Mean machine: ‘The Hayabusa that I rode in Dhoom was the most fun and enjoyable ride without doubt.’

The world’s most gorgeous and lust-worthy machines — from the Aston Martin to the Ferrari FF — are driving into your drawing room. And drooling over them is moto-tech man John Abraham, who defines super cars as “this contraption consisting of wheels and metal, carved as if by the Hand of God, to inspire at least one out of the seven cardinal sins: envy!”

As the third season of Supercars rolls in on National Geographic Channel, giving viewers access to the world of the most envied cars and the people who build, innovate and accomplish these feats in engineering, is the hunk who digs anything on wheels. He shares his vroom feats and fantasies with t2.

Is it true that your mobile ringtone is the exhaust note of a bike?

Yes, that’s true. It’s customised for my sports bike, Yamaha Aprilia. I liked the sound and I got it recorded. No other bike has that vroom. The GPR exhaust, I think, is more important than the bike itself.

Which particular models are you looking for in the third season on Supercars?

I am looking forward to seeing the episodes on the Lamborghini Aventador, the McLaren P1 and the Porsche 911 GT3. It would be interesting to watch how they develop these cars in the factory and how much detailing goes into building each of these cars. Most of these cars are hand-built, you know.

You own a Lamborghini Gallardo yourself. What makes you a Lamborghini fan?

It’s all about the sound of the engine and how it performs. The sound of the V10 engine excites me. I read a lot of books and magazines on cars and engines. It’s not about owning each and every supercar. I know a lot of youngsters who know a lot about supercars. Every youngster gets on PlayStation or Xbox and plays Need For Speed with supercars. It’s about enjoying the aesthetic space. These cars are beautiful and they are fast. The beauty of supercars is that none of them goes out of fashion. People joke that they are a good investment because their price often goes up. Lamborghini built the Aventador to replace the Murcielago. Now if they are building only 350 of the Murcielagos again, you can imagine how much they would be pricing the cars.

Horacio Pagani is building a car, worth a million Euro, which will be featured on the show.

Really? Pagani’s cars are beyond supercars. They are called hyper cars. All the Pagani makes, be it the Zonda or the Huayra, are collector’s items. I don’t know if I will ever be able to afford a million-Euro car but it will be exciting to see how they are made.

You are in the habit of gifting cars and bikes to loved ones. You gave an Audi to your sister-in-law and a Yamaha VMax to Sanjay Gupta...

The Audi is a great family car. I share a great rapport with Sanjay. Shootout at Wadala did very well and it was my way of showing appreciation. He loves bikes too. I would never gift a bike to someone who doesn’t know how to ride as it can be very dangerous..... Now I am going to start collecting motorcycles. I am missing riding them. I am hoping to get two more.

How many do you have?

Now I have just one. The Yamaha Aprilla RSV4. I have owned other models earlier.

You disposed of them?

Please don’t use the word disposed. It sounds very rude. (Laughs) Let’s say I parted with them. Among all the ones I have owned earlier, the Yamaha VMax would rate on top.

Who else in Mumbai do you exchange car and bike notes with?

I speak to friends in the automobile industry to keep my knowledge updated. Mahi (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) is a complete bike lover. He owns, I think, about 30-plus motorbikes. Wish I could afford as many. I am planning to do a film on motorcycles. Once I lock the script I will let you know.

Sudeshna Banerjee

What is your dream car/bike? Tell t2@abp.in

(Supercars Season 3 beams Monday to Friday at 10pm on National Geographic Channel)