt was always going to win gold at the Beijing Olympics regardless of his training or that his pre-race meal was chicken nuggets or his shoe lace was undone going across the finish line, some people have certain genetics that make them great!

There are obvious Italian marques that we can admire but for me it is not the Ferrari’s or the Lamborghini’s that I admire most about Italian automotive although I now have a much greater appreciation for their engineering excellence. No, it is the small car auto manufacturers, the small wanting to become the big, the revival of past greats, the Aquila Italiana’s of this world companies that I would never of given a slight bit of notice to without knowing people from other cultures. 

This is where the passion lies and inspires me to the ultimate dream, creating a small sports car company of my own with my hyper car buddies. MT, you have a reserved slot on the board of directors along with DS and one other. I was thinking MY20, for the first model what do you think?

Six Pillars of a Hyper-Car

" A hyper-car possesses "numbers" of immense proportions, this is the translation into words..." 

1. MINDSET: From people who think differently (we thank you!) - "If it makes sense it is not a hyper-car".

2. "PERICOLO"/"PELIGRO": A menace to society?: "Danger is my middle name"

3. DESIGN: Nonconformist: "It does not conform to any ideal, that is, it is unique, it is art, heads must turn"

4. POWER: Ferocious (savagely fierce): - "Enough power to re-start a dead planet"

5. EXCLUSIVITY: Ltd production: "In real-life you will see one as often as you will win the lottery to buy one"!

6. WEALTH: Feel like a King - "The hyper-car will make you feel like the "King of Monaco" until you get out of course!