Features

A car built in Banbury and touted as a 'British supercar' should really have the wheel in the right place for a start, as well as doors that, er, fit, hazard lights that work, electric windows that go up and down instead of just down and a fan with more than one speed.

The exhaust shouldn't make you want to kill yourself with its droning on the motorway, and the 'airbrake' shouldn't stop you from seeing out of the rear window. The radio didn't work, but as it was one of those horrifically complicated drop-panel units I was glad of it.

Apparently all these things have been sorted in the 12 cars that Ascari has already sold, as well as being tweaked in the remaining 38, but you have to wonder why the car that's donated to the press has to 'look past' such things when cars are already in the garages of owners.

It certainly doesn't create the positive impression that Ascari is undoubtedly hoping for, and it makes you look like a complete fool in traffic when it's raining and the windows won't close.

So it's a complete bust on the fit and finish as far as this car we've been given to test is concerned, but the mechanicals remain as they are for all customer cars. And at least here the news is good.

The V8, at just under five litres, sounds utterly beguiling. Kind of high-tech muscle car trapped in a dustbin. Very angry Nascar brawl.

It certainly doesn't sound like the noise you expect from such a delicate little thing, and gets people spinning around like dervishes when it grumbles down the road.

It's a bit fluffy cold, as well as in the first inch of throttle travel, but that soon clears up when there's some heat in the engine.

The same can't be said of the windscreen, thanks to the fan's insistence of working at its own pace - I resorted to moving the car out of my drive to warm it up for fear of being crucified by my neighbours.

Crank up the speed and the airbag-less wheel feels good. It hasn't got the almost scary feel of most cars capable of such speeds (apart from the terror of the insurance schedule) and everything apart from the heavy clutch pedal points to something a little more sedate.

There's plenty of finger tactility, it's easy to place and there's no super-wide rear to take care of.