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"So why have you brought a Lamborghini to the Faroe Islands?" asks the man in the sober grey suit. "I wanted to come somewhere with dramatic scenery and great roads," I explain.

"To a place where there are no speed cameras or petty bureaucracy." The man looks a little concerned and photographer Salt intervenes. "Alistair," he says, "let me introduce you to the Faroes Minister for Transport."

It is an inauspicious start. My new-found friend, Bjarni Djurholm, turns out also to be the Minister for Trade and Industry and, for the moment at least, the acting Prime Minister. I arrived in the Faroe Islands less than two hours ago and I've already embarrassed myself.

Djurholm admits to being a Lamborghini fan and wants a ride in the car. We trundle out of town as I wonder whether to break the modest, 80km/h speed limit. At this speed, in fourth gear, the Gallardo Spyder burbles away contentedly, but it feels no more exciting than a Focus.

"I think you should overtake the car in front," says Mr Djurholm, proving that laws are there to be broken, especially if you've made them yourself. I shift to second, flex my right foot and the V10 takes a lug of fuel.

At full throttle, the Gallardo makes a noise that's devilishly naughty. While Ferrari's F430 proffers a high-pitched, F1-mimicking scream, the Lambo plays a symphony of trumpets. "It's even better than I imagined," says my passenger.

We make a U-turn at the top of a hill and then sprint back to Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroes. "I used to have a picture of a Lamborghini as a boy," says the acting Prime Minister between spurts of acceleration. "This is like a dream." His childish enthusiasm is shared by his electorate: a crowd has gathered to greet our return and a dozen camera phones are thrust into action.

The Islands are far from poor - Djurholm reckons the standard of living is higher than that of the UK - but prohibitive car tax excludes the exotic. No one can ever remember a Lamborghini visiting these shores before, which is why our arrival has been akin to that of Dr Livingstone - "Top Gear, I presume."

The TV show is hugely popular here and our visit made headline news in one of the local newspapers. Their only disappointment is that I'm not Clarkson (who is soon to own a Gallardo), Hammond or May.

Situated halfway between Scotland and Iceland in the middle of the North Atlantic, the Faroe Islands are an extraordinary place. They're home to just 48,000 people but they boast their own language and their own bank notes. Officially, the Islands are part of the Kingdom of Denmark but their parliament has autonomy over local issues.