Marwood
Junior Member
- Messages
- 87
One month and 1000 miles into owning my GS it took it down to see a pal - former racer and owner of race prep shop. I am bowled over by the GS…but don't have lots of experience driving fast cars (twice as many wheels as I'm used to!) so was interested to see what he'd made of it. Part of me did wonder whether he'd hand the car back broken, dripping and hissing with a verdict of 'more mouth than trouser'.
So we ended up on a wonderfully twisty Welsh road…rock face on one side, big drop and trees on the other. I drove down it on tip toes, having fun but spooked by decreasing radius bends and switchback sequences. Racer Friend gets in. I start to explain how the gears work but - oh, right. You've done this before...
There then followed twenty minutes of sublime speed and precision violence.
Full throttle or full brake, seemingly nothing in between. Back end moving out - just a little, but everything neat, measured and above all, immensely bloody quick. "Like the front. Nicely pointy" he says at one point, then proceeds to mash the throttle before the apex to see how it responds. My stomach goes light and I realise I can't sit, breathe and talk at the same time. I mention (just) that I thought the brakes were a bit wooly - overwhelmed by the weight maybe - but Friend said "No - these are good. Nice feel. You're just not pushing hard enough". (More on that in a minute). We slam into another tightening bend at Warp 8 and he has fun with the downshifts. "Love that. Great sound too, but I think I can see the fuel gauge move every time I change down!".
After three passes we pull over. He's out checking the tyres, walking around looking…thoughtful, as the GS pings and ticks to a cool.
"'I've looked at these in the past and wondered what they were like… and its bloody good, isn't' it? A proper machine - there's lots there to play with. Good torque and like the way it gets more responsive right up to the red-line. Makes you want to drive. Decently quick too, nice brakes, wants to turn. The castor angle means I'd be wary in the wet - but there was loads of grip left out there. I could go a lot harder ("Really?" I wondered, trying to get my legs to stop wobbling. "Blimey".) Love the schizo thing - more liveable than a Ferrari but a proper sports car when you want it to be. And I really like the inside. I'm actually feeling Serious Want here."
And this from a guy more used to doing this stretch of road at 5am on summer mornings in a 500hp rally monster.
I was chuffed, not only to experience what the car can really do (both reassuring and a great incentive to learn how to drive properly) but also to know that the Maser is every bit as special as I'd hoped. Bloke validation but more too…satisfaction that something actually lives up to its reputation. Or maybe exceeds it?
"Oi, stop getting all misty eyed Doris and come and learn what the brakes can do."
And we're off again, me driving. 70mph, empty road. Full-on hard stop. "Didn't even get the ABS flickering. Try harder. Go deep." 80 mph, much harder push. Much, much harder. The GS just hauls up straight, without a chirp. "Christ." Mouth dry, palms moist. "How much harder can this thing stop?" "A lot! You'll get there. That's the fun of a car like this. It can do more than you think. Right, that's enough buggering about. Time for the pub."
So we did.
So we ended up on a wonderfully twisty Welsh road…rock face on one side, big drop and trees on the other. I drove down it on tip toes, having fun but spooked by decreasing radius bends and switchback sequences. Racer Friend gets in. I start to explain how the gears work but - oh, right. You've done this before...
There then followed twenty minutes of sublime speed and precision violence.
Full throttle or full brake, seemingly nothing in between. Back end moving out - just a little, but everything neat, measured and above all, immensely bloody quick. "Like the front. Nicely pointy" he says at one point, then proceeds to mash the throttle before the apex to see how it responds. My stomach goes light and I realise I can't sit, breathe and talk at the same time. I mention (just) that I thought the brakes were a bit wooly - overwhelmed by the weight maybe - but Friend said "No - these are good. Nice feel. You're just not pushing hard enough". (More on that in a minute). We slam into another tightening bend at Warp 8 and he has fun with the downshifts. "Love that. Great sound too, but I think I can see the fuel gauge move every time I change down!".
After three passes we pull over. He's out checking the tyres, walking around looking…thoughtful, as the GS pings and ticks to a cool.
"'I've looked at these in the past and wondered what they were like… and its bloody good, isn't' it? A proper machine - there's lots there to play with. Good torque and like the way it gets more responsive right up to the red-line. Makes you want to drive. Decently quick too, nice brakes, wants to turn. The castor angle means I'd be wary in the wet - but there was loads of grip left out there. I could go a lot harder ("Really?" I wondered, trying to get my legs to stop wobbling. "Blimey".) Love the schizo thing - more liveable than a Ferrari but a proper sports car when you want it to be. And I really like the inside. I'm actually feeling Serious Want here."
And this from a guy more used to doing this stretch of road at 5am on summer mornings in a 500hp rally monster.
I was chuffed, not only to experience what the car can really do (both reassuring and a great incentive to learn how to drive properly) but also to know that the Maser is every bit as special as I'd hoped. Bloke validation but more too…satisfaction that something actually lives up to its reputation. Or maybe exceeds it?
"Oi, stop getting all misty eyed Doris and come and learn what the brakes can do."
And we're off again, me driving. 70mph, empty road. Full-on hard stop. "Didn't even get the ABS flickering. Try harder. Go deep." 80 mph, much harder push. Much, much harder. The GS just hauls up straight, without a chirp. "Christ." Mouth dry, palms moist. "How much harder can this thing stop?" "A lot! You'll get there. That's the fun of a car like this. It can do more than you think. Right, that's enough buggering about. Time for the pub."
So we did.