advertisement


Well it was fun while it lasted...

He must have switched off the stability controls and then pressed the loud pedal. Everything happens too quickly then for a normal mortal - never mind someone who collected it an hour ago.
 
PaulMB said:
Not brutal at all, I drove one once around a track in Italy and it was almost disappointingly easy. Computers control the brakes, the differential and traction. You just press a button to change up or down. I think you can disable a lot of that stuff and it might be more fun. But certainly less "brutal" than my old 1987 Porsche 911, although with much more power.
Click to expand...

Well the way my mate drove it certainly gave the impression it was, I held on tight. I've owned properly brutal cars my TVR griff being a good example, very scary for 320ish BHP.
 
Rug Doc said:
Exactly. These are wonderful cars to drive in the dry, you can't really go wrong, but with 500hp as soon as those rear wheels light up in the wet you've lost it, and the first time this happens on a motorway you'll just back off and momentum would spin you round. I feel sorry for him/her!!
Click to expand...

Yes, my Griff was like that. I had a really harrowing experience once in my Griff, driving back from Santa Pod, unexpected storm... I had to be extremely gentle, no overtaking as it'd likely end in a spin. The only time I've been more frightened was when I drove into thick fog, I couldn't see past the end of my bonnet, I'd been driving about two months at the time.
 
Anyone who drives a supercar on public roads with safety gubbins switched off has bigger balls than brains. Let's hope he was smart enough to have had it insured before he drove out of the dealership.
 
Colin L said:
I drive an M5 which has similar power. It's a doddle to drive, even erm....quite rapidly.

These cars have traction control and lots of gizmo's to keep them drivable and safe. How he could write one off on the M1 which is hardly a challenging drive I have no idea, except perhaps he switched all the safety guff off, in which case he is a ****-nugget and deserves everything he got.
Click to expand...

Doesn't say whether it was a single vehicle incident or not.

Safety gubbins notwithstanding, heavy handedness on the controls on any mid engined machine like that - wet or dry - can get you into bother. A little 118bhp Elise will quite happily redirect you into the scenery much more easily than a 500bhp saloon :)
 
linnfomaniac83 said:
Well the way my mate drove it certainly gave the impression it was, I held on tight. I've owned properly brutal cars my TVR griff being a good example, very scary for 320ish BHP.
Click to expand...

I suppose once you get the hang of it, you can drive it brutally, given the massive power. All the electronic safety and ease-of-driving features won't alter the laws of physics. My feeling was mainly that it could be easily driven by someone who did not know how to drive very well. In the sense of no brutal clutch or heavy brakes, no sudden surges in power, hard but gentle suspension. But I only did 3 circuits with it.
 
You'd only need to hit water an inch or so deep at 70mph in that car to find yourself in trouble. All the electronics in the world can't save a floaty car.
 
I somehow doubt the owner went from having a basic thing like a Mondeo straight to a 430 Scuderia!

You normally progress towards such a car via lots of other fast/sports cars, so I'd say it's unlikely to be driver error due to inexperience.
 
maxflinn said:
I somehow doubt the owner went from having a basic thing like a Mondeo straight to a 430 Scuderia!

You normally progress towards such a car via lots of other fast/sports cars, so I'd say it's unlikely to be driver error due to inexperience.
Click to expand...

Yeah, when I bought my Ferrari, my other car was a Fiat Panda 750L. Great car.
 
PaulMB said:
I suppose once you get the hang of it, you can drive it brutally, given the massive power. All the electronic safety and ease-of-driving features won't alter the laws of physics. My feeling was mainly that it could be easily driven by someone who did not know how to drive very well. In the sense of no brutal clutch or heavy brakes, no sudden surges in power, hard but gentle suspension. But I only did 3 circuits with it.
Click to expand...

My mate can really drive (helps when he sells high end cars), he had me touching cloth. I'd have loved a go myself but he sold it before I had the chance.
 
A bit concerning that it burst into flames this seems to happen to Italian sports cars that are in a heavy shunt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top