Oi You!

What the hell do you think you're doing, driving along at about 25 miles per hour on a bloody 50 road? I'm not being funny, well at least not in a ha ha sense, but you haven't got hazards on (so I can only assume your car is fine) and you're doing half the speed limit. And if your car is fine, mate, I can only assume it's you. You £%^$!

I have nothing at all against going slowly if the conditions dictate it (traffic jams, huge artics in front, slow moving traffic, an accident etc) - this is part and parcel of what has now become busy motoring life. However, if there is no car in front of you and you're doing half the speed limit on a deserted (but lit) country road, motorway or just about anywhere else, you're giving me a massive headache. For no good reason.

This person I'm talking about was driving (I think, it was very dark) a Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 - not a Ferrari but it should be a lively little motor in the 16v version. This baffled me even more. Why was the swine going so slowly? So I tried to get a look at the man (see, I am still of the opinion that women tend to be smarter, if not better drivers). As I couldn't get a clean view I did what always grabs attention - a quick light flash. He looked up. He wasn't old, angry looking or crazed. This made me even more mystified as to why we were tootling along so slowly.

I'm not one for road rage and there was hardly a huge queue of cars on the road behind me, so I suppose no real harm was done. However, if it's in off-peak hours that you're driving and you're not up to the legal limit (for no reason) then please keep up the pace. Bear in mind that I have close to 40 miles per day to do in peak traffic so I don't want to be stuck going slowly at 8.30pm because you have decided you want to look out into the dark world as you press lightly on the gas.

Ferrari FXX Evolutione

This is the AMAZING Ferrari FXX Evolutione. Michael Schumacher helped design it and it even goes beyond the legendary capabilities of the Enzo Ferrari. So, let's take a look at the spec:

Engine: Longitudinal, Mid-mounted, 75, naturally-aspirated aluminum V12
Valvetrain: DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder with continuously variable timing
Fuel system: Bosch Motronic ME7 Sequential Electronic Injection
Specific Output: 127.75 PS (126 hp/94 kW) per litre
Drive system: RWD w/TCS
Construction: Carbon fiber body over carbon fiber tub with rear alloy subframe
Front brakes: Brembo CCM (carbon-ceramic) discs w/6-pot calipers, power assist ABS
Rear brakes: Brembo CCM (carbon-ceramic) discs w/4-pot calipers, power assist ABS
Front wheels: 483 mm (19 in) x 229 mm (9 in)
Rear wheels: 483 mm (19 in) x 330 mm (13 in)
Steering: Rack and pinion with power assist
Suspension: Double wishbones with push-rod actuated coil-shock units, adaptive dampers, electronic shock absorbers, anti-roll bar
Wheelbase: 2650 mm (104 in)
Front track: 1660 mm (65 in)
Rear track: 1650 mm (65 in)
Rear view is provided by a mounted video camera viewed on a small inboard screen.
(supplied by www.wikipedia.org)

So what does this tell us? Well, it says that this is arguably one of the fastest cars ever built, but not just in terms of pure straight line performance. This thing is made to eat track in the same way that Americans are keen on their pizza.

Can you have one? Well no. Ferrari has only allowed 30 original FXX cars to be built, and probably an even smaller number will be outfitted with the full FXX Evolutione spec. Nonetheless, to see one would be a dream. I think if I won the lottery my money would be spent on going to watch one of these lap a track time and time again...