IN THIS FEATURE Like having a mistress who can cook Shifting expectations Traffic-light hero

As supercars become more and more practical, people buy them for more and more practical reasons. But buying a supercar shouldn't be a rational decision. A friend of mine wanted to buy a Porsche, but he said "I am going to buy the automatic because I sit in traffic a lot." Argh! That's like having a mistress who can cook. You're not going over there to have dinner...

I have been reading in American car magazines some attacks on how the Porsche Carrera GT's clutch is too hard to use. To them I say, "Grow up." Try any vintage WO Bentley. It's an art to master a smooth gearchange in one. But when you do, you feel as if you have actually accomplished something.

Mercedes-Mclaren SLR: perfect car but for the auto 'box

Let's face it, no-one can go 200mph on a public road, with maybe the exception of an autobahn. The real joy of high-speed vehicles like the Carrera GT is operating the clutch properly. With paddle-shifters, by the time you feel as if you have any sensation you are doing 180mph and on the way to jail. I think there is a real choreography at learning how to perform a wonderful shift quickly.

I would not even consider buying cars such as the Maserati Quattroporte and Aston Martin Vanquish because they don't come with a manual 'box. I would have paid anything to have got a manual gearbox in the Mercedes-McLaren SLR. It's really almost a perfect car - you can drive it anywhere - except I don't feel as if I am involved with it as I am with my Ford GT or with the Carrera GT.