For those Formula One fans missing a bit of the glorious shrieks of yesteryear, here’s an onboard video in the 1990 Williams FW13B. With roughly 700 horsepower from a 3.5-liter Renault V10, no traction control or any real electronic assistance, this is the kind of car that gets purists’ heartrate racing.

Old-school elegance.

Piloting this streamlined and elegant car is Alex Lynn, a current GP2 driver and Williams’ development driver. This fresh-faced kid doesn’t really push the car as it’s a priceless piece of motorsport on a demonstration run, but he prods the throttle enough to hint at the savage performance this machine is capable of. Still, the throaty engine note, the simplicity of the cockpit and the way each gearchange sounds raw and mechanical is enough to induce starry-eyed nostalgia in even the most rational observer.

The beauty of this car lies in the fact that it inhabited a time when many of the technological innovations used today were just being implemented and it bridges the gap between old and new. For instance, this car lacks paddle shifters, the suspension and aero elements are relatively simple and the driver’s head is totally exposed – I mean look! The view from this camera mounted atop his helmet makes it look as if he’s riding a double-decker bus when compared to the views offered by modern Formula One cars.

The steering wheel is simplistic in its design when compared to those used today, though the presence of a digital rev-counter indicated a move towards the future. In fact, the 1990s were a decade in which Formula One cars began a radical development program and, as according to Alain Prost, are not too dissimilar from the last batch of normally-aspirated cars ran a few years ago.