2012: Year of the Horse

No, I didn’t get the Chinese calendar all wrong. I do know that 2012 corresponds to the year of the dragon in the Chinese calendar. But with the “ber” months seemingly zooming by, Christmas still came way too early for me this year. You see, of the dwindling entries on my bucket list, one is to be able to drive a Ferrari and another is to visit the Ferrari factory in Maranello. Every high-octane-blooded car enthusiast should have these two on their lists.

My dalliance with the Prancing Horse marque started early in my life. I was still in college when I ran a car paint shop in Katipunan Ave. in Quezon City. One day a balikbayan asked me to restore his then-20-year-old Ferrari 365 GT 2+2. I did, and even entered it in Trans Sport Show’s predecessor, Transhow. Unfortunately, the time (and budget) I was given was just enough for painting and interior work. The car wasn’t running as the engine was partly disassembled and lacked quite a few parts. Needless to say, I never got to drive the car.

Fast forward nearly 25 years later. I’ve become a journalist who’d been testing cars for over a decade. I’ve had the good fortune to test over a hundred cars and visit the headquarters, factories, or museums of just about every car company in the world. Except Ferrari. Which was just a shame—especially for a car enthusiast whose son’s name is Enzo. And he’s already 18 years old!

Well, fortune finally came my way last April. After attending Star’s turnover of motoring editors (from my predecessor Dong Magsajo to me) in Fort Bonifacio, I was standing on the sidewalk outside the restaurant admiring a brand-new Ferrari 458 Italia parked in front when Marc Soong, the managing director of Autostrada Motore (the local importer of Ferraris and Maseratis) tapped me on the shoulder and offered me the keys to that very car. I still hear the echoing wail of that Ferrari V8 as I revved that sweet engine to redline, which came almost as fast as I can flick the paddle shift. The car traversed the short and empty stretch of road from the corner of S&R to the next stoplight in less than four seconds. Check one off my bucket list.

Who would’ve known that less than two months later, I would get invited by Pilipinas Shell to visit their R&D labs in Hamburg, Germany, with a side trip to—where else—the Ferrari factory and museum in Maranello. (The story came out in this section last July 11.) Another one off the bucket list.

Then just three months later, I would get invited to attend the ASEAN launch of the Ferrari F12berlinetta. It was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, and we had a grand time chatting with Ferrari executives about the company’s newest flagship—and fastest ever—road car. Just feeling the car’s sensuous flanks is enough to send any car buff giddy with excitement. What more when they started the car and revved that big V12. You’d expect Thor himself to appear amidst that thunderous roar. (The story came out here last October 3.)

But lady luck wasn’t done with me yet. Shell called me again early September and sent me to the Singapore Grand Prix. Not just to watch the race, mind you, but to interview double world champion Fernando Alonso, test his ultra-realistic half-million-dollar Ferrari F1 simulator, visit the Ferrari pit garage, and interview various Shell and Ferrari f1 personnel. (That story came out also on October 3.)

Which wraps up my trysts with the Prancing Horse—at least for this year. But it doesn’t mean the end of my equine affairs. It’s been more than a decade when I last drove a sports car which also bears a rampant horse on its crest. I’m talking about Porsches. And the last time I drove a Porsche was in 2000 for a Porsche Roadshow held at a makeshift autocross track in Clark. It was an unforgettable moment for me as I posted fastest time in the slalom competition, matching the time of the German instructor in the process.

Twelve years is a huge, huge, gap in time to wait for another chance to drive a car of the same brand. Which is why I couldn’t say no when PGA Cars offered a weekend drive of a Porsche Cayenne. (I won’t say more about the car so as not to preempt myself. A test drive report will come out in this section soon.)   

Now if you think that about maxes out all the horse-inspired dreams-come-true for this car guy, think again. I was scheduled to test drive the new Ford Focus right after the Cayenne. But circumstances prevented the Focus from being available at the scheduled date.

The call from Ford’s PR agency went like this: “Sir, we’re sorry but the Focus won’t be available as scheduled. Would you like to have the Mustang instead?”

“Do horses neigh?” was my quick response. Wild horses couldn’t keep me away from this test drive—especially when there are 400-plus horses under that Ford’s bulging Power Dome hood. (Expect another test drive report on this pony car.)

I don’t get to go to Italy or drive Porsches or American muscle cars on a regular basis. In fact, as I said, these wonderful experiences come way too infrequently. But these are just some of the reasons why I love my job.

The year 2012 may not be the year of the horse, but as far as I am concerned, it’s definitely the year of the Prancing (and Galloping) Horse. And yes, coincidentally, I was born in the year of the horse.