I, personally, could never get away with being part of an illegal underground racing scene. For one thing excessive speeds could dislodge the layer of KFC boxes, newspapers and long-thought lost umbrellas behind the driver’s seat. For another I don’t have cool hair.

Now, however, I can drag-race on my iPhone. So all that doesn’t upset me so much anymore.

CSR Racing is a free iOS game from Boss Alien – a Brighton development studio formed as a cluster of talent after Split Second creators Black Rock went supernova.

Its races are those of a straight-line variety – so you’ll toy with the accelerator so it lands on the perfect number of revs for launch, shift up your gears at optimum moments and jam on the nitro when it looks like your rival’s timing has been more prompt than your own.

It’s simple and compelling – your match-ups against local crew members, ladder matches and daily special events all feeding into an upgrade system that makes the spin of your nitro-fuelled hamster wheel feel faster and faster.

This being a freemium game, meanwhile, real money can be spent on tuning the car so it’s faster on the track for a certain number of bouts, pretty logos to slap on the side of your ride, faster delivery of the cars you buy and all that jazz. Nothing to dent your free ride game-wise, but perhaps enough to warrant an eye-roll from free-to-play sceptics.

Our test drive of CSR Racing has led to a warm handshake back at the showroom. It’s certainly worth taking out for a spin. Other motoring references.

CSR Racing can be downloaded for zero coins on the App Store here.