Not a bad line up of cars, that. Taken yesterday during an epic 6 hour blat over the Brecons, before the Morgan PHSS today. Suffice to say, much fun was had by all.
The route I made was cobbled together from three routes I found online, and was about 200 miles (!) long. I led the convoy, with the Gallardo and M3 swapping places behind me at various points. The Gallardo is a new purchase, indeed Mark's not even had it a month yet, and is an early Spyder with a very rare manual 'box: So far we believe one of just 300 cars. The E46 is an SMG car, and Aaron has had that for a good couple of years now. I've driven the M3 on track once, and the Lambo around a car park as the owner is still understandably precious about it.
Aside from a mess of road works around Merthyr Tydfil and the awfulness that is the A4069 which is now all 40mph, the ultimate tragedy, we were mostly fortunate with the traffic. Sure, there were plenty of overtakes but also plenty of opportunities, and with none of the cars lacking for straight line pace other vehicles could be picked off with ease. Sadly there were still a couple of idiotic folks the English side of the border who did a solid 45mph in a clear NSL for miles, without any real overtaking places and without any thought that they could have briefly stopped for 10 secs to let us past. Really superheated my urine, that one.
But oh yes, the cars. Or rather, just my car as I didn't get to sample the other two on the roads. It's really, really good fun! I mean, I know that should be fairly obvious with a 333bhp V8 and a gearstick, but it's still a BIG car with a fair amount of weight there, but it's a wonderful chassis and you can really get it working well on the roads we were on. I had no trouble keeping Mark and Aaron behind, and managed to drop the Gallardo by a sizeable chunk when I decided to really get on it. That was fairly satisfying, especially given the weight and power penalty I was carrying in comparison, but obviously I know which car I'd rather have on my driveway
The brakes are nicely bedded in now, and without fear of killing them I was able to use them to my advantage. The pedal is firm, not overly servoed and with good pressure and feel from it, so you have the confidence to really lean on them when you need to. The steering has to be in Sport mode though, else it's just too light and gives little feedback, but as long as that button is pushed then it's very easy to place the nose. The reasonably aggressive geo I had done t'other week did wonders for front end turn it, although you do have to be patient with it as there's a big ol' lump hanging there and a very long nose; Fortunately I'm used to that from the 911 days, so I adjusted very quickly.
The suspension is a bit of a let down, sadly. For what the car is (big GT bruiser) and the age (11years ad 101K miles) it's very good, absorbing the blows and bumps as you'd want, but when really pushing on it's just too wallowy for my taste. There were times where I was actively fighting the car and the the traction control in either mode when trying to get the power down, and even switching the TCS off didn't help. I think I need to invest in some adjustable dampers and springs sooner rather than later, probably the BC series as they've been imperious in my MR2. Granted, I don't tend to drive the car on roads like this too often, but if I'm to really bond with this car then I'm going to need more control.
I'd also like to try some 888s on it, however the general consensus from my companions was that that would be ridiculously unfair and that they'd spend forever trying to keep up with me if I did that! Whilst their p*ss-taking is both flattering and funny, I never take it as a sign that I'm a driving god or anything. Rather, I've always seen it as a compliment towards the car, as a really good one will flatter any driver and allow them to make the most out of the machinery they have available. The 645 is certainly a car that inspires confidence, rather than fear.
I'll be honest and say that I've wondered in recent days whether I made a poor decision in the BMW, what with Boxsters & Zeds & S2Ks etc all available for the same price and offering me much more of the sportier drive I'm used to, and that was compounded on Saturday morning with the gorgeous weather allowing the other guys to drop their roofs and enjoy the sun. After the 200 miles were complete however, I've discovered that there's something perversely unique about driving a sports barge to 8/10ths and working yourself as hard as the car, and it's an experience I'm growing to love. I look forward to the summer and many more drives like this, and learning to bond with the counterpoint of a dull silver BMW & a rev-happy V8 matched to a slick gearshift.
