Getting airborne

-

Is it possible to take off in a car safely?

From time to time, in the pages of Evo magazine, there’ll be a photo of an Impreza or Evo with daylight clearly visible under its wheels. Never more than a few inches, but the car will definitely be airborne. I used to think that only something like a rally-bred turbo nutter could take such punishment, but I was wrong. The Mini can do it too.

Last year, I surprised myself by getting all four of the Mini’s wheels off the ground near Rothbury in Northumberland. As things slowed down to bullet-time, it was both exciting and worrying. We hung there for what felt an eternity; at least compared to earlier occasions when the car had gone light. And then we landed — all four wheels at the same time and beautifully cushioned. Seriously, I’ve driven over patches of relaid tarmac that have given my suspension more grief. I was both ecstatic and deeply relieved.

Immediately afterwards, I vowed never to push my luck that far again. While the thrill was something else, it was definitely a guilty pleasure. Nagging at the back of my mind, however, was the thought that, with the right conditions, it could be repeated perfectly safely. All you need is a friend on the same stretch of road to give you the all-clear.

That said, I’m still not comfortable with the idea. Despite the fact that no-one reads this blog, I’ll throw the question out there. What do you think: harmless fun, or deeply irresponsible? I’d love to hear your thoughts...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Driving the Tank

-
I don’t normally give cars nicknames. With the Zed, however, I’m tempted to call it The Tank. Not because of its size or muscularity, but as an abbreviation of sensory deprivation tank. Yep, that’s right — and it’s not a good thing. The test-drive concerns I had about the 350Z being too comfortable a car are still with me. Except now, I’ve translated that nebulous feeling of unease into a sense that it simply doesn’t provide enough feedback. Journeys at night and in wet weather can be absolutely exhausting. I find myself trying to heighten my senses to the tiniest cues coming through the steering wheel, chassis and pedals. Often I’ll end up leaning forward in my seat, as if listening to a quiet friend in a noisy pub. Thankfully, however, it’s not like that all the time. When you put your foot down and hustle it a bit, the car starts talking again. You begin to feel you’re dictating things rather than reacting to them. Sadly, I’ve had very little opportunity to grab the bull by the
Read more

Windfall

-
You get a £500 bonus at work — how do you spend it? The big decision for half of my colleagues appears to have been XBox 360 or Playstation 3? Myself, I’ve opted for a front bumper respray. Of course, as soon as I said as much, I was told, quite earnestly, that I really need to stop thinking about cars so much. Hehe. Well, it made me laugh anyway. :) Yes, I might well be chucking money away — I doubt the work will add the equivalent value to the car come the day I sell it — but it won’t half improve my enjoyment of the car. As it stands, the polka-dot affair I’ve got at the moment (courtesy of Bill Heaney’s crap finishing) makes my heart sink every time I approach the thing. In just a week’s time, I’m going to be smiling again instead. It’s been at least 6 months since that last happened (the lack of blogging here in that time is no coincidence) and maybe it’ll reinvigorate me full-stop. Dammit, I love driving too much to feel depressed about my car. Roll on the good times. Oh, a
Read more