A Christmas road test with a difference - Santa’s sleigh
One lucky road tester has become the first journalist in the world to fly Santa’s sleigh, thanks to Autoquake.com, UK online used car retailer.
The review, written by the mysterious road tester known only as The Stag, is published exclusively on the Autoquake blog.
Here are few extracts from this unique road test:
“The first thing that strikes you about Santa’s sleigh is the wheels – there aren’t any, not even one to steer with. We’re talking olde worlde tech here. The second thing that strikes you is that instead of wheels, there are snow runners. That’s all well and good... so long as there’s snow.
“Luckily for me there’s plenty of the stuff up here in Lapland, which is where Autoquake has got Santa’s sleigh stashed away. And I’m the only one they’ve trusted the reins to.
“Give me 300 horses and a throttle pedal and The Stag is a happy boy. Nine reindeer with silly names is an altogether different bag of spanners. Not only do they have bigger antlers than me, they’re used to a fat man in red calling the shots. Get it wrong on takeoff and I’ll be pulling presents out of the white stuff for a week.
“Luckily for me 36 hooves summon up more traction than a 4x4 on studded tyres. These reindeer move so fast you’d think they’d called last orders at the mince pie shop, and in seconds we’re airborne. This sleigh is like nothing I’ve ever driven – or flown – before, but Dasher and his mates really know their stuff. We’re soon pulling extreme manoeuvres like Santa’s famous Arctic Roll.
“Mind you, flying this thing loaded with presents for 2.2 billion children has got to be something else. Hats off to Santa. Flying around the world in a night is pretty impressive for a 2000 year-old man with a comedy beard and a drink problem.”
The Stag’s real name is not Ben Collins and he does not have a book out this Christmas.
Autoquake is ‘selling’ Santa’s sleigh to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital for children. Follow the links on Autoquake.com to make a donation.
