Birthday present for 30th birthday

[Wheatley173]

A good friend of mine is turning 30 next weekend. He is a true pistonhead so I was considering getting him a super car experience . Looking to spend about £70.

I was just wondering if any one else has any other ideas other than this and if not, any recommendations of experiences they've been on. We're based in the midlands

Thanks

[Troubleatmill]

£70 is tough.

You could ask the SPORTING BEARS, where the next event with supercars is near you.
A passenger ride in something rather exotic is very doable though.

All the money given goes to a children's charity. The drivers of the cars give their time, car and petrol willingly.
So you are doing doubly good. Help a friend - and help a children's charity

[.blue]

Wouldn't recommend supercar exps for any proper petrol heads. You hardly get to drive the car (i.e. must stay under X,000 revs) and instructors are overcautious in my experience. I was thoroughly disappointed with mine at Thruxton and would have preferred more laps in a lesser car.

[Mastodon2]

.blue said:

Wouldn't recommend supercar exps for any proper petrol heads. You hardly get to drive the car (i.e. must stay under X,000 revs) and instructors are overcautious in my experience. I was thoroughly disappointed with mine at Thruxton and would have preferred more laps in a lesser car.

Indeed. I have one friend who did one and thought it was amazing, then I saw the restrictions and rules they had to follow on the day. Basically, doing everything they could to make sure that the wear on the cars was minimised - no more than 2/3rds revs, no hard braking or cornering, no excessive speeds on the straighter parts. He drove an F430, a Gallardo and an R8, so it's not like they were piling wear on brand spanking new cars either.

Another friend had a "Gallardo experience" bought for him as a birthday present. He drove two hours to find our the Gallardo was not available (probably because the owner wanted to use it that day) and that he could drive an R8 or come back another day. He went for the R8, with the usual restrictions on revs, speed, braking and cornering, and the track he was on was effectively a go kart track with the "office and classroom" being a small portacabin next to it, so there was no way to get any real speed into it as the course was so tight.

I can't help but think these "experiences" are tailored to fools who want to drive expensive cars because they are expensive. Actually driving them as they are intended to be used would probably cost too much to make a viable business in these days, and the restrictions mean they're not really appropriate for people who want to give them a bit of welly.

[seany87]

My experience differed. Certainly no restriction on revs. Did a drivers dream days one in a Gallardo and a R8 at Bruntingthorpe.. Gallardo instructor was a bit condescending but the R8 instructor was from a similar part of the world as me and really tried to get me to push the car, ended up doing 160 on the straight near enough.

Had a great time in the E63 AMG Merc at Mercedes Benz world too. What a car.

[steveeeW]

My Lamborghini supercar experience was not restricted when my GF got me one for my 21st. It was near Oxford & although it was only 3 laps, I could drive it, with no restrictions to rev limits or braking.

[sideways man]

Did a 6th gear experience day last month. It was ok,but not amazing. You only get 3 laps (bruntingthorpe) and by the time I worked out where the circuit went my time in the 911 turbo was up. Aston db9 was great,it's now on my lottery win list,but the ariel atom instructor definitely erred on the side of caution. No throttle allowed till in a straight line,and we stayed in top gear allround the track. Very frustrating for my point of view.

Now the AMG experience at brooklands,that was excellent. Although all electronic safety aids were left on,you were allowed to give the car full beans,and an hour in the car gave you time to get comfortable with it. Memories include drifting all the way around a 360 degree skid pan and full bore acceleration runs. And what a noise!

Although more than your budget,I'd defiantly find a way to fund it.

[legless]

Go for a single-seater experience if you can. There's a reasonably decent one at Rockingham.

It'll blow away any sort of supercar experience in terms of enjoyment.