So we’re blasting up I-17 headed north bound in an SRT8 Chrysler 300C. We’re running a little late so I’m cruising at a “healthy rate” trying to make up for lost time, and with 425 ponies under the hood the mighty SRT8 isn’t even breathing hard.
As a contributor to Two For The Road and as co-host of the Fast Car Forum, both of which are automotive radio shows, I sometimes get invited to participate in automotive events. On this particular day my Father and I are headed towards Sedona to meet the crew from World Class Driving and hopefully get the opportunity to ride in some of the worlds finest exotic cars.
World Class Driving was formed so that people like you and I could actually have the opportunity to drive the exotic cars that we are used to seeing and dreaming about, but never driving. For $1,295 you get breakfast, lunch, merchandise, driving certificates, and about 4 hours of drive time.
Now I have to be honest, on my drive up to Sedona I couldn’t help but feel a little skeptical. We’re talking about $1.3 million worth of exotic automobiles here! There is no way these people are going to let us have any fun with these cars, and let’s be real, what is the point of driving an exotic if you can’t even “stretch it’s legs out” every once in a while? Right?
I’ll tell you what, being wrong has never felt so good!
Upon arrival at the Sedona Resort we are ushered to a private room where we meet Jean-Paul Libert and the rest of the World Class Driving crew, one of which was champion Ferrari driver Didier Theys, a two time winner of the 24 hours of Daytona and one time winner of the 12 hours of Sebring.
After a quick breakfast and debriefing on the rules and regulations of driving the exotics we are handed a sheet of paper with a break down of the driving rotations for the day. The first car on the list was a Ferrari F430. The first name on the list, next to the Ferrari, was…………
That’s right! Yours truly. When I saw my name next to the Ferrari on that list my knees literally started to buckle. I couldn’t believe I was about to drive one of my all time favorite exotics! My mind was racing and my heart was pounding. Then I read the rest of the rotation and almost passed out. After the Ferrari I would be driving the Ford GT, then a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, then a Mercedes Mclaren SLR, then a Porsche 911 GT3 and rounding out the day in the Noble M400. For just about any car enthusiast this is a mind blowing lineup, and I get to drive everyone of them!
Now, I mentioned that on the drive up to Sedona I was skeptical as to whether or not it would be worth the $1295 entry fee just to drive these cars in some cheesy “lead and follow” situation where you never really get to ring them out. Once again I have to say that I have never been so happy to be so wrong. When I was handed the keys to the bright yellow F430, any negative thoughts I was having about the day immediately disappeared.
Being as big a car nut as I am is sometimes troubling. If I’m driving down the road and I see an exotic car I usually make a loud immature noise, followed by some erratic gestures and cap it off by starring jealously at the punk behind the wheel.
I gotta tell ya folks, being the punk has never felt so good! In my first stint in the Ferrari, we came to a stop light and a passenger car got in between me and the GT3. As I was sitting there taking it all in I looked in the rear view mirror and saw what was essentially me, a young guy flailing and gawking at the gorgeous yellow Ferrari in front of him, grinning from ear to ear at the very sight of such a machine.
For me, that alone was worth the price of admission. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t on the outside looking in, I was on the inside looking out. And it felt unbelievable! From that point on it only got better. There are simply no words that can explain the sheer ecstasy of piloting these master pieces through the hills of Sedona. The frantic shriek of the Ferrari’s V8 as it screams towards it’s 8500 rpm redline, the eagerness and ease in which the Ford GT pins you to the seat and pulls you towards the horizon, the brain squashing grip of the Porsche GT3, the mind blowing brute force of the aristocrat Mercedes SLR, the unparalleled acceleration of the twin turbo Noble M400 and, last but not least, the Lamborghini, with the most incredible exhaust note you will ever hear. It’s a sound that will give you goose bumps and make the hair on your arms stand at attention. Imagine if you can a ten cylinder NASCAR engine on steroids at 8000 rpm! I now understand the meaning of heaven on earth, it’s the sound of a Lamborghini Gallardo echoing through the canyons at full throttle, blipping the down shifts and banging the up shifts at it’s redline. Like the ferocious battle cry of a Mother bear protecting her young or the deep, earth shaking warning calls of a lion defending its pride, the sound can only be described as insanity contained. As I mentioned earlier, this experience is worth every penny!
It’s been a couple of weeks since that incredible experience and I am happy to say that there is one more perk that I never really thought about, the memories. I know it sounds a little goofy but it’s so true. In this day and age it’s way too easy to get caught up in the everyday mundane rat race. So for me to be able to glance up at my wall every once in a while and see a picture of me leaning against a bright green Lamborghini convertible with the biggest smile on my face that you have ever seen, and close my eyes for a second to take myself back to that magical day of driving some of the greatest cars on the planet with my Dad by my side, well let’s just say it’s hard to put a price on that.
Bill and I are finishing the production of some video we took that we’ll have on the website in the next couple of weeks so you’ll be able to get a sense of what these cars are all about and why we were both so excited about having this opportunity, so stay tuned, there is more to come.
