Once
the temperature gauges have moved off their stops, dip
the clutch and grab the gearlever with all your strength.
It needs it - and push it ahead into first. Lift the clutch,
give it some revs, and away you go. Not difficult but
you have to be deliberate with the controls.
The steering is light, with no self centering. The engine
noise is almost deafening as revs build, but sounds fantastic.
A unique, banshee like wail.
The brakes require a heavy shove and, whilst they work,
they don't inspire great confidence. Remember, this is
a 1960s design and whilst the straight line performance
is still impressive, technology in other areas has progressed
further in the past 40 years.
Find a clear stretch of road, floor the accelerator and
see what happens. Full revs in every gear - there's no
red line so as the British magazine Classic Cars observed:
"the red line is fear". 7000rpm arrives faster than you
think, you're moving very quickly and the noise is reaching
fever pitch, then reach for the next gear (which takes
some time) and you're off again.
Soon you're travelling at well over 100mph, then 120,
then 140. By now you feel like you're about to take off
(and some owners have), then 150, and from then onwards
progress is slower. 160mph is for the brave, 170mph for
real heroes. Of course, being an Italian car, the speedometer
is probably showing 200mph, which doubtlessly impressed
countless female passengers in the 1960s. The only inconvenience
is that today finding tyres for a Miura which are rated
to that speed is almost impossible. Like I said, only
for the brave...
When you drive a Miura which
is working properly (which is more often than you'd think)
take the time to savour the moment. The engine whining
like a turbine behind your ears, the view over the curvaceous
front wings as they devour the road ahead, and the flat
cornering - it's one of motoring's great experiences,
incredibly rewarding. Imagine being back in the 1960s,
on empty roads with no speed limits when most family saloons
couldn't top 90mph. The Miura was from another world.
Some people
criticise the Miura as over-rated as a driver's car.
Many owners polish their cars more than they drive them
(and these are often the cars with the most frequent
problems). This is, after all, a 1960s car and it will
never provide the reliability of a modern one. Having
been lucky enough to have driven hundreds of classic
cars, from 1920s Bugattis to a 1990s McLaren F1 (usually
other people's, sadly), I can confirm that many of them
were quite simply fantastic. But I cannot think of any,
especially for the price, which give such an adrenalin
high. Every journey is exciting - if not always for
the right reasons.
If you want to get from
A to B take a Ferrari Daytona or a Porsche Carrera RS
2.7. You'll get there quickly without any hassle. But
if the trip is more important than arriving, live a
little and take a Miura.
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