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Our tires squeal as we enter a hard right-hand turn. Then another switchback, a solid wall of stone to our left, a steep drop to the canyon floor on our right. Let's just say we're doing extra-legal speed. All right, just slightly short of twice the speed limit as we finally come out of the hills and onto a long straight, our foot pressed to the floor-and a pair of red lights suddenly flashing in our rearview mirror. This is not going to be pretty-and it's all the car's fault.
Normally, driving a convertible is a joyous exercise in masochism. One experiences the unique pleasure of feeling the wind in your hair. But there's also the buffeting and wind noise that can tire you out in a hurry, especially when your shouting at the top of your lungs so your passenger can hear what you have to say.
Not so in the new Lexus SC430. A single touch of the button and the trick retractable hardtop disappears in a matter of seconds. Stomp on the accelerator, and the big, 4.3-liter V-8 roars with approval, the speedometer needle racing from 0-60 mph in barely 5.9 seconds. Yet somehow, Lexus engineers have found a way to channel the airflow, so while you still feel the breeze tousling your tresses, buffeting and wind noise have been reduced to a minimum. Even at 120 mph, it's possible to hold a conversation in a relatively normal voice.
But for the moment, we're just sitting quietly on the side of the road, as Officer Friendly of the California Highway Patrol decides just how big a ticket he's going to write. Making matters all the more frustrating is the fact that we're barely half a mile from our destination and would-be safe haven.
