The great Peugeot 504 rally car

We went to lake Naivasha occasionally,

The Elzaki's had a Peugeot 404 and we had white Volkswagen Beetle (number plates: KGB 778). There are smooth straight stretches of road on the way to Naivasha and the Elzakis were in front.

Dad decided we would race them: As he accelerated the VW engine clatter got louder and we went past blowing raspberries at the Elzaki children, who looked shocked and piqued. We shouted in triumph. But then the Elzakis entered the game and after a few minutes a dangerously rocking Peugeot 404 overtook us in turn, with the Elzaki children staring back at us in our upstart Beetle.

In those days Peugeots were wonderful cars. The toughest rally in the world was the East African Safari rally. It was an important occasion for Kenyans. We used to drive out into the countryside and choose a promising corner with a hump and a high bank and sit and watch the rally cars as they approached.

The cars geared down, flew up, spun round and accelerated away in one single movement, spraying stones and kicking up red earth as they did so. Sometimes we would catch a view of the drivers behind the dirty windscreens. Either they were in furious conversation or they were twinned in their intensity - already anticipating the next corner.

We would know who the drivers were because the names were on the front of the roof. There were Kenyan, English and and Finnish drivers. We always supported the Kenyan drivers. But Hannu Mikola and Gunner Palme were the best in the end.

The most exciting experience I have ever had of speed was vicarious.

There was something miraculous about those rally cars. They contrasted so strongly with ordinary cars. At dusk you would see the white lights of commuter traffic in the distance, travelling at about 60 to 70 miles per hour. But then the yellow halogen lights of a rally car would appear stage right and quickly overtake the rest; within a few minutes the rally car had disappeared stage left.

When my father bought an old 504 it was because we all remembered its glories. The 504 is a litmus test. I haven't heard anyone on Top Gear ever mention what a wonderful and tried and tested champion the 504 is. Neither have I heard any mention of the East African Safari Rally, then the best in the world. Just goes to show they don't know all that much about great cars on Top Gear.