Home Events SMMT Millbrook – Yellow Flags and Obscure Rock Songs

SMMT Millbrook – Yellow Flags and Obscure Rock Songs

Last month, Tartan Tarmac attended the Society of Motor Manufacturer and Traders test day at Millbrook proving ground.

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These days are organised for the motoring press to get quick access to the latest models from the various manufacturers in one concentrated hit, driving the cars on the Millbrook facility’s Alpine Circuit and High Speed Bowl.

Sounds good…..and it was good…..but before you all start thinking we spent the day being Tiff Needell or James Bond, getting air under the tyres on that particular crest on the Alpine Circuit, allow me to burst that bubble for you, or at least deflate it a little. There are restrictions at Millbrook and I suppose it is understandable if you are going to let dozens of journos loose in cars from 60 to 600bhp.

The High Speed Bowl was limited to 100mph on the day and the Alpine circuit has a 55mph limit. I couldn’t get Sammy Hagar’s song “I can’t drive 55” out of my head all day. This is how my fellow TT contributor, Mr Mike Woodley Esq, looks when driving a 550PS Jaguar F-type while trying to respect a 55mph speed limit.

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Still, the limit was really only an issue on a few straights. The circuit is very tight and its perfectly possible to get a good impression of a car’s handling.

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Some manufacturers, like Toyota (above), had brought along classic cars from their heritage fleets, which was very cool, but sharing the Alpine Circuit with them was frustrating at times (although top marks to whoever I was following in the Jaguar XJ-C at one point. I don’t thing the top of that spring has often been visible from the following car)

The circuit also employed marshalls with yellow flags whose job it was to chastise you either for speeding or being too close to the car in front. We managed to avoid their condemnation for most of the day but we think the marshall at the top of the first hill was having issues outside of work because we were only able to avoid his admonishment by passing him with low revs, no steering input and perfectly flat suspension. It brought a whole new layer of skill and intrigue to the day.

It’s a great day and we’re very grateful to the manufacturers for bravely allowing us to try their cars and jump straight into the competition for comparison. We’ll post a couple more articles soon with said comparisons, such as :-

  • Renaultsport Megane Trophy vs Mini John Cooper Works vs Toyota GT86
  • Porsche 911 GTS vs Jaguar F-Type R AWD vs Mercedes-AMG GT
  • Audi TTS vs Porsche Cayman GTS

Other cars we drove on the day included…

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Audi RS7

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Maserati Quattroporte Sport

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Caterham 270R

Impressions

The RS7 had fantastic power delivery. On the High Speed Bowl, things got a bit comical. “Floor it!” “Wow!” “Done- that’s 100” ….but I can testify that those few milliseconds were very impressive. It was also very impressive on the Alpine Circuit. For a car that looks so large and squat from the outside, it was amazing how well it shrunk around you when driving it on the twisty bits. Many of the corners on the Alpine Circuit are sufficiently challenging to make the 55mph limit a non-issue and the big Audi handled every weird and wonderful radius and camber with total confidence. The ride was perhaps a little hard for a £100,000 uber-exec, but it’s an extraordinarily capable thing.

The interior is nice enough, lovely even, but perhaps not quite commensurate with the price tag. The seats are excellent and the car has one of the better head up displays available today.

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By contrast, the Quattroporte felt every inch a £100,000 car. The sumptuous and opulent interior was a lovely place to be.

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Like the Audi, it was also impressively fast and the different electronic damper settings made a big difference, but unlike the Audi it was always a big car and never shrank into the twisty corners like the Audi could. Horses for courses I suppose.

Different cars were permitted to venture onto different areas of the Millbrook facility and strangely, the Caterham was only allowed on the High Speed Bowl. Now, this car is of particular interest to this reviewer as it is due to become an integral part of my so far thoroughly enjoyable mid-life crisis. I have signed up for the 2016 Caterham Academy race series. I can’t tell you how well it corners or grips, but I can say that my very first drive was a quick 100mph spin (not literally) around the Millbrook High Speed Bowl. It was surprisingly smooth and calm at that speed.

Here is what an overweight 44 year old getting into the car he is due to race next year for the very first time looks like.

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We left Millbrook having had a really enjoyable day and with surprising lasting impressions of the cars we drove.

Best car of the day…….Porsche 911 GTS
Biggest surprise of the day…….Mini John Cooper Works
Car we most wanted to take home with us…….opinions were split on this and the F-Type and the AMG GT would have both been smuggled into hand-luggage at Luton airport if possible.

More reports from the day to follow soon…

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