Supercars

The painterly bleakness of Dartmoor has encouraged the growth of many legends, not least that of the Hairy Hands – disembodied hirsute mitts that suddenly grab at one’s steering wheel or handlebars and force the victim off the road. It’s a ghost story that pertains to the Postbridge stretch of the B3212, which was purported to have seen an unusually high number of motor vehicle accidents in the early 20th century. So, you have been warned.

So we invite you to follow Adam Hay-Nicholls' guide to a UK and Ireland road touring staycation in the Ferrari Portofino M. Just follow the links at the bottom for each instalment.

The new Ferrari Portofino M is an impeccable companion for exploring the UK and Ireland’s most spectacular roads and rediscovering the British Isles’ hidden gems.

The new Audi e-tron is first and foremost a monster electric car that appears ideal for touring. Part saloon, part SUV. It is the size of a Range Rover, yet perfectly proportioned as a saloon, or Sportback, as Audi call it. The scale is only revealed when parked next to other cars where it appears to have been blown up in photoshop. So there’s plenty of interior space and an imposing exterior. Do not confuse this with a small electric utility vehicle. It’s actually a hint of the electric Bentley GT to come and bears many similarities with its luxury petrol cousin.

It's Wednesday and I'm driving an Isuzu D-Max V-Cross around a quarry. It is masterful over shale, stone and rock, cruising through a three feet deep river, gliding up a 42 deg sandy hill with ease and managing serious ruts and bumps smoothly.

You may not be familiar with Isuzu as the pickup truck is their only offering in the UK, but they have quite an illustrious history which include racing cars as well as commercial vehicles and buses. They produced 650K vehicles in 2019.

Home to over 40 world-leading businesses from the global automotive industry and its tiered supply chain welcomed another noteworthy innovator, Viritech, to Europe’s premier automotive technology campus.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has co-created a magnificent Bespoke Phantom in a unique collaboration with Hermès. Designed and handcrafted by a combined team of Bespoke specialists at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood, West Sussex, and Hermès in Paris, Phantom Oribe reflects the personality and passions of its owner, Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa.

Alongside the 2021 generation Scramblers, Triumph is producing a new beautiful and unique limited edition that celebrates the most famous movie star, stunt and motorcycle in history, with the Scrambler 1200 Steve McQueen Edition.

Bedford Aerodrome is a little airfield next to the well known Bedford Autodrome designed by F1 driver Jonathan Palmer. I’d driven up in the morning to spend a day throwing the latest BMW’s and MINI’s around the aerodrome track.

I started out with the BMW M2 Competition. Getting a feel for the course, conditions and corners. It had rained that morning but now the sun was slowing drying the track, though there were still a few puddles scattered about, particularly near the most vicious corner.

With 158bhp on tap, Ducati’s Multistrada 1260S is a fast bike. It blurs the boundary between an adventure bike and a sports tourer, and I love it.

The Multistrada 1260 uses the 1262cc engine is a Diavel-derived motor with new mapping and exhaust. What a great engine this is, characterful and bags of power and torque, making 85% of its 130Nm torque from just 3500rpm.