You know that giddy, boyish excitement that chaps with wisps of grey hair get every now and then? Multiply that by about 50.
The ace in a star-studded pack, the white Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 seemed to have its own gravitational pull as it sat bathed in sunshine on a Thursday morning in Hainault.
By the time I got inside it and we quickly picked up some speed – within the speed limits of course – my head almost snapped off my shoulders, much to my delight.
The Aventador is the newest addition to a fleet of about 80 prestige and luxury cars at Season Car Hire, Forest Road.
And the firm’s owners believe they are the only place in London where the Aventador, which can go from 0-60 in a snappy 2.9 seconds, is available for hire.
It may not come cheap, but then you wouldn’t really expect it to.
Once I’d figured out how to open the doors (they go up, not out...) I had the chance to do my best Lewis Hamilton impression behind the wheel, albeit with the engine turned off.
To trust me at the wheel of a £285,000 car would be brave, good driver or not.
The car has been hired out a handful of times in the month it has been at Season Car Hire, and I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to sit in the passenger seat for a ride.
Business co-owner and managing director Sarfraaz Patel was the man in the driving seat.
Now I may have looked slightly odd with a beaming smile ear to ear, but there was probably another reason people were staring and pointing at us as we drove through Barkingside and Newbury Park.
“I drove it for 15 minutes and there were 15 jaw drops,” said Sarfraaz of a previous journey in the Aventador. “It’s amazing the reaction you get.”
The car, of which only 4,000 are being made, sounds immense when its legs are stretched, but never feels out of control.
Its hydraulic suspension – which allows the driver to raise the front of the car to run smoothly over speed humps – is one of many impressive gadgets on a car that oozes character and power.
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