Well, I just spent the last 10 days in Italy on business. Driving on the
various Autostrade routes was a real pleasure. The left lane had the BMW's,
Alfa 75's (Milano), VW GTI's, and the occasional Porsche, and once in a
while, a Honda CRX Si(!) They all booked along at speeds >= 160 kph. In my
lane (I got a Renault Clio, 1.2 litre) had most of the rest of us (Fiats
of all types, the slower Alfa's, VW's, Renaults, etc.) We all moved at
about 120 kph. (The speed limit in Italy varies according to engine
displacement. The Clio I got was officially allowed to go 130 kph; I didn't
get into the fast lane many times!) In the rightmost lane were the Fiat
500's and the Pandas, etc. They moved along at maybe 100 kph. Altogether,
everyone was very disciplined and followed marvelous road etiquette. The
roads were generally in great shape (except for periodic construction areas).
There was one interesting thing I noticed on the A15 from La Spezia to
Parma. The A15 cuts right through the mountains; the road is *delightfully*
twisty (I would've loved to have had my TR8 on that road!). Well, I
discovered that people don't really follow the suggested speed limit
through the various turns. They also all drive like Grand Prix drivers. The
lines painted on the road become merely suggestions and everyone (even
the Fiat 500's) take a line through each turn. It was a little hairy at
first but I got used to it :-)
OK, where's the britcar content you ask? I'm getting to that :-) I, of
course, was always on the lookout for interesting British cars. There were
occasional Mini's and a few older Rovers (even an SD1) but nothing really
new. Well, on the A1 from Rome to Milan I came upon a very peculiar
sight. It was night and up ahead I saw two rather dim tailights in the
far right (slow) lane. I figured it was a Citroen 2CV or some such
beasty. However, as I got closer the lights started to remind me of a
Spitfire. Soon, however, it became apparent that this was actually a TR-3
of some sort! It was painted red and had racing regalia pasted all over
it. In fact, there was a big 8 stuck to the driver's door. We followed
it for a little ways (he was only doing 90 kph or so) and finally left
him a bit later. It was a very curious sight (and cheered me right up.)
Anyone know why a TR-3 in racing garb would be travelling to Milano on a
Sunday night? I mused about that for most of the rest of the drive.
Somehow, even though I'd seen several Alfa 75 twinsparks, four Ferrari's
(three Testarossi were on the showroom floor at the Ferrari dealer in
Florence), it wasn't until I saw the Triumph that my heart really
jumped. I rarely see a Triumph at all in Austin and it made me grin to see a
TR-3 braving the Italian autostrade. Made my driving experience!
Happy motoring,
jim
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