The 2026 Aprilia SR GT 400 is a City Adventurer that Aprilia says rewrites the rules of the mid-displacement GT scooter segment by blending urban functionality with a genuine spirit of adventure. Dubbed a crossover, this bike brings a fresh, fun attitude into the maxi scooter genre.
There is something wonderfully liberating about drinking pink wine without pretending it has to justify itself. Rosé has spent decades being underestimated, lightly dismissed as a sugary summer seasonal or a simple patio sipper. Yet, away from the clichés, the category has quietly become one of the most dynamic corners of modern viticulture.
There are some vehicles that suit Salisbury Plain. A Porsche 911 does not. A Bentley Flying Spur might, provided you had someone following in a support vehicle with a calming herbal tea. A Fiat 500 would just look as though it had taken a wrong turn on the way to a garden centre.
The Toyota Land Cruiser, however, looks entirely at home.
It could be straight out of Jane Austen novel – the winding treelined drive, the crunch of gravel under foot as one navigates the carriage circle in front of a stately façade. The architecture blends 17th century Jacobean and Victorian Gothic features of red brickwork, octagonal turrets and finished-off by a duo of mythical stone griffons perched on the roof.
The first thing you notice about the Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo is not the speed, although with 542 horsepower and a 196mph top speed it has quite enough of that to rearrange your hairstyle permanently. Nor is it the noise, though the Nettuno V6 produces a soundtrack so gloriously operatic that nearby pheasants briefly consider filing noise complaints. No, the first thing you notice is how astonishingly beautiful it is.
So naturally we took it touring through Wiltshire valleys and along Dorset’s coastal roads, to show it off.
Glide the Streets, Own the Journey
It isn’t about just arriving at your destination; it's about savouring every mile with a smile.
Some cars impress me. Some cars intimidate me. Some cars arrive on my drive, sit there for half a second and then immediately reorganise the chemicals in my brain at first glance. The Lotus Emira V6 SE is one of those.
I had been invited to play two rounds with a friend, as part of a wider stay at The Manor House Hotel with the Lotus Emira. The hotel and car had already done their bit: one providing Cotswold charm and deeply civilised hospitality, the other providing mid-engined theatre and a colour scheme that could be seen from Chippenham. Now it was the turn of the golf course.
A large SUV appears entirely at home pulling up to a grand historic building, as though it has merely returned from a light bout of pheasant disturbance. A discreet German saloon also looks suitable, particularly if it is muted in colour, electric-silent and wafting across the pea shingle.
But a bright purple Lotus? This is not discreet. It does not sidle quietly into an open forecourt and hope not to be noticed. It arrives with the visual and audible subtlety of a quality-street wrapper at a funeral.
Regular readers will know that I have a particular affinity for House of Hazelwood and tend to anticipate each annual release with genuine interest. The 2026 Charles Gordon Collection continues a philosophy shaped by Charles Gordon, one that places patience at the centre of whisky making and recognises that time, when handled with restraint, remains the most valuable asset at a producer’s disposal.
