It's still raining when we set off again
the following morning. This is annoying because in some ways, yesterday was
just the warm-up act for today. What we're heading for this morning is a road
called the Transalpina. Originally it was a Roman route through the mountains,
but in the 1930s the Transalpina in its current form was laid down by King Carol
II and it's still known today as The King's Road. The Germans refurbished it
for military reasons in the Second World War but after that it fell into
disrepair and was neglected for over 60 years until it was just a rough dirt
track.
Then in 2009 the Romanian government began
laying asphalt on the 2,145m-high road for the first time and supposedly
completed it at the end of last year, taking the title of 'highest road in
Romania' away from the Transfagarasan in the process. Fingers crossed it might
be even better to drive than the Transfagarasan too...
The
eight-speed auto is operated by a traditional gear stick, rather than the
rotary dials fitted in other models
It takes about an hour to reach the 67C
(the Transalpina's more mundane name) but once we're on it, there are startling
similarities with the previous day's journey. Not little likenesses such as
road width or tree species either, but things like the presence of a flipping
great dam. In fact there are two dams and (as you might expect) a road
alongside an even more picturesque lake. What's not the same, however, is the
surface. Seemingly the Transalpina's transformation into a gleaming ribbon
through the wilderness isn't quite complete on this northern section, because
while the majority of it is covered in lovely new tarmac, there are also
sections that haven't quite been claimed back from nature yet. Sometimes it's
just the odd drainage band running across the road like an inverted speed hump
that makes you haul on the brakes, but there are also decent stretches of dirt
track. As we head ever deeper into dense pine forest, the road continuing to rise,
fall, twist, turn and switch between rough and smooth, it feels like a
rallycross version of the Nurburgring. It's beautiful.
Leather
trim and ambient lighting is fitted as standard
I hadn't exactly envisioned rallycrossing
an F-type (I doubt Jaguar had either!) but it's certainly fun sliding through
the myriad corners. It goes on for miles too, with 488bhp easily provoking the
rear Pirellis on gravel and wet tarmac alike. The very direct steering is also
pleasing because you want to be accurate when gathering the slides up. There
might be smaller drops here, but where the newly laid tarmac has been built up
there are big step-downs off either side of the grippy stuff and it would be
fairly ruinous to drop a wheel off the edge.
Door
handles that flick out, then flick in once you’re under way, are a neat touch,
but the Jaguar logo plate looks a bit naff
Eventually we reach what looks like a busy
gypsy encampment as the 67C crosses the 7A (go right, then left) and it's odd
seeing people again after the largely deserted road. This next section is what
will no doubt become the famous portion of the road and it begins dramatically,
with a dozen or so hairpins providing the motoring equivalent of a ladder up
above the tree line. Even in the wet the V8 S's electronically controlled
limited-slip diff fails to remain locked as the car leans into the slope of the
uphill hairpins, which is slightly frustrating as the inside wheel then spins
away messily if you've got the slide going early. Nonetheless it's a fun few minutes
and the view as you break through above the conifers is breathtaking.
