Things you see

There is a lot to be said for being able to experience a drive without distractions. One of the hardest things to do with this car is to keep it below 60 kph on public roads. In other cars you can set the cruise control and be pretty safe in the knowledge that you are not going to exceed the speed limit (although you still do have to keep an eye on things going downhill). Travelling winding roads at such low speed really makes the car feel throttled and wasted. Unfortunately, a warning light appear very, very briefly on the dash during this low speed section. It was too quick for me to really see what it was but I believe it was the “5/8 Slow Down” warning light, which probably indicates that the temperature ECU on the other side of the engine to the one that was just changed is also not 100%. This isn’t a real surprise and luckily, now that it has happened before, what the results and costs will be are at least a known entity. Still, fingers crossed it was only a once off (although that seems unlikely). The issue should have been logged on the car’s computer and hopefully it will behave itself until it goes in for the next service.
Problem is that many other people also feel constrained doing 60 kph and become very ‘keen’ to get past you. Not a huge worry as there was dual carriage way ahead. The speed at which my follower took off after trailing behind me for a ways only made me shake my head and wish him all the best when explaining that excessive speed to the police officer who will inevitably pull him over. As much as you want to go faster than the limit, there ain’t no hiding in a red car like this!
Another thing that you do experience driving along is recognition from other ‘petrol heads’ out for the morning in their vehicles or bikes. Today’s arrangement includes an Aston Martin DB9 and a Lamborghini Murciélago.

Now the Lambo ended up following a ways and finished up in the next lane at the first set of lights after coming back onto the main road. It was a targa, with the roof currently off. There was a wave of acknowledgment from the driver as the cars moved away from the lights. What was amusing was that wave of acknowledgment came from a hand that was encased in a ski glove. Sure it was a bit nippy but if you need to rug up that much, wouldn’t the drive me more enjoyable with roof on? Each to their own I suppose. If you pay that much for a car like that then you can do whatever you dam well like one would think!
We both rejoined the freeway for the final blast back to civilization and by blast, that is exactly what the Lambo did after it cleared the entry ramp. In a flash it was gone, tearing up the freeway. Hmmmm…another potential high profile offender for the boys in blue. Not today, thank you for this car as it settled up to the speed limit for the final run back.
The challenge is now to find a bit of challenging tarmac that isn’t quite as limiting as the earlier section from today. Google maps here we come.