Radical SR3 review

A warning: whenever you are moving, absolutely all of your concentration must be on the road, at all times. The Radical jinks about like a spooked housefly, redefining the term ‘livewire’ and reacting so fast, you barely have time to do likewise. Because of this, it’s actually best to leave the SR3 SL to sort itself out, putting faith in the fact it is a racecar that knows better than you. Besides, encounter smooth tarmac and it’s a different animal, proving absolute dynamite. It’s ferociously fast, and the wide spread of torque from that turbo motor makes it missile-like throughout the rev range. The noise is just as intense, sounding like there’s a mini jet engine operating behind you: thank the turbo for that, which also delivers twice as much torque as the old 1.5-litre, four times as early in the rev range. The paddleshift sequential gearbox is also superb: you need the clutch only to pull away from rest.