Letter From Europe - Post Monoco Grand Prix SuperCar Road Trip

Letter From Europe
By Andrew Frankl
European Bureau Chief
The Auto Channel

Greeting from steaming Budapest. Like the rest of Europe we are talking 80s and 90s but in our little apartment it feels double that.

First of all the Pride parade. The whole world was obsessed by the event which went off without a hitch and is history over here and after my home country's past history there was no violence, no aggro, nada how pleasant.

Turning on to things automotive I owe you a Ferrari test or two.

As our regular readers know after the Monaco Grand Prix every year we always drive to Maranello.

This year thanks to dear friend and PR supreme Joanne Marshall we had to 12cilindri automobiles. First the coupe which did very little for me, it is for serious pedal to metal folks. Rock hard with rock hard seats. The engine is of course the unique and gorgeous V12 but then it is also the same in the spectacular dear spider. Now you are taking! Softer seats, softer suspension same lovely engine-a must buy if you have 500 thousand dollars to spare.

My long time friend Kata and I were lucky enough to drive a friend’s 812 spider in California and I must be honest the difference is not that great, the 812 is already a great automobile.

Because the folks at Lamborghini are old friends we also went for a spin in the latest Urus which we love. I cannot think of anything nicer than to head into the Sierras in this wonderful 5 seater.

The icing on the cake is Lambo’s 1001 horsepower Revuelto which is where one runs out of superlatives. A close relative of the Lambo which just won the 24 hours of Spa. Big congratulations.

I must also put a word of praise in for Audi’s RS6, an amazing product which propelled the family up into the mountains during the Winter. This time round it took us to Maranello, four plus luggage, has to be one of the best cruisers in the World.

Turning on to cars people drive in Central Europe the chances are most readers will shake their heads saying “never heard if it”. Skoda from the Czech Republic-maybe, Dacia from Romania, most unlikely and there are many Chinese brands that are turning up daily including BYD which I have written about.

There is great excitement surrounding the new Neue Classe BMW which will be produced in Hungary as well as in Germany. Supposed to be the ultimate bee’s knees. Will keep you posted.

Finally something very different but interesting nevertheless.

Years ago I went to Brands Hatch motor racing circuit in , Kent, West Kingsdown, United Kingdom, fulfill my dream to learn how to become a professional raceing driver, my instructor told me to forget about it.

But just recently I met Zsolt Matics in Budapest he runs an outfit called www.fit4race.com, who could have saved me all the angst back then.

His business is a performance lab designed for professional drivers. It is a full scale science based human performance solution so if you think you will be the next Lewis Hamilton visit them first and save yourself a fortune-they will tell you if you are hopeless, just like I was. So if you are reading this in the United States and have just watched the F1 movie consider a trip to Europe where apart from sightseeing you could spend a day in his lab and who knows you might just be perfect for auto racing.

If you get to Budapest and catch up with Matics - keep me posted.

Maybe you will achieve something I could only dream of.

Have a good rest of the summer, talk with you next month.