The Caterham of the skies

Judging by some of the Hunter S. Thompson style tales I’ve heard in bars late at night on magazine group tests, I think I joined the orbit of motoring journalism just too late for the truly extravagant events that were sometimes put on under the auspices of launching a car.

If I had been in the industry ten years earlier, I might be about to recall a riotous few days in Rio de Janeiro or a flamboyant fortnight in Fuerteventura. How you actually do that with a fire extinguisher and a croissant I have no idea, but apparently it’s possible. The Pirelli parties were the peak, I gather.