{"id":615917,"date":"2026-09-06T03:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T03:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/615917\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T03:50:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T03:50:12","slug":"thrill-isnt-about-speed-its-about-focus-new-study-reveals-the-true-thrill-of-driving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/615917\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Thrill Isn\u2019t About Speed, It\u2019s About Focus’ \u2013 New Study Reveals The True Thrill Of Driving"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThere\u2019s a point, at seven thousand RPM, when everything fades\u2026\u201d and if you\u2019re lucky enough, you know exactly what Matt Damon meant when he muttered those words as Carroll Shelby in Ford v Ferrari<\/a>. Quantifying any visceral feeling is tough work, but turning emotions into raw data is exactly what Castrol did in a recent study.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s \u201cthrill of driving\u201d study tracked the physiological and neurological reactions of participants across a range of scenarios in cars, all in an effort to answer one question: what is it about driving that truly makes it a thrill? Something tells us the solution isn’t 2.0-second 0-60 MPH times or four-figure horsepower supercars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How Castrol Discovered The Rosetta Stone Of Driving<\/p>\n

\"castrol-thrill-of-driving-cap-wearer-by-track\"
\n Castrol “Thrill of Driving”Castrol<\/p>\n

With help from Brainbox, a UK-based neuroscience technology and research company, Castrol led test participants through five driving tests facilitated by PalmerSport. Founded by Jonathon Palmer, an English Formula 1 driver for Tyrrell, Williams, RAM Racing and Zakspeed from 1981-1989, PalmerSport\u2019s facility in Bedfordshire hosts track days when anyone can learn to drive fast in sports cars and track-ready racing machines. There\u2019s even an off-road course for slower thrills, which was incorporated into the fold of Castrol\u2019s tests.<\/p>\n

Researchers tracked each participant’s brain, heart, skin, and gaze to discern the \u201cvisceral, intellectual, and emotional response\u201d throughout each driving test. Monitoring brain electrical activity, heart rate variability, galvanic skin response, and eye movement gave researchers enough data to correlate when participants were most aroused. The tests included stints in the passenger seat of one of PalmerSport\u2019s JP-LM open-top Le Mans-style race cars, a McLaren Artura<\/a> GT4, a SODI GT5 Kart, and a classic Land Rover Defender<\/a> to study responses in all types of vehicles.<\/p>\n

Participants showed the most physical and neurological arousal while piloting the McLaren Artura race car. In it, drivers \u201cshowed the highest level of brain and body arousal\u201d in conjunction with \u201cthe strongest signs of cognitive immersion and physical control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drivers reached a flow-like state, fully immersed in the task at hand and operating near their mental limits. Blinks slowed to an average of just 2.5 per minute compared to the normal 15-20 observed in a resting state. Theta and alpha waves bounced around in the frontal lobe (the section of the brain responsible for decision-making), a clear sign of deep concentration and alertness.<\/p>\n

The test that returned the most observed signs of fear was when participants rode shotgun with a professional instructor in a JP-LM race car. A spike in fast-flowing beta waves and a drop in theta and alpha waves indicate feelings of cognitive overload, usually signs of being overwhelmed rather than engaged. Despite being driven at similar speeds around the track by a seasoned pro, participants felt calmer and more dialed-in while driving the McLaren<\/a> than in any other vehicle used for testing.<\/p>\n

A Real Thrill Happens When A Driver Locks In<\/p>\n

\"2021
\n 2021 MINI Cooper John Cooper Works GP Rear Angle Track DrivingMINI<\/p>\n

The data provided evidence that the real thrill of driving came from being in control and focused on moving the machine down the road. The visceral, intellectual, and emotional factors came together to put drivers in a state of mind focused on getting the car around the track as swiftly as possible. Drivers exhibited an \u201cintense state of mental and physical stimulation\u201d when driving out on their own, locked into the task and felt excitement over fear.<\/p>\n

Even though the vehicles used to test Castrol\u2019s hypothesis were a fleet of race cars, the convergence of factors needed to define someone as fully engaged in driving wasn\u2019t rooted in speed alone. As passengers in high-speed driving, participants felt the most fear in that test. On the trails in the Defender or on the karting track, a sense of speed was replaced by a feeling of control. After analyzing the data, the researchers determined that \u201cbeyond any other factor, a sense of controlled immersion is essential for creating the thrill of driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stints in both the McLaren<\/a> and the go-kart returned similar \u2018thrill\u2019 readings of high theta waves (4-8 hertz) and moderate alpha waves (8-12 hertz) despite the McLaren\u2019s 205 MPH top speed, over four times as fast as the Honda<\/a>-powered GT5 kart. Still, 48 miles per hour in something with the same footprint as a shopping cart is borderline terrifying. However, the reading showed feelings of focus and excitement.<\/p>\n

We identified that you don\u2019t need a supercar to experience the thrill of driving; you can experience almost the same sense of immersive control without high speeds, from a visit to a local karting track or a drive along one of your favorite roads. This study examines how that sense of thrill can be found in every driver.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Vincent Panel, Head of Product & Communications, Castrol Europe<\/p>\n

Hey, Car Companies, Are You Listening?<\/p>\n

\"lucid
\n CarBuzz \/ Valnet<\/p>\n

Vehicles with 1,000 horsepower were unobtainable toys reserved for the ultra-wealthy just 20 years ago. Now, 1,000+ hp can be found in a Corvette<\/a>, a Lucid Air<\/a>, and even several Chinese EVs<\/a>. Each of these cars is far from boring, but as we\u2019ve just learned, more than speed and power is needed to entrance a driver in exhilarating focus, or as we like to call it, serious fun. The heavier a vehicle is, the less in-control you become as you hand over the reins to physics. This flies in the face of what Castrol has identified as one of the core components of an engaging, thrilling driving experience.<\/p>\n

Sports cars with excellent balance and ample power are a prime example of a car that might seem meager on paper but can deliver more excitement than anything with twice as much power. The<\/a> Alpine A110 S<\/a>, which PlamerSport operates a fleet of, wasn’t used in the experiment, but PlamerSport describes the sports coupe as \u201clightweight, poised, and beautifully balanced.\u201d And we\u2019re inclined to agree. The mid-mounted 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder pumps out 300 hp to the rear wheels, allowing the coupe to zip to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds and top out at 171 mph.<\/p>\n

\"castrol-thrill-of-driving-cap-being-fitted\"
\n Castrol “Thrill of Driving”Castrol<\/p>\n

Driving small, simple sports cars like the Mazda MX-5 Miata<\/a>, or a Caterham<\/a> (which PalmerSport built track-ready versions of), can show how distracting some modern cars have become. Being behind the wheel of a little roadster can silence the noise so many modern vehicles come with and leave drivers with the basics to find their thrills on the road.<\/p>\n

Every new feature packed into vehicles today detracts from the simple pleasures of driving, something we\u2019re keen on pointing out each time we have to address screen-based controls or painfully annoying driver assistance features. The soundtrack of driving helps, too, even if that wasn\u2019t part of Castrol\u2019s observances. Surely, wringing out the 480-horsepower 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 in the McLaren Artura GT4 must have helped shrink the pupils and get the brainwaves vibrating.<\/p>\n

Not all cars are made for thrills<\/a>, but the thrill of driving can come from the most unlikely of cars and make enthusiasts of us all. The cars that connect us with the road beneath and put us in full control over all systems are the ones most likely to return the same sensations quantified in Castrol\u2019s experiments.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s crawling at a glacial pace over some dirt mounds in an off-roader or hitting your marks on the track with every apex, the thrill of driving is one of the cheap thrills left where you\u2019re in charge of the ride. We can\u2019t dismiss all future performance cars for not being able to give us the same enjoyment, but the ones that forego power figures for sheer driving pleasure are the ones we\u2019ll lobby for more of any day of the week.<\/p>\n

Sources: Castrol<\/a>, Brainbox<\/a>, PalmerSport<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThere\u2019s a point, at seven thousand RPM, when everything fades\u2026\u201d and if you\u2019re lucky enough, you know exactly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[61,60,80],"class_list":["post-615917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}