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30th
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McLaren Formula 1 driver and 2009 F1 World Champion, Jenson Button drove Monday a totally unspectacular car: a Lada!
Button, used to the 750 horsepower of the Mercedes-powered McLaren took the Russian Lada for a few runs at the Driving Camp in Zsambek in Hungary as part of a promotional event for McLaren sponsor Vodafone.
The original Lada was intended as a "people's car" for consumers of the Eastern Bloc - lacking in most luxuries expected in Western-made cars of its era.
Originally based on the Fiat 124, and dated from the early 1970s, the VAZ-2101 is powered by a carburetor-fed, 1.3-litre four cylinder engine that produces just 63 horsepower.
"I love old cars, but I think the scariest moment in my life is just about to arrive!" said Button before the event.
Button was reported to have a great fun driving the Lada.
"I feel sorry for the people who own these cars, because we didn't look after them very much," Button joked. "I don't know if it's normal, but there's a lot of flashing failure lights on the dashboard...
"It was good fun. The handbrake works really well. That's the most important thing in an old car, and it is amazing."
Button, used to the 750 horsepower of the Mercedes-powered McLaren took the Russian Lada for a few runs at the Driving Camp in Zsambek in Hungary as part of a promotional event for McLaren sponsor Vodafone.
The original Lada was intended as a "people's car" for consumers of the Eastern Bloc - lacking in most luxuries expected in Western-made cars of its era.
Originally based on the Fiat 124, and dated from the early 1970s, the VAZ-2101 is powered by a carburetor-fed, 1.3-litre four cylinder engine that produces just 63 horsepower.
"I love old cars, but I think the scariest moment in my life is just about to arrive!" said Button before the event.
Button was reported to have a great fun driving the Lada.
"I feel sorry for the people who own these cars, because we didn't look after them very much," Button joked. "I don't know if it's normal, but there's a lot of flashing failure lights on the dashboard...
"It was good fun. The handbrake works really well. That's the most important thing in an old car, and it is amazing."