If I were to tell you that a car made me feel sexy, you might nod along. If I were to tell you a car made me feel more confident, you might think that was a little trivial. And if I were to tell you that a car actually made me feel powerful, you might suggest I work on my inner self. "True confidence comes from within" is a line I would have annoyingly recited back to anyone who shared those same sentiments with me, after all. But two days behind the wheel of a Ferrari and I now wholly understand the so-called supercar effect—and it’s one you really do have to feel to believe.
The location: the North Coast 500, a famous 516-mile circular route carved into the northern Highlands of Scotland. The set-up: roof down, sunglasses on, music blasting. The car: a classic, glossy red Ferrari Roma Spider—“Spider” simply meaning convertible in Ferrari terms—with rich red leather interiors, every mod-con imaginable, and an undeniably sleek silhouette that tackled (admittedly small) potholes and speed bumps far more gracefully than I expected. Essentially, a picture-perfect scene for my first experience behind the wheel of a £210,000-plus car. It’s easy to see why I was sold in an instant.
