Last Saturday, I headed to the Top Gear Test Track at Dunsfold Aerodrome to drive a Porsche 911 (997), Aston Martin DB9 and Nissan GTR. As I drove each car, the experience, just by pure luck of the order in which I drove the cars and a growing confidence in driving the track, got better and better.
The Porsche had a great sound when it was being pushed hard in the lower gears but thanks to the auto gearbox you never knew when the car would decide to actually change down and start using them - quite frustrating and ultimately made the car that I was most looking forward to drive a disappointment. The handling of the car was otherwise brilliant.
The Aston had a semi-auto, flappy paddle gearbox which was more fun but the on-board computer took about a second before engaging the actual gear I was requesting. The accelerator at low speeds was ultra sensitive too to the point of being slightly unsafe. I did hit 140 mph down the straight though which was fun and probably the fastest I have ever driven a car in my life...!
The Nissan, being the most modern car driven on the day, ended up being the best of all three and proved to be quite a joy to drive. So much so that I actually forked out the extra dosh to purchase my on-board footage which can be found here.
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