In this week's automotive adventures, Steve explains why a Mini is in the mix for the first car he wants to drive once lockdown finishes and shares a few of his favourite podcasts.
Monday
The arrival of Greg Kable’s cover tale of the maddest Mini yet, the long-awaited GP, feeds my desire to get out there, driving. Same for you, I’m sure. I was cogitating only yesterday on which machine I’d choose for that first, purely-for-fun sprint on favourite Cotswolds roads. I’m not talking about some supercar to be learned and feared; those can never be driven with the abandonment of small cars that always leave plenty of road to spare.
The family Mazda MX-5 would be a good option. Also the Morgan 3 Wheeler I’ve raved about. But the candidate that unexpectedly popped into my head was our long-term Mini Cooper S of recent memory, complete with 192bhp engine, manual ’box and JCW seats. It was one of those cars in which I always felt instantly at home. And enjoyed any journey. Turn the wheel, squeeze the throttle and you get precisely what you expect: I love that. Neither supercars nor classics – or even, by the sound of things, the somewhat wheel-fighty Mini GP – afford such ease. It’s one of the overlooked joys of good, ordinary cars.
Tuesday
One lockdown bonus is the humour that bobs up on Twitter, the only ‘social’ I bother with. One top-quality posting showed the back view of an artic with ‘Q7’ in large letters on the back doors. The line beneath, penned by a clever bloke called Andrew J Chapple, reads: “Spy shots suggest new Audi Q7 only a tad bigger than the old one.” Superb.
Wednesday
We all have the same routines at times like these: build Lego models, phone half-remembered mates, reorganise junk in garage – and listen to podcasts. Among the best I’ve discovered are USLOT Sessions, started by Lotus as weekly internal productions but now aired for owners and enthusiasts, too. Find them via your podcast app.
As you doubtless know, USLOT is a term Lotus founder Colin Chapman coined early on for his tiny band of helpers. Now it’s the title of the company’s (excellent) internal magazine. The first talk had vehicle dynamics expert Gavan Kershaw brilliantly explaining how sports car suspension is set up, and why it matters. I’d not heard anything like it before and was captivated. The latest has an F1 crew member describing Ayrton Senna’s wet-weather masterclass in Portugal 35 years ago. Don’t miss it.
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Once lockdown ends
The roads will become hopelessly congested again. In the meantime the 2-wheel brigade and a few selfish motorists ignoring the rules seem to be enjoying themselves. Maybe Autocar should be campaigning for free public transport and substantial fuel price rises so that we can maintain these nice quiet roads?
"FREE" public transport?
Have you costed this and where would the money be sourced from year on year?. "Maybe" you go think before you post.