LAST. I KNEWI’DFORGETSOMETHINGPACKING
insuchahurry.Cleanpants?Check.Washkit?Yes.Passport?
Thebigone,that.Tick.Uploadingthesoundtrackfromthe
movieLeMansfromCDtomyphone?Ah...Yes,thatwasit...
Just those opening few notes of Michel Legrand’s 1971
soundtrackare enough to transport me backto being nine
yearsold,sittinginfrontoftheTVonawetSundayevening
in my pyjamas, watching McQueen’s movie with Dad, the
little Slate Grey2-litre 911S bobbing its nose,whining and
wailing as it cruises through deserted French villages and
overnarrowcountrybridges–apreludetonearlytwohours
of shrieking 12-cylinder racing engines and heroic-looking
blokes staring enigmatically into the middle distance. It
makes the hairs stand up on the backof my necknow just
thinkingaboutit.
Playingthesoundtrackonthewaydowntothe24Hours
has become a tradition, see, and I had wanted to combine
those first few bars with the scream of a 680bhp Italian
V12, and the romantic idyll of a deserted French N-road
stretchingdogmaticallystraighttothehorizon,onthis,our
firstchancetoreallyuseaFerrariGTC4Lussointhemanner
inwhichwassurelyintended.ButI’malsokeentoseewhat
LeMansislike inone of its weaker years, withToyotathe
onlyfactoryteaminthetopclassandvirtuallyguaranteeda
winunlessithitsproblems.LeManshashadplentyoftough
yearsbefore–1975and1994springtomind–buthowwill
itaffecttheatmospherethistimearound,theturnoutofthe
fans?What’schanged,too?
ArainyandcongestedM25isaninauspiciousstarttoour
LeMansadventure,butaninevitableoverturetohopefully
sunnierandlesspopulatedroadstocome.Firstimpressions
ontheLusso?Hmm.It’smassive.Literally:nearlyfivemetres
in length, two metres wide and weighing almost two tons
(1920kg). It splashes commandingly around London’s
orbitallikeagreatwhitequietlybutsinisterlyswimmingin
theslowlaneofthelocalmunicipalpool.
I have an open mind when it comes to the Lusso. It’s a
modelthatthismagazinehasdonepreciouslittlewithsince
B
itslaunchin2017,butnow,andforreasonsIwon’tboreyou
with,itsglossyredkeyisinmypocketanditfeelslikethat’s
all that matters. As someone resoundingly sick of posh
SUVsbeingpresentedastheonlychoiceforthewell-heeled
searchingforpracticality,performanceandprestige,deep
downI’mdesperatefortheLussoto‘work’ontherequisite
multiplelevels.EvenbeforethedelightsoftheM20Ithink
Ihavemyanswer.
TheLussogivesmegoodvibesfromtheoff.ItsDaytona-
style seats, richly upholstered in Bordeaux red leather
with biscuit highlights, are as extravagant as they are
immediatelycomfortable,yetthesupportforfasterdriving
isthere,too.TheridequalitywithComfortselectedonthe
manettino has a subtle pliancy that strikes just the right
balance between outright comfort and dynamic control,
with reasonable road roar and negligible wind noise a
distantsecondaryaccompaniment.We’rejustonebagshort
offittingallofAstonParrott’scameragearandbothofour
luggage in the leather-lined boot. In short, it’s a refined
and relaxing place to be, and the premium sound system
ismighty(andasnipat‘just’£3552,butthenthisisacar
whereAppleCarPlayisa£2400option,nottomentionthe
panoramicglassroofat£11,520).
I’m referring above to the audio set-up, of course, but
even its impressive depth and clarity has nothing on the
6.3-litre naturally aspirated monster that lurks against
the bulkhead, well back in the enormous engine bay. It
may wellbe over 100bhp down on its relation inthe 812
Superfast (see page 108), but it revs to 8250rpm, and
produces80percentofits514lbftoftorqueby1750rpm.
Two things have already struck me: One, that when you
click both steering-wheel paddles simultaneously to get
neutral,youcanthenblipthethrottleandtheenginerevs
withanimmediacyandlackofinertiathatrivalsaone-litre
superbike;noideahowFerraricanmanagethatwiththis
displacement.Andtwo,theenginefeelssotightlystrung,
so animalistic with its 13.5:1 compression ratio, that the
amountofenginebrakingwhenyouliftthethrottlealmost
feelslikebrakeregenerationinanEV.Yetforallthislatent
energy,onalightthrottleit’sbarelyaudible–andthatquiet
senseofimmensepowerkeptinreserveisintoxicating.
Wehadaplantopartlyshunthe(expensive)autoroutes
and take the ‘old way’to Le Mans, but by the time we’re
offtheChannelTunnelandpastRouen,thedesiretojust
arriveat motorsport’s mostfamouscityistoostrong,and
weglidedowndirectontheLusso’sfancyadaptivecruise
system.Despitesomethreateningskies,therainhassofar
heldoff,asitstillhasbyFridaymorning,whenwetrundle
overtotheClassicBritishWelcomeevent.
BasedinthevillageofSaintSaturnin,thiscarshowhas
beenrunningsince2001andattractsover1000classicand
performancecarseachyear.Over6000peoplewillattend
toenjoythecars,refreshmentsandstalls.It’sfreetoenter,
withvehiclesbeingfilteredonentryinto‘interesting’and
everything else, the latter parking in surrounding fields
beforethe occupants takeadvantage of the park-and-ride
service.ThebigLussogetswavedstraightintothesupercar
areaandfindsplentyoffavour:it’ssomethingwenoticeall
the while we have the car. Perhaps it’s because it’s a rare
sight, or a less shoutysortof Ferrari, but the Lusso has a
FERRARI GTC4 LUSSO AT LE MANS