Anyone done the Classic Car Experience at Goodwood?
Discussion
I originally posted this in the Track Day area, but received no response, so:
I've been given a Virgin Experience Day Gift Card.
From reading various reports on here, I think I'd be disappointed by one of the mind you don't go too fast Supercar experiences, so I thought I'd try this.
It's 9 laps in total in an old 911, Ferrari 308, AC Cobra replica and E-Type.
I know I'm not going to be driving them anywhere near flat out, and since most of them are older than me, I don't mind, but I just wondered if anyone had anything to say about it?
I've been given a Virgin Experience Day Gift Card.
From reading various reports on here, I think I'd be disappointed by one of the mind you don't go too fast Supercar experiences, so I thought I'd try this.
It's 9 laps in total in an old 911, Ferrari 308, AC Cobra replica and E-Type.
I know I'm not going to be driving them anywhere near flat out, and since most of them are older than me, I don't mind, but I just wondered if anyone had anything to say about it?
Edited by gmk666 on Monday 4th October 11:40
Just because they are older than you doesn't mean you can't drive them hard.
I love to take my XK150 out on the track at Goodwood and that is older than me, or any of the cars you mention.
You won't have any modern driver aids like ABS or traction control but I'm sure their instructor will show you the ropes and you'll be amazed out what you can do. Even with the original brakes in the XK it was possible to wait well past the point where every road driving brain cell is screaming "You are definitely going to die if you don't brake NOW!" before taking your foot off the floored throttle.
I love to take my XK150 out on the track at Goodwood and that is older than me, or any of the cars you mention.
You won't have any modern driver aids like ABS or traction control but I'm sure their instructor will show you the ropes and you'll be amazed out what you can do. Even with the original brakes in the XK it was possible to wait well past the point where every road driving brain cell is screaming "You are definitely going to die if you don't brake NOW!" before taking your foot off the floored throttle.
Thanks for the replies, gentlemen.
It's 3 laps in three of the cars - a total of 9 laps, so no, it doesn't add up to a huge amount of track time. And it costs a not insignificant £279, but the voucher takes care of a lot of that.
I'd much rather be surprised by the capabilities of the older car than underwhelmed by the (justified?) cautious nature of the instructor in one of the modern supercars. It seems all these experiences are aimed at the 'I want to say I've a driven a (fill in blank)' crowd, rather than the out and out thrill seeker.
I did a corporate day at Palmersport where the instructors push you to go faster but I am not expecting this to be the same.
It's 3 laps in three of the cars - a total of 9 laps, so no, it doesn't add up to a huge amount of track time. And it costs a not insignificant £279, but the voucher takes care of a lot of that.
a8hex said:
Just because they are older than you doesn't mean you can't drive them hard.
This is what's driving me towards this experience rather than one of the usual Porsche/Aston/Ferrari/R8 ones.I'd much rather be surprised by the capabilities of the older car than underwhelmed by the (justified?) cautious nature of the instructor in one of the modern supercars. It seems all these experiences are aimed at the 'I want to say I've a driven a (fill in blank)' crowd, rather than the out and out thrill seeker.
I did a corporate day at Palmersport where the instructors push you to go faster but I am not expecting this to be the same.
I did this a few years back, drove an Aston DB5 (the E-type had been pranged) the 911 RS and the Cobra replica.
Only 3 laps in each, which wasn't really long enough, but really good fun anyway.. the instructor I had with me was more than happy for me to go flat out and infact he wanted us to pass as many of the Ferrari experience people as we could especially in the Cobra
I didn't really enjoy the Aston, the yellow RS (which was LHD) was excellent and the Cobra was awesome
Have fun and give it some down the Lavant straight
Only 3 laps in each, which wasn't really long enough, but really good fun anyway.. the instructor I had with me was more than happy for me to go flat out and infact he wanted us to pass as many of the Ferrari experience people as we could especially in the Cobra
I didn't really enjoy the Aston, the yellow RS (which was LHD) was excellent and the Cobra was awesome
Have fun and give it some down the Lavant straight
Penguinracer said:
On a positive note - these "Driving Experience" do awaken the bug to get your "track capable" machine (whatever your budget) & to extract decent value for money through the enjoyment of purchasing, preparing & driving your own machine on trackdays.
Definitely agree with you there. I came away from Bedford thinking seriously about an ex-Clio Cup, but sadly ended up doing nothing about it.I don't think I'll be taking my RS6 on a track though.
580 hp would be fun, but 2 tonnes would not. A guy over on rs246.com took his around Monza and his brakes were shot within about an hour.
gmk666 said:
Penguinracer said:
On a positive note - these "Driving Experience" do awaken the bug to get your "track capable" machine (whatever your budget) & to extract decent value for money through the enjoyment of purchasing, preparing & driving your own machine on trackdays.
Definitely agree with you there. I came away from Bedford thinking seriously about an ex-Clio Cup, but sadly ended up doing nothing about it.I don't think I'll be taking my RS6 on a track though.
580 hp would be fun, but 2 tonnes would not. A guy over on rs246.com took his around Monza and his brakes were shot within about an hour.
What you may get satisfaction from whilst driving the classics is a sense of the skill and balance required to drive these types of cars at speed through a linked series of corners. That feeling of acomplishment is hard to find in a modern high performance car, all the rough edges have been designed out and it all feels a bit to easy.
bigblock said:
What you may get satisfaction from whilst driving the classics is a sense of the skill and balance required to drive these types of cars at speed through a linked series of corners. That feeling of acomplishment is hard to find in a modern high performance car, all the rough edges have been designed out and it all feels a bit to easy.
A really good point. The RS6 has electronic everything and I've often felt a bit of a fraud driving it quickly, safe in the knowledge that up to a point, it will correct my mistakes.Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic car, but as I said, it's no lightweight, and it can often feel a bit numb. It's the same story with the 997 I used to have, which is one of the reasons I'm excited about the 1970s 911 on offer at Goodwood.
Anyway, enough of my yakking, thank you all for your time and opinions. I'm going to book it. A report will follow, unless I plant myself arse end first into the West Sussex countryside and daren't come back.
I've done the track experience you're talking about and I have to say I absolutely loved it. It was my first time on track, I did the DB4, the 911 RS rep and the e-type. All were very different but interesting and challenging in their own way. The DB4 was more a case of easing it around - it had a rev limiter set pretty low, but still good fun. The Porsche was a mental machine, I wish I'd had the experience to push it a bit more. I do regret not trying the Cobra.
Anyway, I think you'll love it. Let us know how you get on.
Anyway, I think you'll love it. Let us know how you get on.
bigblock said:
If you have got an RS6 then you are unlikely to be "thrilled" by the straight line peformance or cornering speed of any of the cars on offer. I imagine that the supercar experience would be a bit dissapointing as well.
What you may get satisfaction from whilst driving the classics is a sense of the skill and balance required to drive these types of cars at speed through a linked series of corners. That feeling of acomplishment is hard to find in a modern high performance car, all the rough edges have been designed out and it all feels a bit to easy.
Well all I can say is that the last time I took my E type around Goodwood on a test day there was only one 'modern car' that was faster than me and that was a 996 Cup car running on slicks - I was on Dunlop L sections. I admit the car is an FIA race car but I drove it 100 miles there and back on the road and whilst there saw off all sorts of hot Porsches eg 993 RSLs, 996 GT3s which was great funWhat you may get satisfaction from whilst driving the classics is a sense of the skill and balance required to drive these types of cars at speed through a linked series of corners. That feeling of acomplishment is hard to find in a modern high performance car, all the rough edges have been designed out and it all feels a bit to easy.
I would suggest that you would get more sensation of cornering speed with 'old' suspension and tyres moving about under you than in an efficient modern computer designed performance car. Whether you will be allowed to push the cars that hard is another matter of course.
Thread resurrection time. I did the Classic Car Experience this afternoon at Goodwood, so I thought I'd better come back and report.
I loved it.
It was drizzly and miserable as I set off from London, and then a bit foggy as I came off the A3 at Hindhead, so I was slightly nervous wondering what the weather would be like at the circuit itself. Old cars, maybe still on old tyres, damp track...hmm. Better buy that insurance waiver. However, the rain had stopped and the track was only damp in places by the time I went out at 1pm.
I drove the Lotus Cortina first and my initial impression was how lumpy it was on its old carbs. Next shock was how much I could feel it moving underneath me. Brilliant. I didn't press too hard and we had to let a couple of modern Alfas come by, but the noise it made was such a hoot. As I'd been warned, the three laps went by so quickly.
Next was the beautiful Aston Martin DB4. The badge on the bonnet claimed 'Superleggera'. Not sure Trading Standards would let them get away with that these days. It seemed so big and heavy after the Cortina, but I felt so privileged driving it. The rev limiter was set at just 3,500 so I was hitting that down the Lavant straight. Shame, but then if it was my £120,000 forty-something-year-old car, I'd set it a damn sight lower before letting some stranger drive it.
Final car and my favourite was the 911. Who cares if it wasn't a genuine 2.7RS? It was obviously the most modern of the three cars and was the most suited to throwing round the circuit. I've owned 911s, but they were all water-cooled. A friend with a beard once dismissed them as not being 'proper 911s' and now I know what he means. So small. So loud. So much fun.
And then that was it. 9 laps for £279. Not cheap, but I'd recommend it. The cars were immaculately presented and it was great to have a choice in what I drove too. Not sure if that's because it was just myself and another guy on the experience, but it was very welcome. (Someone else's AC Cobra? On a slightly damp track? Nah...) Richard, my instructor was a gentleman - pushing me to go faster and politely suggestion caution in equal measure.
So finally, thank you all for urging me to try it. It's now my responsibility to urge anyone else thinking about it to do the same.
Is it wrong to prefer all of them to the 8C parked behind them?
The next Jim Clark? Except I didn't quite get it on to three wheels.
Ha ha. Me concentrating.
I really should learn to smile.
This made me smile. I've always wanted to park in these.
I loved it.
It was drizzly and miserable as I set off from London, and then a bit foggy as I came off the A3 at Hindhead, so I was slightly nervous wondering what the weather would be like at the circuit itself. Old cars, maybe still on old tyres, damp track...hmm. Better buy that insurance waiver. However, the rain had stopped and the track was only damp in places by the time I went out at 1pm.
I drove the Lotus Cortina first and my initial impression was how lumpy it was on its old carbs. Next shock was how much I could feel it moving underneath me. Brilliant. I didn't press too hard and we had to let a couple of modern Alfas come by, but the noise it made was such a hoot. As I'd been warned, the three laps went by so quickly.
Next was the beautiful Aston Martin DB4. The badge on the bonnet claimed 'Superleggera'. Not sure Trading Standards would let them get away with that these days. It seemed so big and heavy after the Cortina, but I felt so privileged driving it. The rev limiter was set at just 3,500 so I was hitting that down the Lavant straight. Shame, but then if it was my £120,000 forty-something-year-old car, I'd set it a damn sight lower before letting some stranger drive it.
Final car and my favourite was the 911. Who cares if it wasn't a genuine 2.7RS? It was obviously the most modern of the three cars and was the most suited to throwing round the circuit. I've owned 911s, but they were all water-cooled. A friend with a beard once dismissed them as not being 'proper 911s' and now I know what he means. So small. So loud. So much fun.
And then that was it. 9 laps for £279. Not cheap, but I'd recommend it. The cars were immaculately presented and it was great to have a choice in what I drove too. Not sure if that's because it was just myself and another guy on the experience, but it was very welcome. (Someone else's AC Cobra? On a slightly damp track? Nah...) Richard, my instructor was a gentleman - pushing me to go faster and politely suggestion caution in equal measure.
So finally, thank you all for urging me to try it. It's now my responsibility to urge anyone else thinking about it to do the same.
Is it wrong to prefer all of them to the 8C parked behind them?
The next Jim Clark? Except I didn't quite get it on to three wheels.
Ha ha. Me concentrating.
I really should learn to smile.
This made me smile. I've always wanted to park in these.
Edited by gmk666 on Saturday 20th November 23:01
Greenie said:
Mithril are the company that run these days at Goodwood. You will probably find it cheaper if you book with them direct rather than one of the "experience" companies. They are a nice bunch.
Agree with you on both counts. Friendly and enthusiastic.I booked with them direct (using the Virgin Experience voucher and then adding to it in cash) and it was a tenner cheaper than doing it all with Virgin.
(I am from Yorkshire.)
From my experience of thrill day things the instructors want to protect the car from crap drivers but also want people to have fun so someone with obvious mechanical sympathy, who is listening and paying attention may get more reign than the prat who sidesteps the clutch misses changes and isn't looking out.
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