Fit for purpose

I think Jethro Bovingdon is really on to something! In his column in issue 282 I think he hit upon something many of us performance car enthusiasts have been thinking about for a while: a lightweight, supple, softly sprung but well-damped, adjustable hot hatch with proper-sized wheels and tyres suited to gnarly British B roads, lanes and even urban roads.

Case in point: whilst my little Panda 100HP is huge fun, I often fantasise about putting its engine, or better still a turbocharged version as in the Abarth 500s, into a Panda 4x4 to make a brilliant cross-country fun-box and a proper little mountain goat. At the other end of the performance and price scale, Ariel’s Nomad R is probably much better on the majority of British roads than the Atom.

Jethro’s ideas of a raised GR Yaris ‘Gravel’ and a production version of Alpine’s A110 Sports X concept sound hugely tempting for me, and most likely also to a growing band of enthusiasts who realise that ridiculously sized wheels, massive spring rates and painted-on tyre sidewalls actually detract from the thrill of driving on British roads.

Martin Mees