Imagine if you could drive through the world’s greatest cities from Amsterdam to Zurich without leaving your home.

Sometimes you need to take a step back to appreciate things. Or, in this case, up. Viewed from above there is a wonderful geometric beauty to the world’s complex road networks.

California calls itself the Road Trip Republic so it’s no wonder that Hollywood loves a silver screen tribute to driving. Here are our top 20 movie Detours.

As Porsche releases its latest 911 Targa, we take a look at the race that inspired it and those that followed.

Even the most hellish drives can bring back fond memories when you can’t get behind the wheel for a while.

James Mills recalls taking the new Lotus Esprit S4 to the home of Stirling Moss and returning several days later to learn that Britain’s greatest race driver didn’t like what he found.

There’s nothing more synonymous with speed than a race circuit. So it’s not surprising that car makers have been taking track names for their swiftest machines for decades.

I would enter a first-generation Toyota Prius in the Midnight Sun to Red Sea Marathon Rally. Starting from northern Sweden, we would have 5,000 miles and ten countries to cover, arriving in Jordan in just 20 days.

For the pilot episode of Top Gear the producers called Nik Berg to put on the now-famous suit.

Steve McQueen: The Mans and Le Mans leaves you in no doubt that McQueen was one stubborn son of a bitch.

A party that would roll across Europe for five days, taking in race circuits, nightclubs and five star hotels. A party where the super unleaded and the champagne would flow in equal measure.

For three years Detour has had the delight of driving this 1969 Giulia Super 1600. Together we took Detours to France, Switzerland and Italy, Wales, and North Yorkshire, to the Goodwood Members' Meeting and Revival.

The Supercar Capsule offers a bespoke tailoring service to Middle Eastern oil barons fans who want to put their collections on display.

California’s Thermal Club is a country club for petrolheads with money to burn, discovers Detour’s James Mills

The Rocket is a masterpiece in minimalism and one of the rarest sports cars ever made. James Mills pulls on his driving goggles, straps on the five-point harness and finds himself transported to a Zen-like state

Whether it’s a converted barn, a tower with a sky garage or an entire building designed by Porsche or Aston Martin, the garage has moved from being a purely functional add-on to become the centrepiece of stylish homes around the world.

What’s it really like to lap Silverstone in a Formula One car?

James Mills recalls the time he tried to catch top-secret prototype Ferraris prowling the hills around Maranello by giving chase in the new 599 GTO.

It was largely down to Jeremy Clarkson. He simply couldn’t fit in a GT40, so I was drafted in at the last minute.

Like all good things, it happened by accident. There had been no planning, no alarm set for an oh-my-Lord-o-clock start and no intention of driving into the mountains as the sun peered over the horizon.