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I could wrest control from the car at any time by pressing any of the pedals or grabbing the steering. The car started the lap by flooring it and nipping through the gears. I had to hold my hands together to override the temptation to touch the wheel. It dealt with the first few corners with remarkably late braking, so much so that I could feel the ABS working to control a locking tyre.

LED lights on either side of the dashboard indicated when the car was deviating from its optimal line. As we sped into the Follow Through the lights went green, yellow, orange and quickly red before the computer let go of the steering and I had to take hold. The software was only programmed to turn the wheel a certain amount, so when the excess speed made the car understeer, it was unable to add enough steering to compensate.

I drove back to the BMW boys. They dialled out some speed at the Follow Through and added a little at a few places where we felt the car could cope. It ran perfectly; not as fast as I could drive the lap, but close enough.

It was pretty spooky watching the wheel spinning around by itself, but I really warmed to the technology. It was a snapshot of the future.

Radar technology from aviation was also being used in cars, acting as a collision warning system and triggering the brakes when it sensed another car was too close. At low speeds it was programmed to detect pedestrians and make an emergency stop. Ford based their Radar system on the one used by the F-22 Raptor, a stealth fighter so canny that it automatically tracked and identified people on the ground.

An integrated system that married the auto driving capability of the BMW with satellite navigation and radar tracking would mean we could all just plug in the destination and fall asleep at the wheel. Road deaths would be a thing of the past, as would the boredom of driving on motor-ways littered with surveillance cameras.

The only problem is that the government would probably make it illegal to switch the system off, so you would go to jail for enjoying yourself on a country road. But it would be worth it. Imagine swerving in and out of traffic and watching all the other cars automatically twitching to a standstill, waking their passengers and jarring them back into the real world, forcing them to log on to Facebook all over again.

Chapter 25

Smoke and Mirrors

Time to lock and load, boys. Good luck out there tonight …’

I was just out for a late-night cruise in my car, minding my own business. The streets were derelict and poorly lit, oppressive. I turned through a warren of alleys that led to a dead end and drew a bead on a pair of badasses on motorbikes who were looking for trouble. They clocked me and started bunny-hopping towards me, laughing and sneering to one another.

Both wore filthy helmets bristling with long silver spikes, lime green tights and olive body armour. As you would. Within seconds they’d surrounded my car and started banging at the windows, invading my space, thinking they could intimidate me. Big … mistake …

I dropped the clutch and spun through 180 degrees. The skinny one fell off his bike; the bigger lad made a run for it. I drove head on at the stricken biker, missing his leg by inches as he kicked the rear of the bike clear and accelerated away in the opposite direction to join his mate. I should have left it there and then, but I didn’t. I yanked the handbrake to turn and face them. It was a Mexican stand-off, fight or flight.

I sensed movement behind me; a car crept out of a side alley I hadn’t seen. It took up position at my five o’clock, blocking my escape. I looked ahead as a beaten old sedan covered in algae flew into view alongside the bikers. It was a trap.

A blinding flash of light pierced the darkness to my right. The explosion engulfed a fuel tanker.

To my surprise, a 30-foot monster with skin like a toad, bulging red eyes and a flame-thrower for a tongue rose from the conflagration. It gave a venomous howl and waved its claws in my direction. Time to skip town.

I dumped