Dennis C

Yesterday I had a great opportunity to drive a couple of exotic cars on the race track. It was not a great deal of track time, I did about 20 laps. I split my time between an Audi R8 V10 and a Ferrari 458 Italia. I was hoping to get some time behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Gallardo LP-570 Superleggera, but at 6'4" I couldn't fit in it while wearing a helmet.

Both cars were fantastic, but the Ferrari felt much more like a race car. Both cars had paddle shifters, and this was my first time to drive a car with proper paddle shifters on the track. It was really fun and I can definitely see the advantage of the dual-clutch sequential gearbox for track applications. My only other comment about the Ferrari is: holy sh*t that thing is fast! It was actually a little scary until I got used to it...

Chris996

I like it!!

WalterRohrl

Sounds like a lot of fun!

babylonboots

Looks like a great time! Thanks for posting.

San Rensho

Where do I sign up to test drive those cars?

ZX9RCAM

Color me jealous.....

ECS Tuning

Looks like it was a great time. Would love to drive a 458 Italia some day.

KrazyK

Looks like a great time. Maybe they have improved the Duoselect trans but thats what steered me away from buying a Maserati.

Dennis C

The transmission in the Ferrari was fantastic. The Audi was good, but the sifts were much slower than the Ferrari. In the Ferrari, upshifts and downshifts were almost instant as soon as you hit the paddle.

The place we drove the cars can be found here:

http://www.exoticdriving.com/

street rod

Dennis looks like a great time. I am going to try this when it comes to TMS.

Barn996

Wow Dennis, color me jealous. What an experience. Merry Christmas early.

Invius

(nerd on) The 458 shifts at 20ms, which is virtually instantaneous. The 430 (the previous iteration) shifted at 60ms, which is as fast as a human blinks, for comparison, and still ridiculous fast. The gearbox in the 458 is the best I have ever seen or driven, and made me want a F1 style paddle shifter for the first time in my life.
(nerd off) Also, chicks dig it.

Sneaky Pete

Dennis you lucky bird.....looks like a great day!

2K7TTMIA

Sounds like a great experience. Could make for a sweet bday present!

Dennis C

It was less expensive than you might think. All in, it was roughly $600. Well worth it.

We didn't get up to any crazy speeds. My maximum speed in the Ferrari was 122mph. The impressive thing was the braking. I did almost 3 Gs during hard braking after the straight. The Ferrari was literally violent I'm acceleration, cornering and braking.

I'm ready to go again...