FAMILY AFFAIR

Thirty years ago, the McLaren F1 set new benchmarks with its speed and purity; now Gordon Murray's latest supercar, the GMA T.50, promises to do the same. We drive them back to back

- HENRY CATCHPOLE

AT THE SUMMIT I CALL MY SON. IT'S NEARLY bedtime back home, but I have to share this. Outside, the sky is a wash of pinks and purples set over a cloud inversion that is filling the valley below like Chantilly cream on a sundae. There is nobody around. My hands are still shaking slightly.

'Hi Daddy!'

'Hi dude, listen to this... and I blip the throttle, once, twice. YEEOW! YEEOW! The cockpit and surrounding mountains are filled with furious five-digit revs. A V12 with the response of a superbike engine.

'Wowww! That is sooo cool!' That is not a generic reaction. He might be only seven, but he knows his cars.

I've just had the most amazing drive,' I say. 'This car is unbelievable! I'm about to head back down the mountain, but I just wanted you to hear that.'

"Thank you, Daddy."

'Love you! Sleep well.'

As the screen goes black I press the tiny, covered button behind the gearlever to still the titanium valves for a minute or two. Take a few breaths, enjoy the moment, be present... all that stuff we're meant to do every day but never have the time for. Because I need to mentally bottle this, tuck it away in the old hippocampus for rainy days years from now. Even in this job, drives like that don't come along very often. I've been lucky enough to have a few in the McLaren F1 and now I've got one in the T.50 to add to the mental scrapbook.

A beautiful, deserted road and a car that requires every bit of your attention but rewards with sensations and sounds that are the stuff of dreams. A car that feels worth its sky-high price tag, yet immerses you in the driving experience so deeply that you forget any such figures and drive it with the joy and abandon of a hot hatch.

And the best bit is that I've still got the return journey ahead of me...