Latest news with #ColinChapman
Top Gear
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Power up: flat out on track in the 2,011bhp Lotus Evija
Big Reads Time to get behind the wheel of the electrifying Lotus Evija on track. Buckle up... Skip 1 photos in the image carousel and continue reading A beautiful day in Wales and a Lotus. What could be simpler? Perfect tarmac, jaw dropping scenery and a pure, lightweight, throwback sports car. Apply a few cliches about adding lightness, the genius of Colin Chapman and a liberal sprinkling of 'ride handling balance' fairy dust and you have the formula that's been on the rinse and repeat cycle in car magazines since the 1960s. Did I mention steering feel yet? Don't worry. It's coming. But first, let's throw out everything we know of how this tale goes. Today is truly a new day. The Lotus in question isn't a sports car. The Evija is truly hyper. Fiendishly complex, hysterically powerful, mind meltingly expensive and (sadly for Lotus), likely to be as exclusive as ground unicorn horn. Advertisement - Page continues below The price of £2m plus taxes is a rather fundamental limiting factor, of course, but that's nothing compared to the bleak market conditions. In 2019, when the Evija was first revealed, the world was hurtling towards EV domination and the unprecedented performance potential created dazzling new possibilities. Photography: Jonny Fleetwood You might like In 2025 things aren't so optimistic. In fact, while the mainstream is quickly retreating to hybrid, the hypercar customer has resoundingly opted out of the great electric revolution. Just ask Pininfarina or Rimac. So, right now and despite a Herculean effort by Lotus to bring the Evija to fruition, the 'maximum of 130 cars' promise seems as overinflated as its total power output. Yet even if the Evija's stated sales target is DOA, it remains a fascinating car and seeing two parked side by side in a pit garage at Anglesey – the roadtrip comes later – is a very special moment. These are the most powerful production cars Top Gear has ever tested so the clear skies are a godsend, and later the unbroken sunshine will beautifully render every detail, duct and aero device. Why two? Well, with a 93kWh battery feeding four electric motors the range is, um, compromised. Lotus claims 195 miles but on a racetrack you can cut that in half, then maybe in half again. So having a spare seems prudent. Sensible, even. Advertisement - Page continues below Skip 18 photos in the image carousel and continue reading Speaking of sensible, the Evija has a total power output of 2,011bhp. Remember the Lotus Carlton, the super saloon that prompted questions in parliament due to its irresponsible power output? Well, each one of the Lotus Evija's wheels has 125bhp more than the Carlton's total output. It can accelerate from 0–186mph in under nine seconds and hits 217mph. Zero to 60mph? Lotus simply says 'less than three seconds', but even one exploratory launch on Anglesey's straight delivers an easy GPS verified two seconds. The performance is otherworldly and a huge departure from the usual Lotus ways. Yet, rolling out of the pitlane there's a very real feeling of two worlds colliding here. The full carbon fibre structure is extremely stiff, the interior wonderfully minimalist with lovely materials and the tiny yoke-like steering wheel feels delicious. These high end hypercar calling cards in combination with the manic whirr of the electric motors and instant, ear flattening performance suggest the Evija shouldn't have a shred of Lotusness about it. Yet it does. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. Much of it bubbles up through the steering. Lotus elected to stick with hydraulic power steering to ensure clarity of feedback and it feels like an inspired decision. The Evija might have alien performance but initially the sensations it provides are reassuringly familiar. There's no heavy regen, either. God knows the battery could do with all the help it can get in terms of range, but I appreciate that lifting the throttle doesn't artificially induce heavy negative g. In fact, programming in a tiny bit of regen wouldn't be a bad idea as the Evija seems to freewheel when not under load. Perhaps most satisfying is that the Evija feels light and lithe. As every Lotus should. With its exotic structure and a real focus on weightsaving, the Evija has been kept to 1,884kg. Heavy compared to, say, an Aston Martin Valkyrie, but literally hundreds of kilograms lighter than other EVs of this nature. With electronically adjustable Multimatic dampers and a heave damper to handle the huge downforce generated, body control is measured and, again, has an organic feel. As I gently increase the pace the Evija stays composed but breathes with the surface and has just enough movement on its suspension to impart information and breed ever more confidence. The soundtrack increases in intensity, too. There's no fakery here. The motors almost shriek under full power and while the noise isn't spine tingling, the frenzied, runaway sense of it is perfectly in keeping with the performance, which borders on the surreal. Such is the assault on the senses that even the lack of a gearbox to control doesn't seem a mortal fault. The Evija might not quite conform to all my usual mental markers, but it's a deeply moving experience. A mix of high definition tactility and quantum performance. The Evija is brutal yet oddly balletic at times, wild yet determinedly controlled Yet, there are compromises. The sheer scale of performance on offer has led Lotus to a necessarily slightly conservative balance. On track we're concentrating on Sport and Track modes (Valet, Range, City and Tour will be addressed later), but even fully wound up the Evija's traction and stability control remains active at all times. This measure seems wise when you see the telltale light on the dash flickering at 130mph in a straight line and feel the ever present torque steer as the Pirellis are stressed right to the limit. However, you'd think the watchful eye of the electronics might allow Lotus to really exploit the power of true torque vectoring. As each wheel can be controlled independently there's a whole new world of possibility... but the Evija is neutral almost to a fault. In Sport mode there's a hint of understeer first and sometimes a tiny sliver of oversteer under power on corner exit but it's almost imperceptible. Switch to Track mode and the Evija's stability is incredible but there's almost nothing by way of adjustability. Point, shoot, hope your neck muscles can take the beating. Repeat. It's outrageous but the thrill is physical rather than an experience that conquers your heart and mind. 28 minutes 4 seconds It's funny, the only time the Evija feels slightly unruly is under full power in a straight line – where the front tyres can feel very sensitive to surface changes and cambers – and under heavy braking. There's just not quite the stability you expect and because Lotus didn't go for a 'skateboard' construction (instead building up the batteries where you'd find a V8 or V12 in a mid-engined supercar) the weight just behind your shoulders moves and shakes in ways that can feel pretty unnerving. Oh, and even six piston carbon ceramic brakes can't handle 2,011bhp and 1,884kg for too long before the pedal starts to creep closer to the floor. You might have noticed that I've avoided describing the raw performance up until now. Mostly because, well, it's hard to put into words. Relentless? Yep, but that doesn't quite do it justice. Sickening? Weirdly not. Perhaps the driving position and excellent body control help here, but the Evija is far less vomit inducing than a Tesla Plaid, for example. Extreme? Absolutely. The Evija makes something like a McLaren 750S feel very ordinary indeed. Unforgettable? Perhaps that sums it up best. Not just the acceleration but the whole car. The Evija is brutal yet oddly balletic at times, wild yet determinedly controlled – a vast leap for Lotus but still clinging to the old ways where it can. It turns out there's nothing simple about a sunny day in Wales and this Lotus. But I won't forget it in a hurry.
Mint
02-05-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
The seven Formula One cars that changed everything
The first dominant machine in Formula One, 75 years ago, was the Alfa Romeo 158—which might look like a toy by today's standards. But it was state-of-the-art in its heyday. In recent history, it's the next-level Red Bull RB19, which in 2023 won all of but one of its 22 races. What follows are snapshots of the seven cars that have made their mark, and their power and race-victory scoreboards. The first Formula One world championship had barely begun in 1950 when the sport discovered its first dominant machine. The Alfa Romeo 158, which was shaped like a cigar on wheels, won all six of the Grands Prix it entered that season, including three with future five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio at the wheel. And its successor, the 159, would be just as successful. But the most amazing part wasn't their speed. It was that the Alfa Romeo that powered to the 1950 world championship had originally been designed 12 years earlier, in 1938. Perhaps the most revolutionary car in the history of Formula One, the Lotus 72 showed the world that aerodynamics wasn't merely a gimmick: It represented the future of the sport. The brainchild of British engineer Colin Chapman, one of F1's mad scientists, every part of the car was conceived to maximize 'ground effects," shaping the airflow around the car to keep it pressed to the road at high speeds and prevent it from spinning out of corners. Though it was plagued by other safety issues, the Lotus 72 would influence F1 design for decades. By rights, the MP4/4 should have been a catastrophe. For the 1988 season, McLaren tore up a playbook that had delivered three titles in the previous four seasons, abruptly ditching its engine supplier in favor of a deal with Honda and hiring a new chief designer, Gordon Murray. Four months before the season, there wasn't even a vague sketch of what the car would look like. When it was finally unveiled, however, it was worth the wait. The MP4/4 won 15 of the 16 races that year as McLaren stormed to the title. The FW14B wasn't so much a racing car as a 200-mph supercomputer with a spoiler on the back. Equipped with the sport's first on-board computer system, almost every part of the car was at the cutting edge: Microprocessors controlled the suspension, the throttle, the traction control, even a semiautomatic gearbox. At a time when no other F1 team was working with silicon in this way, the FW14B was faster, better and smarter. Williams won each of the first five races, clinching the world title with one third of the season still to run. When Enzo Ferrari founded the racing team that bears his name in 1929, his ambition was to achieve a level of supremacy unlike anything seen. In 2002, Ferrari did exactly that. Utilizing a lightweight chassis, a powerful V10 engine and bespoke tires from Bridgestone specifically designed to match Michael Schumacher's driving style, the F2002 powered the German driver to the world title by a then-record margin of 68 points. The Lewis Hamilton dynasty at Mercedes defined the 2010s. And when he was at his best, only one other driver could get anywhere near him. It was teammate Nico Rosberg, and the reason he kept things close was that he happened to be driving the same all-conquering car. In 2016, the W07 won all but two of the season's 19 Grands Prix and went 1-2 in eight of them. The surprising twist that year was that Rosberg managed to nose in front of Hamilton for the world championship. The RB19 was one in a long line of masterpieces by legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey. But combined with Dutch prodigy Max Verstappen in the cockpit it became one of the greatest race cars of all time. In 2023, Verstappen took the checkered flag a staggering 19 times in 22 races. His teammate Sergio Perez guided the RB19 to two victories of his own. The only non-Red Bull to win a race all season was Carlos Sainz's Ferrari. Email Joshua Robinson , a Wall Street Journal editor in New York, at Email Jonathan Clegg , the Journal's sports editor in New York, at
Bloomberg
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
The Lotus Eletre SUV's $230,000 Price Tag Is a Marketing Strategy
Ask 10 different automakers how they're dealing with President Trump's automotive tariffs and you'll get 10 different answers. Audi and Jaguar Land Rover have paused shipments to the US. Porsche AG preemptively increased inventory in the US. Ferrari NV will raise prices 10%; Mercedes-Benz Group AG has committed to keeping pricing stable for the calendar year but is considering withdrawing some of its entry-level vehicles altogether. Lotus in particular is pinched. Founded by British inventor and engineer Colin Chapman in 1952, the brand has undergone myriad reinventions in the decades since, including multiple Formula One Championships, near bankruptcy, and ownership by General Motors before China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. bought a controlling stake in 2017. (Geely's owner, Li Shufu, also controls Volvo Car and owns portions of Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings.)
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
It Doesn't Get Much Racier Than This BAC Mono X on Bring a Trailer
The BAC Mono offers the single-seater experience for the road. The X model is the most powerful variant. It's finished in a color scheme to match the Mercedes-AMG Petronas racing team. Fitted with racing derived parts from the best British specialists, it's both a track star and a road car. In the automotive world, single-seaters are usually restricted to closed course only performance, but in this case, we've got a street legal scorcher that truly offers a racecar experience for the BAC Mono X, up for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos), is finished in a silver, black, and green combo that pays tribute to the AMG Petronas Formula 1 team. It only offers seating for one, and you'll need to bring along your helmet, but it offers a supercar power-to-weight ratio in a package that's smaller than the tiniest subcompact. It's at once the ultimate track toy and also as close as you'll get to a Formula 1 car for the BAC initialism stands for Briggs Automotive Company, a specialist automotive design and engineering firm founded by two brothers in Liverpool at the end of the 2000s. After spending ten years working with the likes of Mercedes and Porsche, BAC struck out on its own with a wheels-up build of its own vehicle, the first Mono. Originally built around a Cosworth-fettled four-cylinder, it set multiple production-car records at several race tracks, and nearly tore Jeremy Clarkson's face off on Top Gear. This version, the Mono X, is even more ferocious. Powered by a 2.5-liter Ford-derived four-cylinder built by Essex-based touring car specialist Mountune, it pits 315 horsepower against just 1250 pounds, a lithe featherweight that makes even a Lotus Elise look like a Chevy of Lotus, that Mountune engine is semi-structural, meaning that it's akin to the stressed-member F1 cars Colin Chapman came up with in the 1960s. The gearbox is a six-speed sequential from Hewland, another British company with a long history of racing victory. Basically, this Mono X is like a best-of compilation featuring the UK's heritage of men in sheds building absolute racing bodywork is carbon fiber, the suspension is pushrod with adjustable Öhlins dampers, and the brakes are four-piston AP Racing calipers with steel rotors. The car sits on 17-inch alloy wheels fitted with Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires, and a second set of wheels fitted with Pirelli slicks for a dedicated track day is also part of the sale. On the inside, the Mono X features a six-point safety harness and a fire-suppression system. Want driving tunes? Sing in your helmet. Flying solo never looked like so much fun. Whether you're looking for the ultimate track toy or a ultra-raw on-road experience for one, this Mono X is as pared back as driving gets. And, with just 1972 miles on the odometer, it's just begging you to get your laps in. The auction ends on April 10. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Dallara Stradale
Rarely do we welcome a true debutant to the road-test pages of Autocar, and rarely do we test cars with genuine motorsport pedigree, but some days are simply better than others. This car represents the first time Italian chassis manufacturer Dallara has fixed its name to a road-legal machine. As a project, it has been a long time coming, and as a prospect, it is nothing short of mouth-watering. At least it is for those aware of what the company has achieved since a young, ex-Lamborghini engineer set up shop in the Emilia-Romagnese town of Varano de' Melegari in 1973. Gian Paolo Dallara studied aeronautical engineering at Milan Polytechnic and in 1959 was hired by Ferrari to work for the Scuderia. A sojourn at Maserati preceded a move to Sant'Agata Bolognese, where the then-27-year-old Dallara led the team behind the Lamborghini Miura. In the decades since, Dallara Automobili da Competizione has established itself as one of the world's leading motorsport chassis constructors, even though many don't recognise the name. But if you have watched IndyCar or the Formula 3 racing that has propelled so many hotshots to the highest single-seater heights, you've seen Dallara's work in action, because its chassis dominate each of those grids. Equally, if you've ever lusted after the Maserati MC12, the Alfa Romeo 8C or 4C, KTM's radical KTM X-Bow, the Bugatti Veyron or its Bugatti Chiron successor, then you've lusted after Dallara know-how, because the company's expertise in carbonfibre and aerodynamics has benefited them all, along with too many other notable road cars to list here. Dallara has earned the right to build the Stradale, saying it's nothing less than a sincere expression of motorsport engineering for use on road and track. But is the driving experience divine or inaccessible? Can it reward the casual driver like little else or, as with so much of Dallara's back catalogue, need only racing drivers apply? Let's find out. Strip away the Stradale's carbonfibre body and you'll find aluminium subframes mounted to a lightweight central carbonfibre monocoque. Suspension is by double wishbones controlled via coilover struts, with the dampers adjustable for compression at both low and high speeds as well as for rebound. In terms of architecture, the overall approach is not dissimilar to that of those mainstream supercars whose makers are experienced in motorsport. McLaren springs to mind. The Stradale, however, is much lighter on its tyres than even the trimmest Woking missile. At 855kg without fluids, it weighs less than the Lotus 3-Eleven, which is pertinent because a young Gian Paolo Dallara idolised Colin Chapman chiefly on the basis of the Brit's 'simplify, then add lightness' mantra. With so little mass there's no need for power-assisted steering, and the Brembo brakes use cast-iron rather than carbon-ceramic discs. Neither did Dallara need to shoehorn a big brute of an engine into the small chassis to achieve the desired power-to-weight ratio. The car's mid-mounted four-cylinder is the relatively compact 2.3-litre 'Cleveland' motor built by Ford and recently used in the Focus RS. Fettled by Bosch Engineering, it's now switchable between outputs of 295bhp and 395bhp and drives the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox and a mechanical limited-slip differential. A robotised version of the transmission with paddle-operated shifts is also available, albeit for a 40kg penalty. But all these physical elements merely prepare the ground for the Stradale's central tenet, which is vast downforce. The floor of the car, again made entirely of carbonfibre, is perfectly flat and ends with deep venturi tunnels. In the Stradale's basic form, Dallara will stall the front diffuser for good aero balance. With the optional rear wing fitted, the top speed drops from 174mph to 165mph but the wind-tunnel-honed body is able to generate some 820kg of vertical load. The compelling upshot is a car with downforce potential comparable to a McLaren Senna and the power-to-weight ratio of a Porsche GT2 RS but a footprint resembling that of a typical C-segment hatchback. Beyond hitting aero targets, what freedom there was to style the car was undertaken by Turinese consultancy Granstudio. A dramatic melange of organic curves and hard edges is set against the backdrop of a surprisingly long wheelbase. This car wants nothing for presence, and from some angles takes on the aura of a historical sports prototype racer. Nothing the sane side of BAC's single-seater BAC Mono channels such a heady motorsport ambience as the Stradale. In the interests of chassis rigidity there are no doors, so you're expected to vault over the low sills and aim one foot at a landing zone cut into the seat base and marked 'STEP HERE'. The driving position demands you then thread your legs down deep in the tub, engendering a sense of security that is augmented by four-point harnesses, the high transmission tunnel and a 320mm steering wheel complete with centre marker and a column generously adjustable for reach. But before all this, you have a choice, and not simply for the colour of the stitching. The Stradale is offered in three styles. In its purest configuration it functions as a barchetta, with no roof, windows or windscreen. At the other end of the spectrum it can be fully enclosed, with a T-frame roof that attaches to the windscreen and rear bulkhead, plus doors. Our test car offers the midway option, with the windscreen and leather-trimmed dashboard-top but nothing else in the way of protection from the elements. We'd argue it is this roadster configuration that feels the most evocative: the glass is dramatically domed with a central wiper for full Group C effect. With only the sky above your head, the windscreen's carbonfibre frame sits generously inboard, its edges resting atop a polished carbonfibre tub that curves back beyond your field of vision. There are controls for the ESP and ventilation on the transmission tunnel, but that space is otherwise reserved for the Ford-sourced manual handbrake and gearlever. In general there are few distractions, but while the cockpit is spartan, it's also beautifully finished, with supple leather and pleasing uniformity in the carbonfibre and stitching. Some testers, however, felt the gearlever was fractionally too close for comfort and the driving position a touch too high. Over-the-shoulder visibility is close to non-existent and, with no adjustability in the angle of the exterior mirrors, parking anywhere other than in the open expanse of a racetrack paddock isn't for the faint of heart. The Stradale's digital array is sparing – certainly more so than you'll find in the Lotus Exige Sport 410, which uses analogue dials but pairs them with a decently sized, centrally mounted touchscreen display supplied by a third party. Dallara's approach has much more of a motorsport feel, with a modest, carbonfibre-rimmed digital display mounted behind the steering wheel and, well, nothing else – not even so much as a USB socket. Buttons on the steering wheel are used to navigate the limited menus, which chiefly relate to switching the powertrain and chassis between their default and Race modes. Then there are readouts for water temperature, turbo and oil pressure, and a broad tachometer joined by vivid upshift lights as the redline approaches. Given the price of the car, we might have expected something with greater flair and better legibility, especially for speed, but you can't fault this set-up for authenticity. Never mind the mirrors: you should also think carefully before deploying the Stradale's firepower anywhere other than a racetrack. When fitted with a manual 'box, the light frame and relatively small rear contact patches make it tricky to launch this car off the line, but thereafter little can keep up with the Italian rocket. Torque peaks early, with 369lb ft delivered from 2500rpm, while power arrives late, with 395bhp appearing at 6200rpm, and if a flat spot exists between those points, our testers failed to notice it. Bosch Engineering has clearly earned its commission, because never before has Ford's 2.3-litre Ecoboost four-pot operated with so little turbo lag. The Toyota 3.5-litre V6 found in the quickest Lotus models still exists in another realm of responsiveness, but in this guise Ford's fizzing hardware is clinical enough to avoid undermining the Stradale package. While this choice of engine may still invite questions of the Stradale's £143,500 list price, the performance it enables brooks no argument. Carrying two testers and 52 litres of fuel, the car accelerated to 60mph in 3.7sec. This was the slow bit. Between 40mph and 60mph in second, the Dallara's time matched to the tenth that which we recorded for the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ. Then, between 40mph and 70mph in fourth, it matched that of the Ferrari 812 Superfast, again to the tenth. In fact, all telemetry for in-gear acceleration at real-world speeds illustrated a car quite comfortably able to hold its own among more powerful alternatives, even if it does want somewhat for aural character. In terms of through-the-gears acceleration, the Stradale can't match the pace of top-level turbocharged supercars, and even approaching three-figure speeds the aero hardware starts to hold it back. All of which, allied to the fact that no tester can swap gears with the speed of the a modern dual-clutch transmission, explains why the quarter-mile time was closer to 12 seconds than to 10. The Stradale proved sensational in one aspect, however: braking. The firm pedal action feels considerably over-servoed and its sensitivity can make it difficult to accurately rev-match on downshifts, but there's no doubting how assertively the system kills speed. Even after numerous hot laps of MIRA's Dunlop circuit, stopping from 70mph took just 39.4 metres of road – less even than track day behemoths such as the McLaren 600LT and Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Loris Bicocchi's first major assignment was to help develop the chassis for the Lamborghini Countach, but he went on to tune the dynamics of other great supercars, including the Pagani Zonda, Bugatti Veyron and Koenigsegg CCX. For the Stradale, he co-developed the suspension tune alongside former racing driver Marco Apicella. Apparently Apicella, the younger man, favoured a more uncompromising track set-up, but Bicocchi tempered that approach. Whatever the truth, the chassis is exceptional in its ability to absorb the road beneath it while communicating its intentions. Our test car's dampers were in the middle of Dallara's three presets, and while ride quality could be uncomfortably squared-off at low speeds, once up and running the feeling is always of millimetre-precise wheel control with body movements so beautifully cushioned they make you laugh involuntarily. The suspension clatter often experienced in carbonfibre-tubbed lightweights is also conspicuous by its absence, the Stradale operating with an elegance and flow that entirely justifies its price. The unassisted steering also deserves special mention. Whether it possesses quite the same extraordinary level of feel you'll find in a Lotus Exige is debatable, but on public roads it proves all but impervious to deflection and supremely delicate. Add in a fixed-ratio rack that faithfully ingrains the considerable ebb and flow of suspension loadings into your palms and there are few cars so intuitive to thread fast along British roads. That said, on the road you only get glimpses of the Stradale's ultimate handling capability. Once there is temperature in our test car's optional Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres, the grip on offer is nothing short of phenomenal. The weight distribution feels ever so slightly rear-biased, but in the main the Stradale exhibits mid-engined neutrality in the purest sense. Catch the rubber while it's cool, however, and you'll find a car that indulges in the merest slither of understeer before the rear axle gently breaks away with rare poise, right about your hips. The Stradale feels as though it has just graduated from an eye-wateringly expensive finishing school for handling – which, of course, it has. To get the best from the car on track, drop the chassis to its lowest setting (20mm or so below standard, at the push of a button) and disable the ESP, which is lenient but hinders progress exiting fast bends, when downforce gives all the security needed. Fitted with Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres, the car showed exceptional resistance to understeer given the 205-section front contact patches. Through the quickest corners, the Stradale carried a level of speed comparable to that of some hypercars, and did so with disarming security and stability at both ends. The torque output does need managing through slower bends, but the neutral handling proved nothing if not predictable, and the steering is well geared for making corrections. A question mark hangs over the lap time, however. Rarely do we achieve these times with a single set of tyres, but that was the case here. With fresh tyres, the Stradale, we felt, could have shaved off at least another second. There's nothing particularly genteel about travelling in the Stradale. Let's first address 'isolation'. If you expect to be 'isolated' from turbulent air and rainfall, the Stradale is not for you, at least not without the T-frame roof. And yet, as a roadster it compares well to cars of a similar ilk. The windscreen is unusually good at shielding the cabin from the elements, particularly wind buffeting at speed, and if everything does get a bit much, you can always dig your helmet out from one of the conveniently shaped recesses behind the seats. If you can bear it, race gloves will also help you get purchase on the wire-rimmed Alcantara-covered steering wheel. What the windscreen or gloves won't spare you is the loud, off-throttle whining of the differential at low speeds, along with explosive outbursts of the sports exhaust and the constant attention of a gawking public. It is possible to drive longer stints in the Stradale without much fuss, although you'll be ready for an early night afterwards, and in terms of attritional fatigue the lack of a rear-view mirror doesn't help. Meanwhile, comfort levels will be determined by your physiology, because with the shape of the seats dictated by the topography of the monocoque, there's no adjustability. Most testers found the Stradale offered little in terms of lower-back support, although this only became an issue after more than an hour at the wheel. Ride quality itself was generally deemed excellent, the Stradale feeling impressively supple during motorway driving, aided by calm, light steering. With the list price of £143,500 rising rapidly to more than £180,000 with the fitment of options such as the rear wing, sports exhaust, windscreen and special paint, by any objective assessment the Dallara Stradale is expensive for a device propelled by nothing more exotic than a four-cylinder turbo engine from Ford. Except it isn't that simple. These cars are unlikely to depreciate much and may even rise in value as time goes by. Low volumes will help and, with only 600 examples destined to see the light of day, the Stradale is comparable to the McLaren Senna in terms of exclusivity and rarer than big-ticket specials such as the Porsche 918 Spyder. The significance of the project is also likely to generate interest for years to come. The long-awaited Stradale arrives at a time when Gian Paolo Dallara, one of the finest engineer-entrepreneurs of a particularly fine generation, is in the twilight of his career. The company has also cooled speculation concerning the development of any more road-legal models. But while most examples will enter collections – negating the need for owners to be choosy – the Stradale isn't without stern competition. For use predominantly on track, we would find it difficult to look beyond the BAC Mono, while the Elemental RP1 would cost significantly less but offer a similar thrill. There is then Lotus, whose more hardcore Lotus Exige and Lotus 3-Eleven models also cost less than the Dallara and need no further introduction. You may wonder how, against the backdrop of a mighty asking price, a car powered by nothing more momentous than the turbocharged four-cylinder engine from a hot hatchback can earn four and a half stars. The first thing to note is that each Stradale will make Dallara almost no profit. It exists for no other reason than because Gian Paolo Dallara wanted it to, and it costs so much because the materials and construction techniques are direct from the world of motorsport. You'll find interior elements that seem underdone and brakes that lack finesse, but mostly the Stradale simultaneously feels bona fide racing car and true luxury product. It's a trick only the McLaren Senna pulls off with this much confidence. Then there is the magnificent chassis, which on the road perhaps has no equal in its combination of precision and delicacy, while on track it offers insight into the world inhabited by professional racing drivers. Finally, consider that for some the Stradale's handling will appeal every bit as much as a Ferrari's naturally aspirated engine or a Lamborghini's extraterrestrial styling will for another. That, simply, is its level. ]]>
