Supercar experience days
Discussion
Hi guys
I'm just wondering if anyone can recommend a decent 'ferrari experience day'?.
My friends wife wants to book him one for a 40th bday surprise.
I remember reading that most are not very good as they don't let you drive
the cars very fast,but not sure which forum i read it on,as i only come on
here and the ferrari forum i thought id ask.
I've tried the search feature but its under maintenance.
If anyone could point me in the right direction that would be great
Thanks in advance.
Regards.
I'm just wondering if anyone can recommend a decent 'ferrari experience day'?.
My friends wife wants to book him one for a 40th bday surprise.
I remember reading that most are not very good as they don't let you drive
the cars very fast,but not sure which forum i read it on,as i only come on
here and the ferrari forum i thought id ask.
I've tried the search feature but its under maintenance.
If anyone could point me in the right direction that would be great
Thanks in advance.
Regards.
I looked into this fairly recently as I've been toying with the idea of getting a 430 and felt that this would offer a whole lot more than a test drive. As has already been pointed out though, they are a very dumbed-down experience and don't let you drive them, a) for very long and b) quickly at all. If you do find somewhere however that allows a 'proper' drive, please share it with us.
For the record I did one at Thruxton, organised by an ex bless 'er, and she was mortified when I returned from the Boxster Spyder launch and proclaimed it 'the best drive I'd ever had' (I've never been on track before).
She spent something like £400 to get me in a 430, a Lambo LP630, a single seater and a Cayman.
The single seater was limited, but still great fun - the Italians were spoilt by having an instructor next to me ordering me to shift up at about 4k RPM. The Cayman was the only car that they actually let me really push (right to the limiter in fact). Thruxton's a power circuit though, and so the whole thing was quite underwhelming and not worth the outlay.
She spent something like £400 to get me in a 430, a Lambo LP630, a single seater and a Cayman.
The single seater was limited, but still great fun - the Italians were spoilt by having an instructor next to me ordering me to shift up at about 4k RPM. The Cayman was the only car that they actually let me really push (right to the limiter in fact). Thruxton's a power circuit though, and so the whole thing was quite underwhelming and not worth the outlay.
IMO the only proper worthwhile supercar driving experiences are offered by Palmersport:
http://www.palmersport.com/
Expensive though...
http://www.palmersport.com/
Expensive though...
I did the Lamborghini thrill sold by Red Letter days which was at Silverstone in a Gallardo. In this case the instructor let me drive it as fast as I wanted - but as with many of these things it varies by instructor and how confident you make them feel in your driving. The downside is that as per the red letter you get 8 miles of laps which on the Silverstone South Circuit equated to an outlap, a flying lap and an in lap for £100. I enjoyed it because I knew what I was going to get, I know the circuit so went flat out from the first corner and had the drive there and back in my GT3. The same company also run Ferraris to the same format. You may be able to pay more for more track time.
i second that did it few years ago was great ,most of these experiences make you drive like miss daisy to restrictive imho
Kenzle said:
IMO the only proper worthwhile supercar driving experiences are offered by Palmersport:
http://www.palmersport.com/
Expensive though...
http://www.palmersport.com/
Expensive though...
Kenzle said:
IMO the only proper worthwhile supercar driving experiences are offered by Palmersport:
http://www.palmersport.com/
Expensive though...
Spot on.http://www.palmersport.com/
Expensive though...
Done a few of these days through my work
Absolutely brilliant day out and one you will never forget, they don't half give the cars a proper caning
Cracks me up they are all LPG though!
I can vouch for 6thgear http://www.6thgearexperience.com/Ferrari-Driving-E...
Web site a bit weird at the moment though.
Ran by Simon George (Simon Spyder is his PH username) who's a contributor to Evo mag.
I've done 3 of there "Best of the Best" days, Aston DBS, Ferrari 599 and Lambo LP640.
First car you go out in they seem to monitor you, check your not some knuckle dragging ape who's there for a joy ride. Once they know your ok and willing to listen to the instructors, they pretty much let you loose.
Right through the gears, late braking. Really good stuff.
You'll always get some people complaining, but I've got nothing but praise for these guys. They've got some amazing cars as well. LP640, Aventador, 458, and some track stuff too, Radical and Atom.
HUGE
Web site a bit weird at the moment though.
Ran by Simon George (Simon Spyder is his PH username) who's a contributor to Evo mag.
I've done 3 of there "Best of the Best" days, Aston DBS, Ferrari 599 and Lambo LP640.
First car you go out in they seem to monitor you, check your not some knuckle dragging ape who's there for a joy ride. Once they know your ok and willing to listen to the instructors, they pretty much let you loose.
Right through the gears, late braking. Really good stuff.
You'll always get some people complaining, but I've got nothing but praise for these guys. They've got some amazing cars as well. LP640, Aventador, 458, and some track stuff too, Radical and Atom.
HUGE
Edited by Homer J on Friday 4th May 12:44
In general these things are s
t - I've done a few of them now and it's typically lots of hanging around for not much driving.
Rockingham do a masterclass day, which is actually good, virtually no hanging around and lots of different experiences. And as mentioned Palmersport do a great day out as well. Other than that you're likely to come away a bit disappointed for the money spent.
PEC days, if you want to drive a Porsche are OK too as they let you push the car (albeit on small track) and there's no hanging around, you just get in, have your fun and leave without feeling like you've wasted a day.
Worst one of these I've ever done was Caterham drift experience - lovely people but hanging about all day for a grand total of 12minutes of driving - fk that!
t - I've done a few of them now and it's typically lots of hanging around for not much driving.Rockingham do a masterclass day, which is actually good, virtually no hanging around and lots of different experiences. And as mentioned Palmersport do a great day out as well. Other than that you're likely to come away a bit disappointed for the money spent.
PEC days, if you want to drive a Porsche are OK too as they let you push the car (albeit on small track) and there's no hanging around, you just get in, have your fun and leave without feeling like you've wasted a day.
Worst one of these I've ever done was Caterham drift experience - lovely people but hanging about all day for a grand total of 12minutes of driving - f
k that!I can't comment on UK experiences, but as I instruct for experiences overseas (which broadly follow similar formats to UK circuits), I would make some general comments:
1. The instructor makes a massive difference. A people person with grey hairs is often a better teacher than a young hotshoe who's just filling time until the next race. Make a beeline for the old guy.
2. It helps if the customer spends the out lap demonstrating that he or she has listened to the briefing - this will give some confidence to the instructor and he will be more inclined to let the customer open the taps later. So remember the hand signals (if it's a loud car), keep the revs low when warming up, and drive smoothly. Also, don't be overly cautious: if he says go faster, put your foot flat to the floor and trust him.
3. Customers who get most enjoyment out of these days are the ones who come with no expectations and are not petrolheads. Especially women. Often over the moon when they get out of the car.
4. Use the time wisely. You may only get a few minutes on track and don't want to spend 5 minutes back in the pits so the instructor can repeat the instructions that you have been ignoring.
5. Buy a hot lap. Your instructor races professionally and you may learn a lot. Also it's fun.
6. If you are a petrolhead (which you are, as you are reading this), choose proper race cars over road-going supercars - they are dull by comparison. The controls, the driving environment, the immediacy, the acceleration, the lateral grip, the braking, are on a different level.
1. The instructor makes a massive difference. A people person with grey hairs is often a better teacher than a young hotshoe who's just filling time until the next race. Make a beeline for the old guy.
2. It helps if the customer spends the out lap demonstrating that he or she has listened to the briefing - this will give some confidence to the instructor and he will be more inclined to let the customer open the taps later. So remember the hand signals (if it's a loud car), keep the revs low when warming up, and drive smoothly. Also, don't be overly cautious: if he says go faster, put your foot flat to the floor and trust him.
3. Customers who get most enjoyment out of these days are the ones who come with no expectations and are not petrolheads. Especially women. Often over the moon when they get out of the car.
4. Use the time wisely. You may only get a few minutes on track and don't want to spend 5 minutes back in the pits so the instructor can repeat the instructions that you have been ignoring.
5. Buy a hot lap. Your instructor races professionally and you may learn a lot. Also it's fun.
6. If you are a petrolhead (which you are, as you are reading this), choose proper race cars over road-going supercars - they are dull by comparison. The controls, the driving environment, the immediacy, the acceleration, the lateral grip, the braking, are on a different level.
nickfrog said:
They're all rubbish. Nothing compares to PalmerSport. The end.
Palmers ports cars are rubbish in comparison to the the others cars. No Ferraris, Lambos, etc and just a homemade Porsche. Still it seems to be the highest rated experience centre though look at how much you pay. I have done Thruxton a few times and it was OK. 6th gear is the best option if you want supercars and a bit of free reign.
I have also done Porsche experience centre a few times and it is good if you have a good instructor, but can be pricey and track isn't that big.
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