Since then I have been driven by many fast professionals, and done my own fair share of track test driving on circuits around Europe. But another passenger run around Mondello yesterday was something entirely different than all of those other experiences.
Think of your postman's Volkswagen Caddy Van. Replace the diesel engine with the powertrain from a Golf GTI. Add in a Golf VI rear suspension, some Bridgestone tyres normally used on a Porsche, and the boss of Volkswagen Ireland.
He's Simon Elliott. And this van is his new toy, brought over from the UK where it has featured successfully in track racing against high-powered saloon cars over several seasons.
The link is that Simon is himself one of the drivers who has raced the Caddy Racer in competition. He's a good race driver too, and decided that relocating the vehicle to Ireland would help the local postie to appreciate his or her van even more. Or maybe it's just that he missed the vehicle when he relocated to Ireland a while ago to head up the VW operation here.
At Mondello yesterday, Simon set a new course record for commercial vehicles with a time of 1.05.77, faster than many high-powered saloons and hatches which have done the circuit. And he didn't scare me at all as one of his passengers—I didn't even have to hold onto anything as he pushed it around the twisty track with evident gusto.
"There isn’t a commercial vehicle in Ireland that could come anywhere near matching it," he said with a grin. "It has all the very best attributes of the standard Volkswagen Caddy Panel Van plus a little extra!”
The bishop would have enjoyed it.
Pictured below are VW Ireland's Niall Phillips, Simon Elliott and Paul Burke at the event.
