Ian, the beauty is you got exactly what you expected from reading the owners whing whoops, I mean owners reviews and why people changed so early. At least 2 ex owners have bought new 3.7 Roadsters for example, which might explain what they thought they were getting, and in fairness, hardly anyone had a chance to drive an ARP4 before taking delivery, so we were all reliant on MMC marketing. Need I say more.
Now however the truth is out there and what we have is a hooligan in a nice suit, a James Bond perhaps? The catch is that as the miles go on, it becomes even better, obvious really, as the engines are all handbuilt at Cosworth and are tighter and more specialised than a run of the mill production Duratec.
As Ian has commented, and which I don't think has been previously mentioned, they are beautifully mapped and apart from the popping and banging, which can be moderated anyway, they drive really smoothly from tickover to max. revs. I marvell how well they have done it every time I drive mine. I have an idea that MBE themselves, whose ECU is used, organised that.
So Andy, enjoy your new car and get back to us after a few weeks and let us know what you think, it is a bit of a marmite car, and you will either love or hate it - though I think you will love it.
By the way, I have put a small extension onto the driving light switch, so I can hit it first time every time, in the dark, when it needs to go off.
