My second car of the day would be a 1957 Ferrari 250 TR Recreation.
From every angle, this car is stunning. Yes its a recreation, sadly I don't have a cool 20 million sat around to buy a real one. So for now, this will do. This car was originally equipped with a 3 litre V12 engine that produced 300 bhp that give a top speed of around 168 mph. This came with a 4 speed all synchro gearbox and drum breaks. So lots of power but questionable stopping power. Ferrari won the World Sportscar Championship with this car in 1958, 1960 and 1961.
Getting......climbing into this car is interesting as it has no doors. you have to go over and in where the door would be, but once in it its comfortable and the view down the bonnet is epic. It's fitting that I get to drive this car around the Indy Circuit as it's roughly the same age. Sadly I can't find any information stating that these cars raced at Brands Hatch in the period.
The chap next to me was the legend that is @TinTopsUk or Nick Underwood in real life. If you have Twitter/X please give him a follow.
The first thing he did was to relax me by making me laugh. In all of the drives I have done, I've never had any of the instructors do that and it automatically put me at ease.
Once ready, Nick handed me the key. Turn the key one click, push in and then another two clicks and the engine comes to life. Put the car into gear and we make our way to the pit exit.
So to state the obvious, this car is not as quick as the 599, but it's no slouch, it's still fast enough to make you feel you lose your stomach up Hailwoods Hill. There's no power steering here so the steering feels more alive. And the breaks.....they work but you break sooner before the corner than you do in the 599.
Making my way around the Brands Hatch in this car is great fun, there is enough horsepower to make you smile, the engine noise is great, you have to keep the steering in the right direction and get your breaking points correct. To summarise this is a drivers car and it will reward you and make you smile.
All too soon it would be time to pull into the pits and give the keys back but the last thought I had was if I get to choose one car drive memory to take with me when my time is up, it would be this one.
I've done lots of driving experiences over the years and it will take a lot to top this. I welcome any suggestions, recommendations or offers.
Now, if you have read this far, Car Chase Heroes need your help.
5 of their cars have been stolen from the Norfolk area, below is a photo of their Facebook post from September. So far only the Volkswagen Golf has been recovered. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of these cars, please contact Car Chase Heroes or the police.
For further information about Car Chase Heroes, please visit
For further information about Brands Hatch, please visit
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