Which supercar experience ?
Discussion
It's my birthday in a couple weeks and i've asked the misses for one of those "supercar driving experiences".
I have got a fast-ish car (550 BHP, vmax 180 mp/h) but it's a 15 year old mitsubishi so what i'm after is a real thrill, both in speed as in soundtrack.
I've done several passenger rides on events like the dads day out from here, and wasn't really impressed with the aston martin (driver was probably not really pushing it) and the ferrari 308 (my car is faster) but absolutely loved my passenger ride in a challenge stradale. And that's the sort of thrill i'm after.
Though there are so many different companies out there, so i was just wondering what experiences people have here with the different companies, as a collegue done a Ariel Atom experience the other day and he was told he couldn't push it, wasn't allowed to go above a certain speed, wasn't allowed to overtake etc, so i'm looking at one where you can actually enjoy your drive about, without too many restrictions.
I want to drive either a ferrari or a lambo, and i'm in the south of the country (Essex/London way) so would prefer a track down this end of the country (dunsfolds, brands hatch, goodwood etc)
I've been looking at this one :
Ferrari 458 Thrill http://www.driversdreamdays.co.uk/drivers-supercar... and this one 2 Car Gold http://www.driversdreamdays.co.uk/drivers-supercar... but i was just wondering if people have any recommandations on which company/experience to go for, or which ones to avoid.
Cheers folks
I have got a fast-ish car (550 BHP, vmax 180 mp/h) but it's a 15 year old mitsubishi so what i'm after is a real thrill, both in speed as in soundtrack.
I've done several passenger rides on events like the dads day out from here, and wasn't really impressed with the aston martin (driver was probably not really pushing it) and the ferrari 308 (my car is faster) but absolutely loved my passenger ride in a challenge stradale. And that's the sort of thrill i'm after.
Though there are so many different companies out there, so i was just wondering what experiences people have here with the different companies, as a collegue done a Ariel Atom experience the other day and he was told he couldn't push it, wasn't allowed to go above a certain speed, wasn't allowed to overtake etc, so i'm looking at one where you can actually enjoy your drive about, without too many restrictions.
I want to drive either a ferrari or a lambo, and i'm in the south of the country (Essex/London way) so would prefer a track down this end of the country (dunsfolds, brands hatch, goodwood etc)
I've been looking at this one :
Ferrari 458 Thrill http://www.driversdreamdays.co.uk/drivers-supercar... and this one 2 Car Gold http://www.driversdreamdays.co.uk/drivers-supercar... but i was just wondering if people have any recommandations on which company/experience to go for, or which ones to avoid.
Cheers folks
Honestly on most of these driving experiences you can't truly push the car, because the tracks are usually overcrowded with other people doing it and the instructors don't want you to.
I bought my Dad an Atom experience, it was about 7-8 laps. The instructor put the car straight into 3rd gear and told him to leave it, never changed gear!
I bought my Dad an Atom experience, it was about 7-8 laps. The instructor put the car straight into 3rd gear and told him to leave it, never changed gear!
TonyTony said:
Honestly on most of these driving experiences you can't truly push the car, because the tracks are usually overcrowded with other people doing it and the instructors don't want you to.
I bought my Dad an Atom experience, it was about 7-8 laps. The instructor put the car straight into 3rd gear and told him to leave it, never changed gear!
Honestly? I would be furious.I bought my Dad an Atom experience, it was about 7-8 laps. The instructor put the car straight into 3rd gear and told him to leave it, never changed gear!
I bought my dad one of those 4/12 hour rentacar things, we had a mk2 240 jag. Was a great day, push the car if you wanted or just enjoy the wafting.
I could never plow money into an experience that is reduced to save a company money. I crashed an alfa sprint at raceretro, didnt feel big about it, but atleast for 20 quid and 2 laps i got my go at flat out.
Ive done a few. As others have said in most you are in an out of the car before you even realise whats going on!
Best ive done (although not a supercar) is AMG at Brooklands. Its a full hour driving on track and skid pan. Brilliant fun and for £130 IIRC good value compared to the rest.
For about £300 you can change to an SLS which would be more 'supercar' if you can afford that.
Added bonus also is that you can spend a few hours in Brooklands and a couple in Mercedes Benz World to make a day of it
Best ive done (although not a supercar) is AMG at Brooklands. Its a full hour driving on track and skid pan. Brilliant fun and for £130 IIRC good value compared to the rest.
For about £300 you can change to an SLS which would be more 'supercar' if you can afford that.
Added bonus also is that you can spend a few hours in Brooklands and a couple in Mercedes Benz World to make a day of it
Vixpy1 said:
Really Charlie? I went with a mate who was having a drive, very restrictive and very slow!! It was like having a beautiful bird and all they would do is tickle your balls!D14 AYS said:
Vixpy1 said:
Really Charlie? I went with a mate who was having a drive, very restrictive and very slow!! It was like having a beautiful bird and all they would do is tickle your balls!I had a shot of the Lambo at Three sister Race track at Wigan. Was a great day out and loved every minute. The only down side is by the time your getting into the swing of things its time to come of the track.
The gallardo is a beast of a car and great fun to drive. the Flappy paddle box took abit to get used to since i have only driven Manuals but I was allowed to drop into second and max out 3rd on the straight. Its not the biggest track but id do it again.
They also done the Audi R8, Ferrari 360 (i think) gallardo, Atom, DB9.
Hope this information helps and have a great time.
The gallardo is a beast of a car and great fun to drive. the Flappy paddle box took abit to get used to since i have only driven Manuals but I was allowed to drop into second and max out 3rd on the straight. Its not the biggest track but id do it again.
They also done the Audi R8, Ferrari 360 (i think) gallardo, Atom, DB9.
Hope this information helps and have a great time.
I did Experience Limits - as they were on Groupon, and 9 laps, three in three cars was about £119.00 which was great value.
It was fun, with a good choice of cars. Extra laps could be bought. It was a runway job with some cones where you were told "the better you are with the brake pedal, the more you can use the loud pedal". And they were true to their word.
Drove F430, Porky turbo and a Gallardo - all foot on the floor changing gear when you want.
I'd do it again for laughs.
It was fun, with a good choice of cars. Extra laps could be bought. It was a runway job with some cones where you were told "the better you are with the brake pedal, the more you can use the loud pedal". And they were true to their word.
Drove F430, Porky turbo and a Gallardo - all foot on the floor changing gear when you want.
I'd do it again for laughs.
MrBrightSi said:
Honestly? I would be furious.
I bought my dad one of those 4/12 hour rentacar things, we had a mk2 240 jag. Was a great day, push the car if you wanted or just enjoy the wafting.
I could never plow money into an experience that is reduced to save a company money. I crashed an alfa sprint at raceretro, didnt feel big about it, but atleast for 20 quid and 2 laps i got my go at flat out.
Yea, it was at 3 sisters Wigan. Think the main reason behind it is that it is a pretty small track, and the atom has some serious acceleration. I think most people on that track don't even reach motorway speeds, it was really busy that day as well.I bought my dad one of those 4/12 hour rentacar things, we had a mk2 240 jag. Was a great day, push the car if you wanted or just enjoy the wafting.
I could never plow money into an experience that is reduced to save a company money. I crashed an alfa sprint at raceretro, didnt feel big about it, but atleast for 20 quid and 2 laps i got my go at flat out.
NorthernBoy said:
The Palmer day at Bedford has always delivered for me. Properly fast cars, and instructors urging you to use them to the limit.
Not cheap, but seems to be the only ne that consistently gets good reviews.
This, not cheap, but every petrol head should do this at least once. Incredible day.Not cheap, but seems to be the only ne that consistently gets good reviews.
TonyTony said:
Honestly on most of these driving experiences you can't truly push the car, because the tracks are usually overcrowded with other people doing it and the instructors don't want you to.
I bought my Dad an Atom experience, it was about 7-8 laps. The instructor put the car straight into 3rd gear and told him to leave it, never changed gear!
I drove for an experience company for a short while a few years ago. I bought my Dad an Atom experience, it was about 7-8 laps. The instructor put the car straight into 3rd gear and told him to leave it, never changed gear!
We tried to give the customer the best experience as possible but unfortunately sometimes you had to restrict some people. In an Atom you have very restricted movement and communication is sometimes a little hard. Also the attitude of the person could dictate how far they were allowed to take the car. Don't get me wrong I sat next to some very good drivers but equally I sat next to some people who thought they were great only to find out in reality they weren't.
Your Dad got to experience an Atom in 3rd around a circuit. To be fair he would have got to experience how the car felt and how the car handled without giving the instructor heart failure. Don't forget this was an experience day and not race training ! With the Atom the gearchange can be a bit tricky if your're not used to it, very short gear lever and when you're trying to concentrate on braking and changing gear in something that is 2-3 times faster than the car you arrived in you can get a little overwhelmed ! If you want to go and drive a car however you want then go and rent one for the day, you can even rent an Atom for a trackday but it'll be a lot more expensive than an 'experience' day
So if you go on an experience day then don't be disappointed if you're not allowed to scare the s
t out of the instructor, just remember that you know how good you are but he won't have driven with you before so you need to show that you are capable of listening and following their instruction. Maybe then you would be allowed to venture further into exploring the car more. Also there is the car to consider, wear tear and general maintenance costs a fortune when a car is permanently on a circuit !Not saying your Dad was a bad driver or anything but look at it from the flip side of the coin
Edited by Special K on Monday 2nd July 21:40
trooperiziz said:
NorthernBoy said:
The Palmer day at Bedford has always delivered for me. Properly fast cars, and instructors urging you to use them to the limit.
Not cheap, but seems to be the only ne that consistently gets good reviews.
This, not cheap, but every petrol head should do this at least once. Incredible day.Not cheap, but seems to be the only ne that consistently gets good reviews.
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