Just for Fun No C&C will be given: Supercar Experience

[Andrew Stannard]

I've had a very lucky and exciting weekend. As a gift from my wife I was fortunate enough to spend Saturday morning driving a couple of super cars around a track just outside York, UK. I got to have a few laps each in a Ferrari and a Lamborghini, and my word, what an experience.

Have never driven a car remotely as powerful as either of these, and perhaps the best way to describe the acceleration is savage. On paper they both accelerate to 100mpg in around 8 seconds, and putting your foot down comes with sensory overload - the noise was astonishing and the power took your breath away.

My lovely wife got to play with the camera for the day and got some great snaps - including the one of the Ferrari 599 below. The second image is of a Lamborghini, and is an image that is quite evocative for me, as the car was something of an icon as I was growing up in the eighties.

If you ever get the chance to do something similar I'd heartily recommend it - and if you own a similar car then I am now very jealous!

 

[janet Smith]

Hi Andrew

Sounds like you had a dream of a day, what a great gift from your wife! she did very well with the shots too.....

 

[ErikJonas]

.........

Andrew...I read in a exotics magazine a custom Ferrari that did 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds!!!

Awsome time you had there....Okay...be honest...Did you spin the tires?...What was the top speed you hit?.......Lambos big in the 80s?...Not just the 80s more like always..In the 30s if they had them i bet they were iconic then too....

 

[Andrew Stannard]

Okay...be honest...Did you spin the tires?...What was the top speed you hit?

Ha! Yes I did spin the tyres, but thankfully not the whole car! The Ferrari has around 600bhp going through the rear tyres, and on a track that was slightly damp you could get the back end to squirm around under full acceleration even at 80mph in a straight line.

Top speed was probably about 115mph on the straight, but to be honest I was so overwhelmed by the whole sensation of the driving the thing that I didn't really look at the speedo!

Agree with your comments about the Lambo - I think they'll always be an iconic car for as long as they exist.

 

[Alain Briot]

Hi Andrew,

It must indeed have been a fantastic experience!

I have been fascinated with Ferrari since I was about 9 or 10, watching Le Mans in France and other races, but I never understood why they are so famous until I drove one. Its a visceral experience.

I love supercars!

 

[ErikJonas]

............

Wonder what they do if someone does happen to wreck the car....Certainly its insured. But still..

How many did they have there?Just one of each? Any other makes?....

 

[ErikJonas]

...........

Isnt the Ford Cobra one of the fastest cars?Or is that just rare??

I saw in a exotics magazine once someone put a Ferrari V12 in a Ford Cobra...

 

[Andrew Stannard]

Alain:

I have a bit of a confession to make here - Prior to the weekend I was never really that fussed about Ferrari's, always much preferred the though of driving a Lamborghini. However having now been fortunate to have driven both, there was something in the Ferrari that invoked primitive, untamed emotions.

Perhaps akin to the difference between photographing a scene in beautiful morning light, and photographing the same scene in the midst of a raging storm. Both spectacular, but one closer to the wild side of nature.


Erik: The number of cars there was what surprised me the most - 4 Lambo Gallardo's, 3 Lambo Murcielagos, 3 Ferrari's, 3 Aston Martins, 1 Audi R8, 2 Porsche. Quite a spectacular line-up, and goodness knows what the combined value was.

Some more pics here: LINK

 

[Alain Briot]

"there was something in the Ferrari that invoked primitive, untamed emotions."

That's an excellent way to put it. The emotional quality of a Ferrari is stunning.

I learned one thing after driving a Ferrari for the first time: I want one!

 

[Alain Briot]

Andrew,

From your photographs it looks like you had both a 430 Spider and a 599GTB. Did you get to drive both and if yes what differences did you see between the 2, especially front engine in the 599 vs rear engine in the 430.

 

[Andrew Stannard]

Alas not - only(!) drove the 599 and the Gallardo.

The difference between these was quite marked though - the Gallardo having 4-wheel drive felt considerably more secure in the damp conditions, especially when putting the power down, but in doing so it lost the elemental feel of the Ferrari.

 

[ErikJonas]

........

Of course these cars dont compare to driving a Subaru Outback.....And they probably dont have cup holders =P

 

[Alain Briot]

Of course these cars dont compare to driving a Subaru Outback.....And they probably dont have cup holders =P

Not only that but you have to shift gears manually!

Not to mention you can't talk on your cell while driving.

But who gives a .... !