Translation of a term for shifting gears (Italian-English)

Dear Friends: A colleague of mine is doing a translation from the Italian. A man in a red sports car makes a U-turn and pulls up in front of a boy and asks him if he’s seen his daughter. The boy gives the wrong answer (he misunderstood the question), so the man smiles and leaves, but without (and here is the part we are having trouble with) GETTING THE MAXIMUM OUT OF THE GEARS?as if he had never had to ?? the gears in his life.



The Italian is “TIRARE LE MARCE,” meaning to step on the gas until the car is fed up and you should have already shifted gears. Is there an English idiom for this? Any literary bilingual mechanics out there?



Many thanks. Mille grazie!

Mary

Redline!

http://www.yourdictionary.com/redline

I think the expression you want is “winding it up” or “over revving.” Which would mean to make the engine rev up very high before shifting. But, it looks like you might mean the opposite of that, shifting too soon or “short shifting”.

I always thought it was “winding it out”.

Thank you all! How would you finish out the sentence? “So the man smiles and leaves, but without winding it out, as if he had never had to _______ the gears in his life.” The sense is that this guy is so privileged in his red sports car that he makes the minimum effort.

Sorry I can’t offer a reward!