Muscle Mayhem

Six point five litres of cast iron, a solid rear axle, and drum-era engineering asked to do something it was never designed for. The L78 was the big one — solid lifters, big-port heads, and a power delivery that arrives as one long shove rather than a climb.

It weighs a tonne and a half and rides on tyres narrower than a modern hatchback's. Every corner is a negotiation. That is the entire appeal.

• Rated at 375 hp from the factory. Widely believed to have made considerably more.
• Front-heavy by design — roughly 57% of its mass sits over the nose.
• No power steering, no anti-lock, no traction control. Nothing between you and the rear axle.

A live rear axle on period tyres gives you an enormous amount of warning before it lets go, which makes this the friendliest proper race in the collection. Big Willow is fast, open and almost entirely flat out. The brakes fade. Plan for it.

The engine, and not much else. A heavy, slow V8 pulse from idle onwards, thickening under load and going hollow on the overrun. Axle tramp under braking. Gearchanges that feel like something mechanical actually moved.

Every setting is configured before you sit down — force feedback, haptics, seat position, field of view. Select the experience, and drive.