V12 FOR VICTORY

How would you prefer your V12? As it comes, with turbos on the side or boosted by electricity?

- OLLIE MARRIAGE

THREE HUNDRED AND THREE KPH DOWN THE MAIN STRAIGHT.

THAT WAS THE LAST GLANCE I DARED TAKE.

ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY eight miles per hour in, what, sixth gear? I couldn't really care less, because I'd given myself over to the Revuelto by then, just wanted to luxuriate in the noise, the fury, the fire and drama of the V12 for as long as possible. Sat back and bathing in an experience I never want to stop, I find it tough to snap out of my dream state and remind myself to nail the brakes for Turn 1.

Oh well, back to reality and I'll deal with some corners if I must. But then I need another hit. Maybe one more rip snarling flyby for the people on the pitwall. Or two. Or maybe I'll go and see if the Aston Martin has the same effect on me. And then the Ferrari.

The V12. We kept being told the party was over, that the fun police were moving in, imposing cylinder shutdown and forever impounding the world's greatest engine configuration.

Reader, please hear our interrogation room confession - we did some of the telling. Back in late 2015, almost precisely 10 years ago, we gathered what we then believed were potentially the last majestic V12s we might ever see, and took them on a roadtrip. There was the Lamborghini Aventador, the Aston Martin Vanquish and the Ferrari F12 and off we went to Scotland and when we came back Sam Philip wrote sentences like this" "... I fear we'll look back on these as the last days of the huge engined, naturally aspirated supercar... emissions regulations are close to rendering the big, free breathing V12 extinct", and "I'd put a shiny pound on the Aventador being [Lambo's] last turbo free V12".