Elite Traveler September-October 2015

INSPIRE MARRAKECH

OFF THE ROAD

SPECTACULAR SHEER DROPS, A GENUINE FEAR OF IMMINENT DEATH

AND ENOUGH GLAMOUR TO MAKE UP FOR THE MOMENTS OF TERROR.

MINTY CLINCH GOES ON AN ADRENALINE-FUELED DRIVING

ADVENTURE FROM MARRAKECH TO THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS

Are you sitting comfortably? I certainly am. As a lone female among male car buffs, I’ve predictably picked the shiny red car from the line-up of Range Rover Sports HSE SDV8 outside the hotel. I’ve adjusted the 14-way controls until I’m cradled in the driver’s seat, wrapped in a cocoon of perforated Oxford leather. But I’m nervous as I switch on the engine for my extreme driving experience around Marrakech. The electronic display looks like the kind of thing you’d need to land an F-14 Tomcat jet in impenetrable fog, an act I don’t relish trying. My travel companions throw magical car identity combos into their breakfast chat. The only name I recognize is the Aston Martin DB5, the James Bond car from Goldfinger . If only I’d speed read some glossy car mags on the fight out from London. Far too