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Tiff Needell's column
The Needells SEAT hire car is a far cry from the Enzo and McLaren F1 driven on Tiff's last outing
The call has been made and the next test car booked. Exclusively mine for two whole weeks, and one I've been eagerly looking forward to for the last few months. No, it's not a Ferrari or a Porsche - it's a five-door SEAT Toledo! The Needells are off on holiday and the hire car awaits. It might sound strange, but occasions such as holidays often give a better insight into the real world of car ownership than taking a fully specced-up, top-of-the-range special from the manufacturer's press fleets - especially as my wife Patsy and the three boys all pile aboard with their luggage. Mind you, it will be a bit of a climbdown from my last outing to finish off the latest series of Fifth Gear in style - a long haul north to Barnsley to open a couple of innocent looking garage doors and reveal a Ferrari Enzo and McLaren F1! What a day that was.
No track to blast round, just a simple day in the life of a couple of supercars heading for local roads. And like a family outing in a hire car, it was the chance to give a very different appraisal. My previous experience of the Enzo had been just five laps of Ferrari's Fiorano test circuit, for that was all journalists were permitted. Five laps with the traction control left on had been the order - but of course rules are made to be broken! In that short space of time, it was a whirl of revs, flashing gearchange lights, copious amounts of opposite lock and not forgetting to talk to the camera. Now it was a 30mph limit with all the hazards of everyday driving, and the Ferrari gracefully transformed itself into a gentle lady.
The Enzo looks faster and more futuristic than any other supercar, right down to its schoolboy-styled 'booster rocket' rear lights, but it was calm and placid on public roads. The paddleshifters have a soft touch that belies the car's power, and using precious few revs, you can change up and down the gearbox. The stark racing interior meant there was plenty of road noise, but that's all part of the 'racy' feel Ferrari wanted to create. Despite that, the Enzo never seemed to be urging me to have a go. We both knew what we could do, but were equally happy to cruise along - unlike the McLaren!
This F1 - the sixth of the 107 made that I have been fortunate enough to drive - was one of the 19 'long-tail' GTR versions built from 1995-96. Chassis number 16R finished the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1996 and now, with precious few alterations, here I was driving it down Barnsley high street! The ex-racer has been repainted in McLaren's famous orange hue and looks stunning. Sitting in that central driving position, the view in front is that of a fish inside its bowl. The road ahead is in wraparound widescreen.
Deafened by engine, transmission and road noise, the McLaren is bursting to be let loose. Its chunky manual gearshift engages you directly with the machinery that sits under you. It cries out to be unleashed; it has no wish to go window-shopping. With 750bhp and carrying only 980kg, nothing can compare to the unbridled excitement as you let it off the reins. Nothing can compare in terms of thoroughbred performance. The Pagani Zonda may be more sophisticated and the Bugatti Veyron is ultimately faster, but the McLaren F1 is still the Daddy of all supercars for me. Now, where's that agreement for the hire car?
Tiff Needell is a presenter on Channel Five's motoring programme Fifth Gear and is also a motorsport writer and commentator
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| The Enzo looks faster and more futuristic than any other supercar, right down to its schoolboy-styled 'booster rocket' rear lights, but it was calm and placid on public roads. | |
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No track to blast round, just a simple day in the life of a couple of supercars heading for local roads. And like a family outing in a hire car, it was the chance to give a very different appraisal. My previous experience of the Enzo had been just five laps of Ferrari's Fiorano test circuit, for that was all journalists were permitted. Five laps with the traction control left on had been the order - but of course rules are made to be broken! In that short space of time, it was a whirl of revs, flashing gearchange lights, copious amounts of opposite lock and not forgetting to talk to the camera. Now it was a 30mph limit with all the hazards of everyday driving, and the Ferrari gracefully transformed itself into a gentle lady.
The Enzo looks faster and more futuristic than any other supercar, right down to its schoolboy-styled 'booster rocket' rear lights, but it was calm and placid on public roads. The paddleshifters have a soft touch that belies the car's power, and using precious few revs, you can change up and down the gearbox. The stark racing interior meant there was plenty of road noise, but that's all part of the 'racy' feel Ferrari wanted to create. Despite that, the Enzo never seemed to be urging me to have a go. We both knew what we could do, but were equally happy to cruise along - unlike the McLaren!
This F1 - the sixth of the 107 made that I have been fortunate enough to drive - was one of the 19 'long-tail' GTR versions built from 1995-96. Chassis number 16R finished the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1996 and now, with precious few alterations, here I was driving it down Barnsley high street! The ex-racer has been repainted in McLaren's famous orange hue and looks stunning. Sitting in that central driving position, the view in front is that of a fish inside its bowl. The road ahead is in wraparound widescreen.
Deafened by engine, transmission and road noise, the McLaren is bursting to be let loose. Its chunky manual gearshift engages you directly with the machinery that sits under you. It cries out to be unleashed; it has no wish to go window-shopping. With 750bhp and carrying only 980kg, nothing can compare to the unbridled excitement as you let it off the reins. Nothing can compare in terms of thoroughbred performance. The Pagani Zonda may be more sophisticated and the Bugatti Veyron is ultimately faster, but the McLaren F1 is still the Daddy of all supercars for me. Now, where's that agreement for the hire car?
Tiff Needell is a presenter on Channel Five's motoring programme Fifth Gear and is also a motorsport writer and commentator
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