I’m all set for the drive of my life...

OFFICIALLY, it is called the DN7C, which seems rather prosaically reductive, because it’s better known as the Transfagarasan Road.

Running for 90km from the village of Bascov to the city of Sibiu in Romania, it reaches 2,040 metres at its highest point, between the peaks of Moldoveanu and Negoiu in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania.

It was constructed between 1970 and 1974 by the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in a bid to defend against a possible invasion by the then Soviet Union, and it since has become almost a place of pilgrimage for drivers who want to enjoy the tight chicanes and magnificent views it offers. In 2009, it was named the best road in the world by Top Gear, after Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May drove it in, respectively, an Aston Martin DBS Volante, a Ferrari California, and a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.

I’ll be driving it in August in something less flashy but almost as tasty, the latest Mazda MX-5 with a new engine, the 184hp 2.0litre petrol powerplant.

It will be an early look at the car, because it won’t go on sale here until next year, so I’m pretty excited about it.

There’s something special about a proper road trip, and I’ve been lucky enough to do quite a few.

Obviously, the Wild Atlantic Way is on our doorstep, and I drove almost the entire 2,400km of it in eight days in 2014, revisiting favourite old haunts and finding a few new ones, notably in Co. Donegal, which is absolutely stunning.

Over in the United States, the Pacific Coast Highway, running from Los Angeles to San Francisco, is another favourite of mine, though I have never done it in full, instead driving north out of Los Angeles and south from San Francisco on separate trips, and never reaching the bit in the middle.

And in South Africa, the drive over the Franschhoek Pass is one every driver should try to manage at least once in a lifetime.

Best of all is doing these drives in a convertible. I can’t wait to drop the roof, feel the sun on my shoulders and the wind in my hair, and put Top Gear’s claim to the test.