Paul reflects on 1,000 miles of sun-soaked Spanish petrolhead Nirvana on our Mil Millas España tour as returning to normal life hits home.
It all started in Valencia with the world’s most confusingly brilliant burger — a slab of premium wagyu beef neatly sandwiched inside a glazed doughnut. It’s exactly the kind of culinary madness that perfectly sets the tone for a week-long journey covering 1,000 miles across Spain. Honestly, if someone offers you a beef burger in a doughnut, the correct response is to immediately marry them.
Mil Millas España isn’t your ordinary road trip. It’s a meticulously organised yet refreshingly laid-back experience of sun-soaked Spanish roads, world-class hotels and, crucially, some genuinely remarkable cars. Put simply, it’s a grown-up playground for people who’ve never quite accepted growing up.
The first morning began in Valencia with a gentle cruise out of town. I say gentle, that’s obviously a complete lie, because when you’ve got an F12 TDF and two McLaren Sennas parked up outside your hotel, there’s no such thing as gentle. Spain’s roads are an absolute masterpiece; smooth, sweeping tarmac, challenging hairpins, and views so epic they look CGI-generated. If God himself designed roads, he’d have copied Spain’s homework.
The first hotel was a tall skyscraper with a glass lift taken straight from a Willy Wonka movie. Five-star luxury, and something known mysteriously as ‘The Level’ — basically an adult playground featuring an open bar and endless snacks. Needless to say, I wholeheartedly approved.
From there, we descended upon Benidorm. Yes, Benidorm. There’s a unique pleasure to rumbling through Benidorm’s neon-soaked main strip in a supercar. It’s a surreal mismatch of worlds; Ferraris and McLarens rolling past drunken stag dos and hen parties at breakfast time. Watching hungover tourists stare confusedly at a million-pound hypercar never gets old.
Our Benidorm base boasted a heated outdoor pool, perfect for a serene sunrise swim at 7 am. By serene, I mean mostly serene, because someone inevitably jumped in first, splashing everyone else who foolishly believed we were mature adults.
Next up, we ventured deep into the Andalusian hills to a hotel that clearly took the concept of ‘secluded luxury’ very seriously. Approached by a two-mile-long driveway, it was essentially a Bond villain’s hideout minus the armed henchmen. Instead, we got flamenco dancers and a chef theatrically preparing paella live before our eyes. Some of our group even took to the dance floor with the flamenco dancers, performing moves that were perhaps less flamenco and more like an angry bull being tasered.
Let’s pause here to appreciate the unsung heroes, Lauren and James from Supercar Driver, who somehow managed to stay smiling, patient, and efficient despite our relentless demands for fresh water, directions, and reassurance that our cars looked absolutely fabulous at all times. Speaking of which, midway through the tour, every car received a valet worthy of a royal coronation, instantly erasing any signs that we’d been having far too much fun.
Our final run to Marbella was an absolute belter. Lunch with a view so beautiful you suspect it’s been Photoshopped, was followed by roads that stretched and twisted like they were personally laid by a petrolhead with unlimited asphalt. Eventually, we cruised triumphantly into our final stop near Puerto Banús, a hotel that managed the improbable task of being both opulent and genuinely welcoming.
In the evening, Adam, Jonty, and I delivered our carefully rehearsed (read: utterly improvised) speeches, reflecting on how genuinely brilliant everyone had been. Because here’s the thing, yes, the cars were phenomenal, the hotels superb, and the roads nothing short of motoring heaven, but the secret ingredient was undoubtedly the group. Couples, single drivers, friends — everyone gelled beautifully thanks to our shared passion for cars, driving, and laughing far louder than strictly necessary.
Even the Spanish locals seemed delighted to see us, smiling, waving, and cheering us on with an enthusiasm normally reserved for victorious football teams or celebrity chefs. It turns out that, regardless of nationality, everyone loves a noisy supercar.
By the week’s end, having your luggage magically transported from hotel to hotel, your car treated like royalty, and your every need anticipated by our frankly miraculous Supercar Driver team, you realise the greatest challenge is returning to normality. Honestly, after a week like this, ‘normal’ driving just won’t do anymore.
So here’s my advice: if you fancy spending a week pretending you’re a film star, driving epic cars through some of Europe’s best scenery, and occasionally confusing tourists in Benidorm, the Mil Millas España is exactly what you need. If nothing else, you’ll learn that doughnuts make shockingly good burger buns.
Soak up the incredible sights and sounds of the trip by checking out the gallery and watching the video below.