This week, the Carmudgeons recap their recent 600-mile back-road blast, which resulted in a surprise Best Car for the Mission. Unrelated, an update on their newly-acquired V-12 cars.

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Jason and Derek now both own V-12-powered cars. Jason confesses his 850 CSI purchase, which happened while he was doing research for an upcoming Revelations episode. Derek lit his on fire while learning that it needs an engine rebuild.

Turns out the BMW 850CSi has the shortest gear ratios of any V-12 car ever sold — and Jason is a self-described whore for short gearing. 

Meanwhile, Derek bought a V12, manual Ferrari that has no compression in several cylinders.

The main subject of the episode is one of Jason and Derek's many friend-group backroad trips in Northern California. As usual, it was a varied group of cars:

Jason brought "Beatrice," his E30 BMW 325i sedan.

Derek brought his race-prepped Mk5 Volkswagen GTI.

Also present was a BMW Z3 2.8, an NA Miata, a GR Corolla, and one car that was very much not appropriate for tight mountain roads: 

A C126 Mercedes 560SEC. 

And the Mercedes was, by far, everyone's favorite. Wildly obese and far too large, with non-performance tires, the W126-chassis Mercedes should have been miserable. And what it instead demonstrated was perfect chassis balance, an indefatigable, 300-hp Euro/Japan-spec 5.5-liter engine, and a riotous time.

Sometimes, it's the wrong car on the right road that's the most fun.

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