The plan was to drive to Prescott National Forest, because the high roads of Yavapai County in northern Arizona looked wonderful. It was about 110 miles from our Scottsdale Airbnb. But that evening, after an, er, eventful day on track, I realised something. I didn't fancy driving the Radford that far.
You see this is not one of those supercars that has bandwidth. It's raw and single minded, and although this is a development car and yet to have a final dynamic polish, that's not going to turn it into a limber, languorous tourer. And there's a reason for that. This is Jenson's car.
We're in no surname required territory here, aren't we? But also on familiar terrain for top flight racing drivers. In a few pages' time you'll see Dario Franchitti in the GMA T.50. There must be something written in a contract that says Porsche can't launch a car without a personal appearance from Walter Röhrl and Honda NSX is basically word association for Ayrton Senna.
So what's made the 2009 Formula One world champion get involved with a tiny start-up? "The whole thing for me was after a career of developing cars and the high stress of F1. I wanted to do something I was passionate about, developing something that's truly mechanical and people will jump in and go 'Wow, that's cool, that's fun'."
This story is from the June 2023 edition of BBC Top Gear UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2023 edition of BBC Top Gear UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO SAAB
From greatest hits to lowest moments, everything you ever wanted to know... and a fair bit you didn’t
BEHIND CLOSED JOORS
A new book gets unfiltered access to BMW Design’s cutting room floor. These are the projects that could have been...
THE LAST OF US
The Audi R8 is no more. TG was there to witness the final build, and we couldn't help but get involved...
GRAND DESIGNS
CEO RJ Scaringe is ready to take Rivian from plucky EV startup to global powerhouse... we meet the man and the new models his master plan relies on
SOUND OF THE UNDER GROUND
Stig's secret subterranean lair is the perfect place to make a lot of noise. And that's exactly what we've done. Welcome to TopGear Tunnel Run
The big test: small electric SUVs
Things are looking bright with the arrival of the latest electric Volvo but the existing crop of electric crossovers has something to say too
FUTURE PROOF
The Chinese auto industry is moving at pace. And it means business
HOW TO WIN THE ICONIC DAKAR RALLY
Three years ago, Audi set itself the seemingly impossible challenge of winning the world’s toughest desert race. Here’s how the famous four rings made motorsport history
PURE KLASSE
Last year saw the saloon version of BMW’s Vision Neue Klasse, now here comes the SUV...
INFINITI EX VETTEL EDITION
The list of special edition road cars bearing the name of F1 world champions is short, but not short enough.