When you own a ‘second’ car, winter really tests your resolve. The weather’s usually wet and even when it isn’t the local council spoil the promise of a clear, crisp, frosty morning by spreading corrosive grit all over the road.

For once, though, the elements conspired to create a window of opportunity and I took it, going for a blast on some favourite local roads, then again a few days later on a longer trip; first to Bedford Autodrome, then on to meet some friends at Silverstone. But only after replacing the battery, which was dead as a Dodo… Fortunately, what my winter driving lacks in quantity the RS compensates for amply in quality.