Enthusiasm reborn, there was still a chance there was a kit available. John at Arden also told me that the Murtaya might continue with another company. Again I waited to hear when I could have a test drive. Then I bought another CKC magazine and saw that Murtaya Sports Cars was newly formed. I contacted Graham Codling, the new Director, by email and arranged for a test drive. Graham was very positive although he could only offer me a drive in what was their street legal track/rally car. Well that was a damn shame. So after spending a week in Hereford on holiday with my brother I went down to Exeter and met Graham.
In total I spent over 3 hours with Graham first talking about the Murtaya, what had happened with AMS, what his plans were for the car, how he intended to develop the car, what stages the cars in the workshop were at and the work done on specific parts. I could have spent all day there and would gladly have lent a hand if asked. Then we took the track car out for a test drive. Graham let me drive first and said he would take over and show what the car could do on the run back to the workshop.
The car was phenomenal, it was a competition car and there were few comforts, apart from a 5 point harness and an awesome set of pedals. It was noisy, the plastic windows rattled in the wind, the dump valve felt like it was beside your ear, the handling was harsh on the road yet Graham pointed out it was on its softest setting. This car was clearly designed for the tarmac of a race track and best enjoyed wearing a crash helmet.
The sound and the performance were glorious and you couldn’t knock the smile off my face with a sledgehammer. As we continued the drive passing cars and catching up to the next car a couple of things became blatantly clear. One, the car could out handle the driver on every bend. This driver will definitely require a firmware upgrade. Two, it was totally addictive this was the kind of car I wanted to build. It was just like the first time I test drove my first Impreza only on a completely different level.
I got the feeling that Graham was frustrated at not having a proper demo car with the interior properly laid out and suspension setup for road use which would be far more comfortable and a car that could be driven for hours.
After driving for about 45 minutes I was wondering when Graham was going to take over. Then we came to a junction I recognised we passed earlier. “I thought you were going to take over?” Graham replied “I was, but you seemed to be enjoying yourself.” I wasn’t going to complain. Shifting the car into first gear I headed back to the factory.
The track car had been a sensory overload. It was a car that made you want to work with the road. The seat could not be adjusted and designed for persons of a taller stature than myself. But the driving position was great, the bulge of the bonnet, the acceleration, braking and handling all together made a stunning package. It was all about the driving experience and yet with a little imagination and you could see it could be a nice place to be. After an hour’s test drive I felt somewhat drained. Not that the car was difficult to drive, far from it, but I had tried to push myself a bit to get a feel of the car on roads I had never been down before and listening to Grahams instructions as to what the road was going to do. Then there was the niggling fact in the back of my mind that this car was to be racing at Donnington the following weekend.
Returning to the factory Graham and I continued our discussion with Graham demonstrating some of the changes he had already made on the door locking mechanism, and the headlight mounting. Then we talked about the Kit, how it is delivered, what the turnaround would be, what state the build manual was in. Finally I had to take the long 5 hour ride home in some atrocious weather. But I was sold. Now all I need is a donor car.
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