They say you should never meet your heroes.
But I wanted to find out on my own if that is true or not.
You know, I see cars differently and for me a Ferrari is the ultimate expression of what an automobile should be - with no compromises just pure joy of driving experiences.
I had a quote regarding how it is to drive such a car, that stuck with me.
Many people die before they are dead.
Drive a Ferrari and you may be surprised to discover you died quite a while ago and have just been reborn.
To hear one at full chat is to know God.
Most Ferraris will do that to you.
Bold statement - this was my quest to find out.
So, while I was back at Blue Fin Bay in Tofte, browsing online and finalizing our trip to Las Vegas, I got curios how much was to rent one.
Was surprised what these guys were offering, besides renting one, you can even use it on the race track !
Perfect, i mean legally a car like this to rent it and drive it on a public road is suicide - you’ll get a speeding ticket no matter what.
Simply any car enthusiast’s dream.
Superb collection to choose from.
My heart went of course with a Ferrari.
The Scuderia, the hardcore version of the “street” version if you can call it that…
With no seconds thoughts, I made the reservation with almost one a half month in advanced.
So good that I did that because later found out that everything was fully booked like 3 to 4 weeks almost every time, all year round.
Wow.
Arrived in Las Vegas and my day came to find out if they are that special.
So yeah, besides my passion and knowledge regarding cars and the auto world, I had very high expectations.
The Las Vegas Speed Way is near Nellis Air Foce Base !
The ground trembles when the fighter jets fly over the sky.
Talk about the first impression on a race track.
It was a complete experience, they show you the track, explain what you have to do in a seminar, text book showmanship.
And right besides this room, outside there was a spot were they we’re drifting to heat up the tyres before they take you - you can also book a drift experience with pro driver and they trash you around inside the car (They use Z06 Corvettes - 7.0 L V8 monsters)
Then the smell of fresh burned rubber was coming … and the noise of course.
The seminar was hands on, basically.
Too bad i didn’t catch it on camera.
I was early and went outside were all the good things we’re happening.
Of course, the mandatory pictures with every car fallowed and sitting in each one.
I won’t bore you with that many.
Uuuuu, Italian leather …
And what a rear view …
I was already pumped with adrenaline just by sitting in them.
Ah, some customer, double downshifted and blew the transmission on a 400 grand Lamborghini Aventador supercar.
The price to fix it?
60.000 $.
Pocket change…
The moment came, I got a helmet and let’s rock !
The instructor comes: Alex for a Scuderia ?
Yes, that me.
Ok, this way.
I was giggling like a kid on Christmas eve !
And there she is in all of her glory.
Redder than red and elegant as a ballet dancer.
Like a rose but with a potent sting: A racing flat plane 4.3 L V8 with 510 horsepower of pure emotion at 8500 rpm !
And the whole thing weighs less that an average hatchback… just mind boggling.
0 to 60 MPH (0-100 Km/H) in under 3.6s with a top limited speed pf 202 mph (325 Km/H).
Got in, my God, the interior is full of carbon fiber.
I close the door, yet it’s so light but makes such a hard sound when you close it like it’s a vault door !
I was amazed how big the interior was !
It’s more spacious that my BMW 5 series which is a sedan – I mean I’m 1.87 m tall / 6.1 ft and was also wearing a helmet and still had 1-2 fingers of clearance left.
Just wow.
The seats, thy are like 5000 $ a set and made from of carbon and alcantara and leather.
The best I ever sat it.
They can’t exist, they are very comfortable but hold you perfect so you don’t move when you use it to it’s full potential – very critical in a sport car to have excellent lateral support but not intruding.
Here it was perfect.
Looked at the rear mirror and saw that gorgeous transaxel rear mounted engine.
Oh my God again.
The dashboard, everything what you needed to know about the health of the engine.
But the only thing you will see when you drive, is this big yellow RPM counter (the most important basically) - everything else just fades.
If you want a reference with a normal car, where i have 100 km/h (the middle of the speedometer), this thing has 240 km/h !!!
Madness.
The instructor talks me through some basic track racing maneuvers etc.
Ok, let fire it up.
I press the big button on the steering wheel.
It comes alive !!!!
I felt it through my spine.
At 1000 rpm idle I could barely hear what we were talking.
Put it in first and here we go.
The driving position is perfect, has a curbed panoramic windscreen so you have excellent visibility.
So there are no weird angles or blind spots.
The sexy front wheel arches help you to know exactly where the wheels are so you have maximum confidence in turning and steering.
And I will let the following on-board recording do the talking from here.
Crank up the volume please and see you on the other side !
The conversations are epic..
Me: Whys so stable?!
The instructor: It’s a Ferrari !!!
So yeah, folks.. I had multiple car-orgasms.
The car is simply mind blowing how it drives.
You brain can’t understand how can a car behave in such a way, it defies the rules of physics (known by the brain) and all of your senses.
I mean these level of dynamics i felt only on a motorcycle but here it’s on a whole new level.
Why?
Because on motorcycle you don’t feel the centrifugal forces when you turn.
Here, because there are 4 wheels, the Gs are amazing.
In the straits I was doing 150 mph in 4 gear !
And still had 2 more gears left.
Braking, you feel like your lungs are coming out !
Because it has such an advanced stability control and active suspension, it has no body roll, no weight shifting, it stays perfectly stable no matter what you do to it in those settings.
As you can see from the clip, that’s why it may feel static but believe me in real life you fell EVERYTHING inside of your body.
The feedback was like it was connected directly to our central nervous system.
When you change gears you feel them in your heart.
And then there’s the noise … how the engine makes and moves, you can see it and feel it.
How it breaths and puffs and sings … oh my Gooooood !!!
The engine is like half a meter behind your head, don’t forget.
After just 2 laps I felt confident that I could start to push it.
It almost bit my head off with the performance (in a good way, so nothing dangerous).
And then you become like a drug addict you want more and more and more.
You saw the clip, I think I was trying to sing along side with the engine.
The power delivery, no mater the scenario, what gear, rpm or speed, it was instant.
The engine pulls like freight train starting from 2ooo rpm, up until 8500.
And i was on the 3rd driver assisted program (has 5) so i barely used like 60 % of its potential.
Pure madness.
I could go forever trying to describe it.
To conclude, my expectations, they were not only satisfied but blown out of proportion.
Never thought it could be this good.
This is the clip after I finished the ride.
I asked the instructor to leave my to savor the moment just a few minutes longer until he brings a new customer.
Sure, you have 5 minutes. Don’t steal it.
And just look at me and witness how I lost my mind.
I was in complete shock.
After this I still suffered for like two days, depression hit, I wanted to feel this again… so i started to think how can I relive this back home and not cost my soul.
Things were already in motion… stay tuned in the next episodes to find out what happened.
So when you say it’s a Ferrari and it costs 300k $ … yeah … it’s about the social status but when you can afford to buy them for the driving experience, i can agree that the quote from the beginning of my journey is completely true.
You can know God with such a machine.
Enzo Ferrari, we thank you for your cars.
I love cars like this, that have racing heritage and they are built to amaze you and just make you feel so much alive.
That’s why racing cars are for me, the ultimate expression of freedom.
Until then, luckily there are substitutes for us mortals but who knows what the future may bring…
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.
-Leonardo da Vinci
