Driving is believing, but watching ain't bad, either. Actually, make that watching and listening. Long before the eyes can focus on the moving object, the ears pick up its working noises. I can't see what is occurring behind the bridge and over the hill at the far end of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles test track, but it sounds like a single-plane air race. Or perhaps like a roller-coaster powered by a combustion engine or like a MotoGP bike on four wheels.
After a long, imageless prelude wrapped in cottonwool, the wah-wah suddenly blares into sight, blending 7,000-rpm-plus upshift crescendos with trumpeting downshift double-takes. Accompanying the street music are two bright LED spots and a red blob taking shape. Fast. At the entrance to the longest straight, a real-time object approaches at 100, 120, 130 mph. Welcome to the world premiere of dame Giulia at work, a feast for all senses and the stuff long-lasting goose pimples are made of. |
