A six litre V12 four seater, four-wheel drive that does 208 mph and 0-62 in 3.7 seconds, this is the most powerful 4-wheel drive in the World. Motoring does not get much better than this!
Of all the names that conjure up thoughts of power and style, Ferrari must surely be the most magical, so when we collected the new FF model, I was prepared to be amazed, but I still felt a quickening of the pulse when first I saw the elegant machine which was going to be mine for the next three days.
Imagine the exhilaration of racing down rural country lanes in an iconic British handmade sports car, in the blazing sunshine, with the top down and the glorious countryside whizzing past: a cliché craftily exploited in the image of Matthew Crawley racing home to Lady Mary, concluding the last series of Downton Abbey.
This fantasy became reality thanks to my friend and neighbour, Robert Jarman, who founded and edits The Vintage Magazine, inviting me to accompany him to collect a Morgan 4+4 from the factory at Great Malvern.
Our Business Member, The Ridgeway Group suggested we try out the new Mercedes E250CDI Sport Cabriolet and, as is our custom, we had to think of somewhere to take this gleaming white charge to test its abilities.
To be absolutely honest, I have been thoroughly spoilt recently, having driven an Aston Martin Vanquish, A Rolls-Royce ‘Ghost’, extended wheelbase model, a Maserati GranCabrio Sport, and a Bentley Continental GT, so that when our Business Member, The Ridgeway Group, offered us a new ‘C’ Class Mercedes-Estate to test drive, I was feeling a ‘little grand’ for what I imagined would be a rather sedate estate.
When we learned that we were going to be able to road test and review this Bentley Continental GT, I had to think of somewhere to photograph it, and I immediately thought of the grounds of the Park House Hotel at Bepton, which with the South Downs rising up above it, made the perfect location.
Just the name “MASERATI” conjures a wide variety of opinions, memories and emotions. From the early 1950s Maserati were at the forefront of Formula 1 racing with the great names of the day dicing with death. A far cry from today’s clinical media show.
However Formula 1 is in the history books for Maserati. Today the firm produces a range of Supercars that are so interesting because they are different. From the Quattroporte through the Granturismo to the car I tested, the Grancabrio Sport, all offer the broad minded customer another dimension to their motoring.
What, or who do you think of when you think ITALIAN ICONS?
For me it is Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobridgida, Gianni Agnelli, Enzo Ferrari, and even its Dictators, both in time of war, like Benito Mussolini, and peace time, Berlusconi, and current icons like Carla Bruni.
Then there are also the products and services which typify Italy, like its wine and food, coffee, ice creams, and olive oil, its Opera, and fashion industries.
There is their well-deserved reputation which Italians have for design, epitomised by its classic sports cars like the Maserati GranCabrio Sport which we recently drove, and the beautifully designed, classic Riva speedboats.
It is almost impossible to describe the extraordinary feeling when you first sit behind the steering wheel of a modern Rolls-Royce, and ecstasy is not a bad word to use, and it certainly describes the feeling when you first drive one.
One of the benefits of editing a Lifestyle Magazine like The Vintage Magazine, is that occasionally, you get the opportunity to experience one of the great joys of life, in this case driving one of the most luxurious vehicles which money can buy, a Rolls-Royce ‘Ghost’ extended wheelbase model, assembled at their factory on the Goodwood Estate, in West Sussex.
‘I suppose society is wonderfully delightful. To be in it is merely a bore. But to be out of it is simply a tragedy’. Oscar Wilde
There is no better way to arrive at one of the events that make-up the English social Season than by helicopter. It avoids the need to leave home two hours earlier than you should have to, just to avoid the traffic jams, and enables you to arrive at your destination looking well groomed and relaxed, although ladies are advised to wait until the rotor blades have come to a standstill if they do not want to have that famous ‘Bridget Jones’ convertible car look!
Introduction by Robert Jarman
James Martin is perhaps best-known as the Presenter of Saturday Kitchen for BBC1 which attracts 3.5 million foodies every week, and has made him a household name, but his other passion is racing Classic Cars.
In fact, he was once quoted as saying; ‘Food comes first, then cars, then my dog, and then women’….!
