A weekend fling with a tasty Italian

30/04/2008 

HANDING me the keys for my test drive, Graham Beswick — the founder of high-end sports car club Marque II — says with a beaming smile: “If you fail the test you can’t have the Ferrari for the weekend, it’s as simple as that.”

A weekend cruising round the Home Counties in a Ferrari 360 Spyder, visiting the salubrious Stoke Park hotel in Berkshire before hammering down the A3 to a Hampshire getaway, is now hanging excruciatingly in the balance.

The keys jangle nervously in the Ferrari’s ignition before it roars into life. Beswick roars with laughter. He is clearly enjoying this.

Sunk low into leather seats, Beswick and this uneasy driver pull out of the Vauxhall lock-up to join the throng of City traffic for the 10-minute test of competence before the stabilisers are taken off and the open road beckons.

This wide beast of a car purrs round the car park like a caged lion. With just a touch of the steel accelerator, the Ferrari jumps into life. Yet once on the road, despite the power and size of this wild animal, the Ferrari 360 Spyder is surprisingly easy to drive.

And quickly tangled nerves loosen into pride as the eyes of London turn to stare at this traffic-stopping looker. Driving through the streets of south London gives Beswick a chance to extol the virtues of the Marque II business.

UNBRIDLED FUN

Set up in 2007, the firm offers access to 10 sports cars, such as a Maserati GT, a Jaguar XKR Coupe, a Noble M12 GTO-3R and an Audi R8. An ultra-exotic Alfa Romeo 8C, one of only 10 in Britain, will join the fleet in June, as will three other supercars.

Beswick says the idea is to offer members the chance to drive a range of sports cars without the costs or hassles associated with owning one. Marque II’s advertising blurb tries to hammer home the message in a language it thinks us Londoners will understand: “Don’t get tied down to just one sports car. Give yourself the pleasure of a few decadent flings with the sleekest range of marques around. Don’t commit, play the field.”

The service includes 24-hour delivery and collection any day of the week to anywhere within the European Union, including airports. Effectively you could get on a plane to Monte Carlo and pick up a Ferrari from the airport to cruise around the Cote d’Azur for the weekend. Not bad.

However, none of this comes cheap, with membership starting at £5,000 for the year, for an average of 58 days driving, and insurance covering two drivers. Once through the test — with flying colours apparently — it was a weekend of unbridled fun.

The thing about driving one of these super cars is it doesn’t matter when you’re in traffic, it just feels so great to be nestled in this hub of opulence, with the engine growling and everyone looking in. And that hum of joy stays with you even when the gawping crowds become passing specks and the car gathers pace. The Ferrari 360 has incredible zip.

The intense power that is at your disposal you accelerate through the gears mind-blowing and, at first, acutely frightening. The handling is firm and responsive, taking tight and winding bends with unimaginable ease. At times you can’t help but laugh out loud at the power your feet.

However, where this car falls down is the long journey. And this is not so much for the driver as the passenger, as it can become quite uncomfortable.

SLEEK LINES

This car is built for the thrill of speed, armchair comfort. The sturdy leather seats can be unforgiving on the long drive. Moreover, as can be expected, luggage space is limited under the bonnet.

But let’s face it, these are peripheral concerns when behind the wheel of this Ferrari all sleek lines, classic minimal interior and exhaust pipes that blast like rockets its rear.

It’s beautiful, it’s willing, it’s as near perfect as you can get, but like any decadent fling it can’t last forever and always comes at a cost.

By Daniel McAllister