{"id":61831,"date":"2025-04-20T06:18:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-20T10:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/memorable-mishaps-and-triumphs-from-the-world-of-car-testing\/"},"modified":"2025-04-20T06:18:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T10:18:06","slug":"memorable-mishaps-and-triumphs-from-the-world-of-car-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/memorable-mishaps-and-triumphs-from-the-world-of-car-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorable Mishaps and Triumphs from the World of Car Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The world of automotive journalism is filled with thrilling experiences, unexpected challenges, and unforgettable moments. As we delve into the rich history of one of the first motoring magazines, we uncover stories from both current and former staff members of Autocar. These anecdotes not only highlight the excitement of car testing but also reflect the evolution of the automotive industry over nearly a century. <\/p>\n

Memorable Mishaps and Unexpected Adventures<\/p>\n

John Barker\u2019s experience with the Nissan Maxima is a testament to the unpredictability of road testing. While attempting to navigate a wet asphalt apron, he found himself careening backwards at 100 mph toward a steep grass bank. Fortunately, the impact was soft, but the aftermath was a humorous reminder of the unexpected nature of automotive testing. The recovery truck driver\u2019s revelation of a \u201csizeable turd\u201d \u2013 a soil sample from the Maxima\u2019s tailpipes \u2013 adds a comical twist to an otherwise nerve-wracking situation. Such stories illustrate the blend of danger and humor that often accompanies the world of car testing.<\/p>\n

Chris Chilton\u2019s tale of a misadventure while delivering tyres to Michelin\u2019s Ladoux track in France is another example of the unexpected. His lack of preparation led to a night spent in his car, driving back and forth between toll booths to stay warm. This experience not only highlights the challenges faced by junior testers but also serves as a reminder of the importance of thorough planning in the automotive world. <\/p>\n

The Thrill of Iconic Vehicles<\/p>\n

The allure of iconic cars is palpable in Gavin Conway\u2019s recollection of testing the McLaren F1. With its staggering performance figures and a price tag that would make any car enthusiast swoon, the F1 represented a pinnacle of automotive engineering. Conway\u2019s surprise at being entrusted with the keys to this legendary vehicle speaks volumes about the trust and camaraderie within the Autocar team. Such moments are not just about the cars themselves but also about the relationships built in the high-pressure environment of automotive journalism.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Chris Harris\u2019s experience collecting the Porsche GT3 in Stuttgart encapsulates the joy and excitement of being part of the automotive world. Driving at 180 mph on the autobahn and navigating through France in one of the most revered sports cars of its time is a dream come true for any car enthusiast. Harris\u2019s narrative captures the essence of what it means to work in automotive journalism: a blend of passion, adventure, and the thrill of experiencing some of the best cars on the planet.<\/p>\n

The Challenges of Testing<\/p>\n

Testing high-performance vehicles often comes with its own set of challenges, as illustrated by Simon Hucknall\u2019s experience with the Maserati 4200. The pressure to achieve accurate performance figures can lead to tense situations, especially when the testing environment is less than ideal. Hucknall\u2019s attempt to run figures on a track that didn\u2019t meet the necessary specifications highlights the resourcefulness required in automotive journalism. <\/p>\n

Matt Prior\u2019s experience during a performance test of the Porsche 918 Spyder further emphasizes the unpredictability of car testing. The lack of support from the manufacturer during a critical test moment underscores the importance of preparation and adaptability in the field. These anecdotes serve as reminders that even the most prestigious automotive brands can present challenges that require quick thinking and problem-solving skills.<\/p>\n

The Joy of Discovery<\/p>\n

The joy of discovering new driving experiences is evident in Jamie Corstorphine\u2019s story about the Isle of Man. His decision to host the annual Britain\u2019s Best Driver\u2019s Car contest there, inspired by the island\u2019s stunning roads and welcoming locals, showcases the passion for driving that drives automotive journalists. The thrill of closing a road for testing purposes adds an element of excitement, but the unexpected storm that followed serves as a reminder of nature\u2019s unpredictability.<\/p>\n

David Vivian\u2019s whimsical adventure in an Amphi-Ranger further illustrates the spirit of exploration that defines automotive journalism. The surreal experience of driving an amphibious vehicle across the English Channel and navigating through Cowes week is a testament to the adventurous spirit that often accompanies car testing. <\/p>\n

Reflecting on the Past and Looking Ahead<\/p>\n

As we reflect on these stories from Autocar\u2019s past and present, it becomes clear that the world of automotive journalism is not just about cars; it\u2019s about the people, the experiences, and the memories created along the way. Each anecdote offers a glimpse into the challenges and triumphs faced by those who dedicate their lives to exploring the automotive landscape. <\/p>\n

The evolution of car testing over nearly a century is marked by advancements in technology, changes in consumer expectations, and the enduring passion for driving. As the automotive industry continues to evolve, the stories of those who have shaped it will remain a vital part of its history. The blend of humor, adventure, and camaraderie that defines these experiences will continue to inspire future generations of automotive enthusiasts and journalists alike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"Autocar's<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \u201cPass me more tyres, these ones have melted\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We talk to current and past staffers, including Matt Prior and Chris Harris to discover their favourite moments<\/p>\n

\n

The Autocar <\/em>was the very first motoring magazine to use a standardised series of tests to deliver a verdict, and nearly 100 years on, we’re still doing it.<\/p>\n

Things have changed since those early days, of course. Sadly our early road testers are unfortunately no longer with us, but some of the magazine’s more recent alumni have shared their memories.<\/p>\n

Below you’ll find the ones we could actually legally use.<\/p>\n

John Barker<\/h2>\n

\u201cI was a bit surprised to find myself going backwards at 100mph. One moment I was steering the Nissan Maxima<\/a> gently left onto the wet asphalt apron at the end of Millbrook\u2019s mile straight, the next I was fast reversing towards a steep grass bank, bracing for impact…<\/p>\n

\u201cAn impact that was thankfully soft. I got right to the top of the 30ft bank, the wipers gave a flick, I breathed a sigh of relief \u2013 and then gravity asserted itself and we started back down on the wet grass. The Maxima nosed heavily into a French drain and was stuck but, incredibly, unscathed.<\/p>\n

“The recovery truck driver said as much, before adding \u2018we found this on the driver\u2019s seat\u2019 and presenting me with a sizeable turd that was, in fact, part of the soil sample the Maxima\u2019s tailpipes had made on impact and chugged out on the way back down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris Chilton<\/h2>\n

\u201cTyres tests were\u00a0an Autocar regular in the early 2000s and as a junior road tester, I was tasked with taking a Ford Transit<\/a> full of fresh rubber to Michelin\u2019s Ladoux track in the middle of France in preparation.<\/p>\n

\u201cNaively\/stupidly taking as read Chris Harris\u2019s dubious assertion that I\u2019d easily be able to get there, dump the tyres and get back to Teddington in a day, I set off for France with no spare clothes, no hotel and, this being 2002, no smartphone to book one. By the time I\u2019d arrived, the facility was closed and I spent the night driving back and forth between autoroute toll booths to stay warm.<\/p>\n

\u201cYears later as road test ed I made up for it, sending my rookie to deliver the rubber and then flogging the lot to a part-worn tyre dealer three weeks later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gavin Conway<\/h2>\n

\u201cIt’s May\u00a01994. The McLaren F1<\/a> Autocar was testing sat before me, V12 ticking as it cooled on a remote Welsh road. At the time, road test supremo Andrew Frankel said the magazine would never run figures on a faster car (he hadn\u2019t anticipated the Bugatti Veyron<\/a>).<\/p>\n

“The F1\u2019s 627bhp magnificence could reach 100mph in 6.3sec and top out at 240mph, and 25 years ago it cost a staggering \u00a3627,000 (we also didn\u2019t anticipate that today you won\u2019t get change from \u00a311 million if you want a good one).<\/p>\n

\"Memories<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t been a road tester for much more than a year and I didn\u2019t really expect to be more than a passenger in the McLaren. So I was baffled when the half dozen or so road testers and snappers piled into the support van.<\/p>\n

“The last of them, Autocar superhero Steve Cropley, walked over and handed me the keys to the F1: \u2018See you back at the hotel. And take your time.\u2019 Alone, with the keys to a McLaren F1 \u2013 I don\u2019t believe I\u2019ve been so trusted since then. Thank you, Autocar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jamie Corstorphine<\/h2>\n

\u201cIn\u00a02008, I was running a long-term Caterham 7<\/a> and, in search of a destination for a farewell journey, I ended up touring the Isle of Man.<\/p>\n

“I was so impressed by the quality of the roads and hospitality of the locals that I returned with a pitch to base our annual Britain\u2019s Best Driver\u2019s Car contest there. The fact that the local officials had offered to close a road sealed the deal with the editor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt turns out that closing a road on the Isle of Man is as simple as completing a form, turning up at the transport depot to pick up a few cones and \u2018Diversion\u2019 signs and setting to work yourself.<\/p>\n

“At the time, the whole thing felt somewhat unreal. Five of the year\u2019s best driver\u2019s cars and one spectacular mountain road all to ourselves. Even the rain held off.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil the next morning, that is, when a huge storm blew in, resulting in the single worst ferry journey I have experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Memories<\/p>\n

David Vivian<\/h2>\n

\u201cTwo enterprising guys\u00a0\u2013 I forget their names \u2013 had travelled to Germany to buy an Amphi-Ranger, a sizeable, angular amphibious 4×4, with a view to marketing the vehicle in the UK.<\/p>\n

“After taking delivery, they drove it back to Blighty. Thing is, when they came to the English Channel, they didn\u2019t stop, and spent the next 21 miles dodging ferries and cargo ships. How could we resist the offer of a spin to the Isle of Wight?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA day that starts with a bump across a Portsmouth pavement and a sandy slither past open-mouthed beach dwellers towards the sea has a certain surreal promise, although the anxiety aroused by the sight of my hosts\u2019 legs dangling through the open sunroof and a brick on the accelerator to provide forward thrust was rivalled only by the urgent flashes of bilge pump warning light.<\/p>\n

“No matter. We gatecrashed Cowes week, trundled across Ryde and eventually, back in the briny at low tide, got stuck on a Solent and bank. At which point I opened the door, removed my\u00a0shoes, leapt into six inches of water and walked to the nearest pub.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew Frankel\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\u201cIt’s the launch of the original Ford Mondeo<\/a> in 1993. For Autocar readers, the first group test was probably the story of the year and, as road test editor, it was my job to deliver it.<\/p>\n

“Ford had hired the Byblos hotel in St Tropez, so we drove the rivals down for the showdown the next day. Then an American called Jack Daniels got involved, after which I remember nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next day, I was so ill I\u2019d pretend to take each car for a blast in the hills, only to drive out of sight, park and sleep for an hour. Then one of our number inverted the Primera, while another threw up three times on the way to the airport.<\/p>\n

“Proud? No, and 25 years later I still cringe at the thought. But we got the test done and, most importantly, got the verdict right. That Mondeo was a landmark, so much so that not even the hangover from hell could disguise it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Memories<\/p>\n

Chris Harris\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\u201cJune 1999. I flew into Stuttgart and took a taxi to Zuffenhausen \u2013 home of Porsche<\/a> and a place I\u2019d wanted to visit all my life. Just seeing the signs near the factory triggered spasms of joy, but the reason for my visit was almost too much to comprehend: to collect a new sports car called the GT3<\/a>, a faster, more track-savvy version of the water-cooled 996.<\/p>\n

“I signed the collection document and primed the map book to take me to Calais via every possible type of road. I drove at 180mph on autobahns and zipped through France on N-roads before landing in the UK, in the first GT3 ever to do so.<\/p>\n

“I was 24 and thought \u2013 still think, in fact \u2013 that I had the best job in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese would go on to be the cars I would grow to love above all others. That was one of the happiest days of my life, because I was never happier than when I worked at Autocar. I still have that collection document.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Generic<\/p>\n

Simon Hucknall<\/h2>\n

\u201cThere’s a reason why Autocar uses one of the UK\u2019s two proving grounds for recording road test numbers: both have arrow-straight sections of at least one mile, allowing testers to pick off important \u2018accel\u2019 figures with ease, including the standing kilometre.<\/p>\n

“But neither was free the day I had to run figures on the then new Maserati 4200 in 2002, so I headed for the Longcross test track instead. Longcross doesn\u2019t have a mile straight; in fact, the only straight section it has is barely a kilometre, ending in a banked 180deg bend.<\/p>\n

“Overshoot and you\u2019re on the M3. The near-400bhp Maser was, Chris Harris assured me, a \u2018sub-24-second car\u2019 over that kilometre. At 125mph, I was two seconds shy of that target; at 130mph, I nearly spun braking so hard into the turn; and at 132mph\/24.7sec, I received a \u2018reckless\u2019 warning from track control and had to call it a day. So, close, Mr Harris, but no cigar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt Prior<\/h2>\n

\u201cSometimes, when we\u00a0performance test extremely fast cars at MIRA, its maker will send a support crew, who diligently check pressures and temperatures and offer new tyres every few minutes.<\/p>\n

“Occasionally, they even send a driver to advise how to get the best from the car. Once Ferrari<\/a> sent \u2018Marc\u2019, who turned out to be Marc Gene\u00a0(who was utterly charming and thought our wet handling circuit was hilarious).<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Porsche said it would support the 918 Spyder test, then, we thought we knew what to expect \u2013 which wasn\u2019t one bloke in a 4×4 with some wheels in the back that stayed precisely where they were.<\/p>\n

“His idea of checking the 918<\/a>\u2019s tyres was to put a cigarette down for just long enough to place a hand on a tyre to see how warm it was and shrug.<\/p>\n

\u201cThus approved, the 918 went around our dry handling circuit a full second faster than a\u00a0McLaren P1<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Memories<\/p>\n

Matt Saunders<\/h2>\n

\u201cMorgan’s elegant ‘aero’\u00a0series of flagship sports cars had escaped the full road test treatment until 2012, when Matt Prior and I took delivery of one of the factory\u2019s \u2018supersport\u2019 Aero Coupe\u00a0at MIRA.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe watched it roll off the delivery trailer. It looked lovely. We cracked on with our numbers \u2013 until halfway through our dry handling lap times when there was a nasty lurch, the engine cut out abruptly and the brake pedal went worryingly dead.<\/p>\n

“Turns out an engine mounting had failed, and the wayward motor had snagged and tugged loose the car\u2019s brake lines while it was thrashing around. And so, contrary to our plans, it left MIRA the same way it had arrived.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree years later, I was figuring Radical\u2019s Radical RXC<\/a>500 Turbo when, at almost precisely the same point on MIRA\u2019s Dunlop circuit where the Morgan came to rest, the Radical\u2019s gearbox seized, ejecting me off across the damp grass, at speed, towards the tyres (which, pleasingly, I missed). It\u2019s not my favourite corner.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will recall reading neither test, because neither car completed the process, neither could be photographed and so neither appeared. That\u2019s the thing with low-volume British sports cars: you never quite know what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,137],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-61831","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}