Jeremy Clarkson has expressed his confusion over the energy-saving features of Ferrari’s new hybrid supercar, the 296 GTS. The seasoned motoring journalist described the eco-friendly beast as “a lovely car” but found it challenging to get to grips with its advanced features.
“If you drove it every day for a couple of months I’m sure you’d get used to the complexity,” Clarkson penned in the Sunday Times. However, he also noted that “asking Ferrari to make a car to suit the wishes of Greta Thunberg and the EU lawmakers is like asking the world’s best chef to make supper using only a turnip and dog food.”
Rather than exploring the ultra-modern car’s complexities, the Clarkson’s Farm star instead embarked on a bizarre tale about pub crawls, ultra-posh MP turned reality star Jacob Rees-Mogg, and Irish singing sensation Andrea Corr.
The 64 year old alleged that while he was test-driving the £275,000 supercar, the former MP for North East Somerset collided with it in a pub car park “causing a significant amount of damage.”
“It’s going to be fun for him, filling in the insurance claim form on that one,” Jeremy wrote, going on to claim that Rees-Mogg’s pickup truck had been stolen shortly after the accident.
He added that these days he’s usually ready for bed by 10.30, rather than “pub-crawling around the Cotswolds in an Italian supercar till the wee hours.”
But this week he made an exception and it was “all Andrea Corr’s fault,” Gloucestershire Live reports.
He shared that the multi-platinum selling band, The Corrs, which features Andrea, had performed at his local pub, leading him to leave his Ferrari in the car park post-gig due to mechanical issues.
Jeremy was not convinced by the Ferrari’s design, citing trouble with visibility of the controls and argued that despite the engineers’ “cracking job”, the 2024 model’s push for energy efficiency led to too many compromises.
He voiced a preference for purchasing a “proper” Ferrari with low mileage over the new eco-conscious version.