Here's What It's Like To Drive In An Underground Salt Mine

After being promised a 'surprise twist' at the UK launch of the new Mercedes GLA crossover, I had visions of driving the bonkers new GLA45 AMG or being given the keys to a Unimog truck. When I arrived at my secret destination, however, everything started to fall into place.

I arrived at Winsford Salt Mine in Cheshire - the UK's largest rock salt mine - with a maze-like 135 mile network of tunnels stretching several hundred metres underground. The week before, Mercedes had hauled three GLAs 200 metres down into the mine, and I was there to drive one of them.

After donning a sexy high-vis vest and taking the long lift ride down one of Winsford's several shafts, it was time to drive. The car had its full beam headlights on, and a couple of extra spots to reach out into the darker expanses of this dimly-lit complex.

I started in one of the imposingly cavernous parts of the mine, which was a lot like the set of Total Recall. The rock salt down here is 220 million years old, nicely appropriate given that we were driving GLA 220s (review coming soon). The relatively smooth surface of the mine road soon roughened after setting off, and that big expanse changed to a series of tight tunnels.

There's supposedly a 20mph speed limit down there, but with my guide casually telling me that he wouldn't be looking at the speedo, it seemed rude not to open the taps a little.

After barrelling down one bumpy straight at 40mph and rounding the next corner with a little too much gusto, the tyres lost traction on the dusty salt surface, but not enough to worry about ploughing into a chunk of 220 million year-old rock. For one short moment I did, however, find myself uneasily pondering the millions of tons of rock salt that were above my head, but that did little to distract me from this bizarre and incredible driving experience.

After an all-too short lap of this part of the mine, the drive was over. Did I learn anything particularly relevant about the car? Not really, but I didn't care. This wasn't a day I'd be forgetting in a hurry.