ITALIAN STALLIONS IN SCOTLAND by David Jones
So , as we all know , Coronavirus has taken over all of our summer holiday plans , this included ours too . Our initial plan was a road trip through France , Switzerland and Germany . I was so excited – this trip had everything ! Mountain passes , Autobahns with no speed limits , beautiful scenery and even Porsche and Mercedes car museums in Stuttgart .
Long story short ; we didn ’ t want to risk being abroad when the quarantine rules change meaning we ’ d have to stay home for 2 weeks after returning so we cancelled the night before . ( As you may realise , we made the right decision !) Well , now what ? My father swooped in with the idea of a tour around Scotland . As he did , memories of rain , snow and fog came flooding to mind – I ’ m starting to wonder if I should have been more supportive at the time .
Anyway , the route was roughly planned , and we woke up the neighbours at 6am with the cold starts of the 488 and California T and headed off to our first stop in Inverurie – a six-and-a-half-hour journey on motorways . After about four fairly boring hours , we decided ' smiles per gallon ' was more fun than ' miles per gallon ' and with that we searched for better roads . With our new objective in mind , we headed off the motorway , slipped the ready-togo rockets into race mode and found some amazing country roads . Yes , it did take longer to reach our destination , but wow what a journey it was !
This Scottish Nürburgring-like road was the perfect way to start our driving holiday and I think other like-minded car enthusiasts agreed as we caught up to some amazing motors in all shapes and sizes , from a sunset orange GT3 RS to an Ariel Atom – a car that surely can ’ t be road legal ( unless go karts are now actually allowed on roads ?) With ‘ track and trace ’ roadside cafes bringing us back to the real world , we ploughed on and reached our first destination , well we sort of reached the destination . Another thing brought us back to reality – low clearance Ferraris are not fantastic at reaching houses that are at the end of bumpy farmyard tracks ! Having sensibly parked the cars at one of the neighbour ’ s houses , before the bumps began , we reached our first stop on foot .
Now over 100 miles north of any motorway and perfect weather , we headed off on a drive ( since at the end of the day its why we ’ re in Scotland ). One spectacular road took us up to a ski resort in Lecht , something so amazing and yet so almost out of place . Either way I had to sit on the chair lift to satisfy my inner child . With another ski resort in mind , we left Lecht and headed to Aviemore .
Once again , the roads were fantastic , although it could ’ ve just been that the two Ferraris were that good making any road feel like a racetrack . The 488 , the car that took over from the almighty 458 , which itself was just insane . The 4.5L naturally aspirated V8 was one of the best engines ever made , the sound produced by this beast was hypnotic . Actually , I think Jeremy Clarkson puts it better than I can – “... And listen to that noise , it sounds like a bear . A burning bear !”
So , how does the 488 compare in my mind , considering its predecessor is one of my favourite cars of all time . Well , it ’ s quite simple to be honest ; the 488 is better in every single way , but I still don ’ t know if it ’ d be the one I ' d pick – but I think that ’ s just my stubbornness . Now , the Cali T , it could quite possibly be the best car to take for a hot and sunny road trip , which was my main worry about Scotland ! Good job the two of them have wet mode . Even as a passenger , the 3.9L twin-turbo charged engine feels so strong !
It amazes me , the way it goes from being such a luxurious cruiser to the type of jet where you ’ re trying to find something to hold on to before you hit 60mph in just 3.5 seconds ! If you ’ re the type of driver that enjoys luxury , but at the same time enjoys straining your neck when accelerating , then
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