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The final part of the trip started very early on what looked to be another beautiful day for driving. Having just crossed into Spain the night before, we were anticipating a quick run down the highway on the edge of the Pyrenees. It was not to be, as soon as we hit the highway we got caught in a major traffic jam. It took 30 minutes of crawling along to finally reach the next exit. At this point we decide to flee for empty tarmac in any direction that it could be found. Driving an F40 in stop and go traffic ranks is the motoring equilivant of "waterboarding". Do it once and you will swear never to do it again. Despite the car behaving perfectly (engine and water tempature never rose above normal, same could not be said about the driver), having to control the active suspension, heavy clutch, and not too delicate steering at 1 mph, does not rate as a good time.
Once free of the grip of traffic, we plotted a huge detour which took us down and around the clogged highway. As we actually had to be at a drop off point for the F40 today by 3:30 PM, the delay put time pressure on us for the first time in the trip. If you had to pick a car to make up time in on a long trip, the F40 is not a bad choice. Heading into the sparsely populated hinterlands, we started eating up highway miles quickly. In places we were the only car on the road for miles in either direction. Within two heavy footed hours (fueled by 2 cans of Red Bull) we were pretty much back on track and quite pleased with ourselves. This turned out to be a stroke of luck as we changed highways shortly after the last gas stop and the new road was less than smooth. In fact it had to be one of the more poorly finished highways in Europe. With the F40s ability to transmit every bump and imperfection into the cabin, the next leg turned into a much slower teeth rattling sprint. During this stint there was intense discussion on the great merits of a true GT vs. the pure Sports car. On several occassions we came very close to bottoming out in areas where the road bed had sunk into the ground. The level of concentration took on a new intensity.
After roughly 2 hours things took a turn for the better as we ran onto fresh blacktop. With only 60 kilometers left to run, we spooled up the turbos for one last sprint. After two hours of mind rattling jarring delivered by each new slab of concrete pretending to be a road bed, experiencing the amazing forward umph of the twin turbos quickly reminded us of what an amazing focused car the F40 really is and how lucky we were to have the experience of driving one half way across Europe. In little more that four days we covered over 2000 kilometers, paid a small fortune in French road tolls, and did it in what has to be one of the greatest cars ever built. Not once during the trip did the F40 so much as even cough. We both commented that it was running more cleanly and stronger by the end of the trip. The F40 is clearly one Prancing Horse that should be given the opportunity to run long and hard.
Once free of the grip of traffic, we plotted a huge detour which took us down and around the clogged highway. As we actually had to be at a drop off point for the F40 today by 3:30 PM, the delay put time pressure on us for the first time in the trip. If you had to pick a car to make up time in on a long trip, the F40 is not a bad choice. Heading into the sparsely populated hinterlands, we started eating up highway miles quickly. In places we were the only car on the road for miles in either direction. Within two heavy footed hours (fueled by 2 cans of Red Bull) we were pretty much back on track and quite pleased with ourselves. This turned out to be a stroke of luck as we changed highways shortly after the last gas stop and the new road was less than smooth. In fact it had to be one of the more poorly finished highways in Europe. With the F40s ability to transmit every bump and imperfection into the cabin, the next leg turned into a much slower teeth rattling sprint. During this stint there was intense discussion on the great merits of a true GT vs. the pure Sports car. On several occassions we came very close to bottoming out in areas where the road bed had sunk into the ground. The level of concentration took on a new intensity.
After roughly 2 hours things took a turn for the better as we ran onto fresh blacktop. With only 60 kilometers left to run, we spooled up the turbos for one last sprint. After two hours of mind rattling jarring delivered by each new slab of concrete pretending to be a road bed, experiencing the amazing forward umph of the twin turbos quickly reminded us of what an amazing focused car the F40 really is and how lucky we were to have the experience of driving one half way across Europe. In little more that four days we covered over 2000 kilometers, paid a small fortune in French road tolls, and did it in what has to be one of the greatest cars ever built. Not once during the trip did the F40 so much as even cough. We both commented that it was running more cleanly and stronger by the end of the trip. The F40 is clearly one Prancing Horse that should be given the opportunity to run long and hard.
