David on 28/7/2007 at 18:06
Normally I drive a 2005 Mini, nice and nippy and undoubtedly the best handling car in its class. After all, it is basically a go kart with 'four' seats. While this is all very nice it is never going to win any high-performance awards - because it is a normal car.
However I happen to be a bit of a petrol-head, and when the opportunity to thrash quarter of a million pounds of performance car around a track arises, who am I to say no, especially when it is being paid for by the company I work for?
I started out in a couple of comparatively low-end cars (Subaru Impreza STI Type UK, BMW Alpina D3), to get a feel for the track, but I'm skipping over them, because of... well... these two beauties:
A Lamborghini Gallardo is by far the fastest and most powerful car I have ever driven. It was a flappy-paddle gearbox version, meaning that there was no clutch to worry about and no reason to lift off when changing gear, just flip the paddle and the car takes care of the rest. This, along with the fact that it is ludicrously powerful, meant I achieved upwards of 150 mph down the main straight of the track. One hundred and fifty miles an hour in a bright yellow supercar with a thundering five litre V10 inches from your head is an amazing feeling, so driving past a Porsche Cayman S as though it was standing still was just the icing on the cake.
The Ferrari 360 Spyder is a car you drive with your shoes off. Seriously. The 360 was either designed by someone unable to drive unless they were heel-toeing, or they had teeny feet. I don't wear big shoes by any stretch of the imagination, and my Mini's pedals are pretty damn close together, yet the 360 meant you had to take your right shoe off to avoid stamping on the accelerator and the brake at the same time, which is what someone did a couple of weeks ago, and now they only have one 360. Oops.
Unlike the Gallardo the 360 doesn't have four-wheel drive, it is strictly a rear-wheel drive beast. As such if you step on the power too early, even a meter too early, you can feel the back end start to come out and you have to lift off for a split second and be aware that there is a small chance that doing so will shift the weight of the car too quickly and it'll snap back and you'll be heading backwards down the track. Thankfully this didn't happen to me, and after the first lap I was driving it 'properly' and it was fantastic. While the Lambo is faster round the track (due to it's engine, and 4WD system meaning it can corner faster) the 360 is a much more 'engaging' drive, and much more of a driver's car. On my second lap I was overtaken by a Gallardo, but managed to keep up with it for the remaining laps until it pitted.
The next 'dream car' on my list is a Aston Martin DB9, and after driving these two cars I am absolutely going to drive one, it's now my mission!
I'm sure some other people here have driven 'silly' cars, what did you think of them?
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AR Master on 28/7/2007 at 19:39
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Shadow Creepr on 28/7/2007 at 19:41
Oh man, I am jealous! I would love the opportunity to get behind the wheel of one of those for a little test drive. :D
R Soul on 28/7/2007 at 21:07
Where was that? Anywhere well known or just a random ex-airfield with a reassuring amount of empty space at the edges?
I've don't drive but I did once have a bit of practice in a Fiat Punto :o
I do a bit of Go Karting occasionally. There were some scary ones at an outdoor track in Wigan - a proper Go Kart track it was. They could get up to 70mph. The first time I went, it was winter. We were told that there might be a bit of ice at the hairpin. By the end, my feet were numb from the cold.
A couple of other times the track was very wet and we still had to use slick tyres :o
Unfortunately that track is no longer open for 'Arrive & Drive', but there's a good indoor place in Warrington that's good fun but very physically demanding. There's one sequence of corners where sliding the back round is the only way to get through at speed and that's very tiring.
Haegan on 29/7/2007 at 08:48
:(, just :(
PigLick on 29/7/2007 at 13:08
I drove a Subaru WRX Impreza once that had been hotrodded up a little, it was very sweet.
krummi on 29/7/2007 at 13:30
So you didnt have the guts to trash the Lambo afterall?
Tocky on 29/7/2007 at 15:40
What the hell is your job? International man of mystery? Where can I get an application?
Thief13x on 30/7/2007 at 03:47
NICE....just nice, fastest thing I ever drove was my parent's Honda Accord 5spd, got that thing goin 120 mph, I did:D :ebil:
