I’ll take it as a given that everyone can imagine the performance that Sant A’gata’s best serves up: it is truly mind-bending, and means that you can end up travelling far too fast, far too quickly if care isn’t taken. All this accompanied by a deep throated gargling that rises to a joyful mechanical cacophony of big capacity whirring multivalve trains as the red line approaches, overlain with an induction noise that makes the hairs the back of your neck tingle (and nothing to do with the proximity of said induction to the neck). The four wheel drive traction through huge gumball tyres is unsurprisingly more than a match for the immense power, and corners are dispatched in an instant - I doubt the traction control would ever get a sniff of action on dry public highways.
The driving experience communicates that you have a task on your hands: a hefty helm and positive shoves through the metal gated ‘box are needed, but all other controls are no heavier than any other cars. The driving position is pretty good, but probably designed around Italian men slightly shorter in the leg than me (and quite possibly with a derriere more resistant to numbness in what were fairly uncomfortable seats). The fully adjustable steering wheel overcomes most of this, but without anywhere to rest my clutch foot my knee was able to act as a self canceller for the indicators when turning left.
The width and limited rear visibility also make themselves plainly evident, especially when trying to manoeuvre. And yes, of course I had the scissor door open and sat on the sill to reverse.
So, undoubtedly one of the truly great petrolhead experiences, but I was surprised at how stressful if was piloting the Murcielago at times. I’m sure this is partly due to the attention it attracts (you are in the spotlight all of the time), partly due to it’s physical size (will it fit through that gap, can I find somewhere to park, can I get over that traffic calming?) and partly due to fairly the crowded roads which were the only ones I had the opportunity to use it on. I’m sure further familiarity would ease these worries, but I have to say that for the moment being able to have the use of the Green Meanie for a short time is a much more attractive proposition than outright ownership.
