Top Gear

I’ve got to admit that I’ve always been mildly envious of Jeremy Clarkson. Not because of his vast wealth as such but because a good chunk of his journalistic career has been carved out by making trite observations about nationality and then fleeing the scene – generally with a sackload of cash. You see, the reason Clarkson is successful with anodyne observations such as Germans being efficient and obsessed with order is because it chimes with us at some level.

Love it or hate it even the most dyed in the wool snowflake just occasionally agrees with the curmudgeonly old git. Which brings me handily to the Italians.

It is they who have designed and built the new Italia 14.98 and I have to say it sticks offensively, almost xenophobically, to the concept that style and flair are an integral part of the national identity. This is a magnificent yacht that melds speed and style