Going Beyond

- Aatish Mishra

Competition cars have a magnetic aura to them. It’s hard to explain to someone who hasn’t seen one up close. Seeing a Formula 1 car in the flesh with all its wings and aero addenda, even at standstill, is more of an event than watching one doing 320kph on the telly. Simply standing around a buggy that has been to the Dakar sends shivers down your spine. I’d know, I’ve been there. There’s a certain hallowed presence to machines that has seen the brutality of competition. It could be down to the singularity of purpose, or that they are the pinnacle of engineering, or simply the fact that they have been piloted by people with the ability to push them to the limits. Well, whatever it is, I was hit by a heady dose of it when I saw this monster parked at a garage on the outskirts of Mumbai, just before we had a go in it.