The sunlit uplands
of the Isle of Man
in a British-built
car. To the future!APRIL 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 57Opinion
8-SERIES IS A WINNER + WHO NEEDS E-MIRRORS AND E-BRAKES?
More than a feeling
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I have been lucky enough to have
owned some brilliant performance cars,
usually secondhand, starting in 1971
when I bought a Ferrari 275 GTS – cars
that felt like they were made for the
Scottish Highlands. Now, more or less
everywhere in Europe, going at high
speed is dangerous and expensive.
So Gavin Green’s cruise in the Jaguar
XK120 (January issue) is exactly my
style. I have a straight-six BMW Z4
which I bought in 2006 and I too cruise,
roof down, never going more than
70mph and adoring the views along the
way. Gavin captured the appeal of thatstyling of driving to perfection.
By the way, have you driven the
Croatian coast from Kotor to Trieste?
It’s a spectacular road – but go off
season, as it is packed in midsummer.
Colin BriggsNot last. Fourth best
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Baffled as to how the BMW M850i
ended up last in your February Giant
Test. Sure, it doesn’t have the Bentley
Continental GT’s ultra-luxurious
interior, but has its measure dynamical-
ly, rivals it for comfort and refinement,
and has better infotainment ergonom-
ics. It would also leave the Aston DB11
for dead in anything less than ideal
conditions. It matches the performance
of both, despite having over 100bhp less
power, and it costs half as much.
Seems to me the M850i was the best
all-rounder in this test, not the worst.
Paul RazaviThe 850i suffered for being
compared to more specialised
machines. Having just started
running one (p128), I think you
might be right – the BMW may yet
prove the slow-burn winner. BM ⊲The
kettle
test
After a lifetime of reading CAR
I admit I’ve wobbled and felt
less inclined to pick a copy up
recently. It’s probably more
a reflection of how dull most
car journeys seem now than
anything to do with you.
Ben Oliver’s BAC Mono article
(February 2019) was a perfect
antidote. I probably would have
skipped a story about such an
extreme car in other moods
but the quality of the writing
pulled me in. I put the kettle on
and got stuck in. Despite Ben’s
final assessment I want one
now, however unlikely that is in
reality. Half an hour later it was
a Cayman GT4 I fancied and
perhaps the BMW 330i too –
the kids would fit in, after all.
Later I spent part of my
morning pondering Gavin
Green’s article about Audi’s lack
of focus as it jostles for a place
in a rapidly changing electrical-
ly-charged market.
I’m not sure why I wobbled
after all.
Alistair DrysdaleLetter
of the
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