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It still gets me every time - there are no doorhandles! Amazing. We live in a time when a family car can have radar-assisted cruise control, dual-zone aircon, seats that massage your buns, and night vision, but I still get a little James-Bond-spy thrill every time I reach under the door mirror of a Tuscan to press the discreet little button that opens the door.

It's there, ex-TVR boss Peter Wheeler would tell you, to leave the car's sculpted lines clean and uncluttered by door-opening furniture. But I think it's there largely 'cos it's cool if you know where to find the little secret button and your passenger doesn't and has to ask you, all doe-eyed and helpless, how to get in.

This feature first appeared in the December 2011 issue of Top Gear magazine

Words: Richard Hammond
Pictures: Justin Leighton