A day at Frankfurt Motor Show, a quick rental car ride to the Nurburgring, a steak, some sleep then a morning session in the sole remaining and priceless Aston Martin V12 Zagato Endurance Race Car Concept. No time to worry. Just as well really.
I'm not sure being called 'a safe pair of hands' is a compliment or not, but that's how Aston Martin's PR man Kim describes me when he called to invite us to drive Aston's V12 Zagato race car. The sole remaining racing car as it happens. Its red twin has been de-liveried and reverted to road specification and currently sits on Aston Martin's Frankfurt Motor Show stand to tease wealthy customers to buy one of the 150 cars of the limited production run.
Aston is asking around £330,000 for the road car, making this racer worth at least £500,000. More if you take into account its rarity and racing pedigree. I'm told a front wing costs about £26,000, the beautiful Zagato shape lovingly hand-rolled by skilled craftsmen in aluminium. It's with that in mind (and Kim's description of me) that, when asked while buckling into the one-off whether I want the traction control left on I err on the side of caution. I shrug and try nonchalantly to say yes, though I don't doubt my eyes tell a completely different story.
Not that I have to, but I'll make my excuses for that now, first being my relative unfamiliarity with the Nurburgring - the F1 track rather than the Nordschleife. The eight to ten laps I had in a Vantage N24 racer prior to this main event only underline that, the undulating circuit not a quick or easy one to master. The kerbs are vicious here too; touching one under braking can wrench the steering wheel and control away from you quicker than you can try to correct it, and slicks and grass or gravel aren't a combination I relish in such a unique car.
I'm also the first out, which is good as it means I'll get my run, but should I stuff it I'll not be popular with the handful of other drivers anticipating a ride. Five laps, one sighting, three flying and one cool down. That's my lot, and I'm determined to make the most of it. Usual belt strapping effort and roll cage gymnastics aside it's comfortable inside. It's low, very, and the wheel and its housing is high, while the web-netting on the side window and the mass of tubing making up the roll cage seriously limit my vision from 8-11 o'clock. Not handy with at least two left-handers with already tricky to spot apexes.
Flick the ignition switch, thumb the crystal starter button and there's the usual race car delay then a whirr as the starter kicks the 6.0-litre V12 into life. It's a fabulous, physical sound, the lack of deadening allowing the V12 to envelop the stark interior with its intensity, the sound and vibrations so rousing it's impossible to resist the temptation to flare the revs before selecting a gear with the wheel-mounted paddle-shifter.
Pulling that paddle engages first, the race technical gives me the thumbs up and moves out of the way. The unfamiliar track is mine, in an unfamiliar and heinously expensive racing car. That first lap is steady; brisk rather than fast, an opportunity to familiarise myself with the track from a different perspective, with differing levels of braking, acceleration and steering response. I resist the temptation to weave to warm up the tyres, instead concentrating on remembering the track and getting comfortable in this one-off racer.
Temptation is a terrible thing though, and the start-finish line opens up following the last corner and the opportunity to push the pedal to the floor presents itself at last. The 6.0-litre V12's 530bhp does its magic, yet it's not the speed that's so scintillating but the noise. The sound it makes is extraordinary inside the car, and I'll hear later it sounds as fantastic as it ricochets off the empty grandstands and pit garages as the Zagato gives its all down the short straight.
The braking point is difficult to judge, the tarmac dropping away and the track edging to the right before turning into a hairpin double-back right. The brakes are mighty, though unlike the SLS GT3 I'm using my right foot, allowing a bit more finesse than the mere stamp then sort it out of the big Merc. It doesn't brake quite as ferociously as the 'Benz, though the steering is far more precise and the weighting is better. Some say it's too light, but the feel that it delivers is fantastic, and I've no doubt the drivers who raced this car here for 24 hours in June welcomed the lack of heft at the wheel.
Grip, as you'd expect on slicks, is enormous, though I'm thankful for the traction control as the light flickers through some of the trickier bends. As ever it's all about trying to be tidy and smooth; get it right and the Aston rewards with easily carried speed and ever later braking points. The gears shift instantaneously at a flick of the paddles, the slight delay experienced with the N24 not apparent in the more hardcore, more serious Zagato.
As the laps pass the speed increases and growing familiarity with the circuit means greater confidence to push ever harder. The last chicane prior to the right hander for the pit straight becomes a favourite. Straight-line the rumble strips carrying loads of speed then hard on the brakes, turn in holding a constant throttle through the last bend for what seems like an eternity before pushing the accelerator to the floor.
Out pops the pit board to spoil the fun, though the temptation to ignore it is immense. Sense prevails and I slow down to start a cool down lap. Doing so allows me to both blink and soak up what I've just been doing. The concentration required at speed is so intense it's easy to forget to enjoy and digest the overall experience. It's an amazing one, and while I've no doubt the Zagato would be faster in more talented hands, should Aston ever need a safe pair again they know who to call...
