Which front engine, rear-wheel drive car is more entertaining on a circuit? Is it this,
the GT86, or is it a car that costs, in the spec we've got here, £260,000 rather than
under 30,000 quid - and is the Ferrari F12? Does power and speed talk to you more
than feedback, feel, and just good honest fun? Okay, so what is the GT86 like around
Snetterton? Well, it's quite a quick circuit but the car does not feel underwhelmed on
it. There are a couple of corners where you notice
the relative paucity of power but by and large, because it's fairly skinny-tyred, they're
not massively sticky tyres either. It's actually adjustable all the time; there's loads of
communication through the steering and you get a very slight trace of understeer (I mean
very, very slight) on the way in followed by just absolutely as much oversteer as you
want. This car has a reputation for being a drift
monkey. It really does flow with a just nice balance. You can just drive it on neutral
steer if you want to, or have it on full-opposite lock too (it will be an arm full) if you really
want to. God, that is pretty lovely; it all happens
relatively modest, attainable, you take your hands off the wheel and chat to a camera sort
of speed. Right then, a deep breath; 730bhp of Ferrari F12, which revs to eight and a
half thousand revs with all the driving edge turned off. Fast, fast, fast, right. Break
before the 300 yard marker on the first lap, I think. Just a little bit of sideways-ness
on the exit. It just straightens it with the throttle because that's how much power this
thing has. Just walk it out of there. When you get this
thing straight it accepts loads of traction. It's only if it is mid-corner will it really
unstick the rear. Once it's straight it will accept full power very well. The thing is
there's so much oomph you can just sort of send it sideways anywhere in any gear. When
they say it's adjustable they aren't kidding.
Am I having ten times as much fun as GT86? No, I'm probably not, but this is more challenging to drive than a GT86, no question.
The GT86 is just playful, playful, playful and do what you like.
This is playful, but by the way, I have 730bhp. Which is the better driver's car. You know
what? It really comes down to what you're after at the end of the day. They do both
offer front engine rear drive, relatively predictable handling thrills. I would probably
start my day in a GT86, and once I felt I got on top of it, I would finish my day in
one of these. You don't need one or the other. You sort of need both.