Your favourite motoring experience
Discussion
Having just watched some excellent Davide Cironi reviews of Italian cars on YouTube I was reminded of a business trip to Italy in summer 1994.
The potential client we were going to visit was Bugatti in Campogalliano, just to the north of Modena.
Well, to be strictly correct, the owner of Bugatti was a man called Romano Artioli, who also owned Lotus at the time, and on the basis that he owned the Suzuki car import rights in Italy we had gone there to see if we could help his company AutExpo hedge their JPY/ITL currency risk.
The meeting took place at the aforementioned Bugatti factory, although facility/laboratory would have been a better description.
We were shown around by the Finance Director, a man named Renzo Magnabosco.
To say that you could have eaten off the floor in the 'assembly area' would have been an understatement.
The place was absolutely spotless and there were many cars in various stages of assembly, EB110s and Supersports as well.
We were taken outside and there was an EB112 'mule car' packed with data collecting equipment, but otherwise basically complete and looking like a production car. It was burgundy red in colour on the outside.
It was a fairly large 4 door, 4/5 seater and not a thing of beauty. Think of it as a Panamera 15 years before Porsche even thought of it, although it was more 7-series sized. Like the Panamera it looked horrid from the rear. Worse in fact. Like looking at you mother in law's backside.....
We were introduced to the test driver. Dressed in Levis and shades and looking not dissimilar to Nelson Piquet, he looked so cool. What a job to have.
The factory had the benefit of a 'track' that went round its perimeter. Perhaps only one and a half lanes wide it had a mix of slow and fast corners and a decent enough bit of straight.
So next they wheeled out Artioli's own EB110 Supersport, a 4WD rocket with 604 BHP. Pretty impressive today, but unheard on in those days.
The test driver invited me into the passenger seat (sadly!) and we did up the proper racing belts that it had.
The interior, whilst interesting, was a bit more Lancia 8.32 as in in felt a little awkward and didn't really gel with the outside look. Classic Italian I guess.
The test driver was pure Italian. No English, but I speak Italian which I think got me another few laps!
We took to the track and he wasn't hanging around.
My car at the time was a Lancia Thema 16V SE Turbo with about 175 BHP which I thought was pretty fast.
This experience was mind-blowing.
The acceleration was ballistic, the sound magnificent and all the time this very cool driver just talking like we were having a sandwich!
And then he braked, I don't know, from 140+ mph for a 90 degree left-hander at, what felt like, about 50 metres.
We were just about to go to heaven but by God did it slow down, Absolutely awesome.
I guess that's the difference between a supercar driven by a pro and people like me thinking we're a bit handy in something slightly warmed up.
I think we did about 5 or 6 laps (he refused to go fast until the water temp gauge had moved) and to say that it was something that I will never forget would be an understatement.
I thanked the driver and left the car speechless as I had never had a ride like that. Never have done since.....
I've been in a car with Tiff Needel (who is superb) and many other racing drivers but none will ever live up to the Bugatti experience.
Something I will treasure forever.
I met Artioli later in the day and as I spoke Italian was 'allowed' to speak to him over lunch. Nice chap.
We never did business with his Suzuki importer but a day I will never forget.....
Priceless.....
The potential client we were going to visit was Bugatti in Campogalliano, just to the north of Modena.
Well, to be strictly correct, the owner of Bugatti was a man called Romano Artioli, who also owned Lotus at the time, and on the basis that he owned the Suzuki car import rights in Italy we had gone there to see if we could help his company AutExpo hedge their JPY/ITL currency risk.
The meeting took place at the aforementioned Bugatti factory, although facility/laboratory would have been a better description.
We were shown around by the Finance Director, a man named Renzo Magnabosco.
To say that you could have eaten off the floor in the 'assembly area' would have been an understatement.
The place was absolutely spotless and there were many cars in various stages of assembly, EB110s and Supersports as well.
We were taken outside and there was an EB112 'mule car' packed with data collecting equipment, but otherwise basically complete and looking like a production car. It was burgundy red in colour on the outside.
It was a fairly large 4 door, 4/5 seater and not a thing of beauty. Think of it as a Panamera 15 years before Porsche even thought of it, although it was more 7-series sized. Like the Panamera it looked horrid from the rear. Worse in fact. Like looking at you mother in law's backside.....
We were introduced to the test driver. Dressed in Levis and shades and looking not dissimilar to Nelson Piquet, he looked so cool. What a job to have.
The factory had the benefit of a 'track' that went round its perimeter. Perhaps only one and a half lanes wide it had a mix of slow and fast corners and a decent enough bit of straight.
So next they wheeled out Artioli's own EB110 Supersport, a 4WD rocket with 604 BHP. Pretty impressive today, but unheard on in those days.
The test driver invited me into the passenger seat (sadly!) and we did up the proper racing belts that it had.
The interior, whilst interesting, was a bit more Lancia 8.32 as in in felt a little awkward and didn't really gel with the outside look. Classic Italian I guess.
The test driver was pure Italian. No English, but I speak Italian which I think got me another few laps!
We took to the track and he wasn't hanging around.
My car at the time was a Lancia Thema 16V SE Turbo with about 175 BHP which I thought was pretty fast.
This experience was mind-blowing.
The acceleration was ballistic, the sound magnificent and all the time this very cool driver just talking like we were having a sandwich!
And then he braked, I don't know, from 140+ mph for a 90 degree left-hander at, what felt like, about 50 metres.
We were just about to go to heaven but by God did it slow down, Absolutely awesome.
I guess that's the difference between a supercar driven by a pro and people like me thinking we're a bit handy in something slightly warmed up.
I think we did about 5 or 6 laps (he refused to go fast until the water temp gauge had moved) and to say that it was something that I will never forget would be an understatement.
I thanked the driver and left the car speechless as I had never had a ride like that. Never have done since.....
I've been in a car with Tiff Needel (who is superb) and many other racing drivers but none will ever live up to the Bugatti experience.
Something I will treasure forever.
I met Artioli later in the day and as I spoke Italian was 'allowed' to speak to him over lunch. Nice chap.
We never did business with his Suzuki importer but a day I will never forget.....
Priceless.....
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