Super car driving experience help
Discussion
Hi all
I want to book a super car experience for my sons birthday and need some advice.
He's 19 and passed his test 8 months ago so has limited experience and none driving a high performance vehicle. Looking online are most of these days the case of jumping in the car and getting on with it or is there an instructor in the car also? Not sure it's a good idea giving someone the keys to a supercar with limited experience and telling them to get on with it. Dont I want to watch him run out of talent and slam it into a wall.
Also any recommendations would be great, we are located west of London 10 miles from Heathrow, so Brands or Silverstone are perfect.
Cheers
I want to book a super car experience for my sons birthday and need some advice.
He's 19 and passed his test 8 months ago so has limited experience and none driving a high performance vehicle. Looking online are most of these days the case of jumping in the car and getting on with it or is there an instructor in the car also? Not sure it's a good idea giving someone the keys to a supercar with limited experience and telling them to get on with it. Dont I want to watch him run out of talent and slam it into a wall.
Also any recommendations would be great, we are located west of London 10 miles from Heathrow, so Brands or Silverstone are perfect.
Cheers
You'll be pleased to know that there is no chance of him being handed the keys and told to have fun.
He'll be with a member of staff at all times and instructed on how to drive the car, what gear to be in and when he can open the taps. This will also be determined by the track and weather conditions too.
These events are a very safe experience, you have nothing to worry about.
Put it this way, when I once chose an Arial Atom, the instructor wouldn't let me use first at all. Had to set off in second and very quickly more through to 5th. I was then told to leave it in 5th the entire time, even for the slow tight bends. It was still plenty quick enough, but I hardly got to experience the full acceleration of that car.
He'll be with a member of staff at all times and instructed on how to drive the car, what gear to be in and when he can open the taps. This will also be determined by the track and weather conditions too.
These events are a very safe experience, you have nothing to worry about.
Put it this way, when I once chose an Arial Atom, the instructor wouldn't let me use first at all. Had to set off in second and very quickly more through to 5th. I was then told to leave it in 5th the entire time, even for the slow tight bends. It was still plenty quick enough, but I hardly got to experience the full acceleration of that car.
Edited by Lincsls1 on Friday 21st October 19:30
I would suggest you book directly with the circuit for Brands (look at MSV website) or Silverstone.
Be aware that some Silverstone stuff gets done on the Stowe circuit which is not part of the main GP layout, it’s a good little track but really you want him to have the experience of driving on the main circuit (or part of it).
Brands will mainly offer M4 and single seater experiences, obviously the single seater would be without an instructor
but they would get training in the saloon car first, or they can do two sessions in the M4 depending on what you book.
Be aware that some Silverstone stuff gets done on the Stowe circuit which is not part of the main GP layout, it’s a good little track but really you want him to have the experience of driving on the main circuit (or part of it).
Brands will mainly offer M4 and single seater experiences, obviously the single seater would be without an instructor
but they would get training in the saloon car first, or they can do two sessions in the M4 depending on what you book. 
Most companies offer something like a “3 mile” or a “6 mile” option in a number of different cars, ie you could do a 3 car package with 3 miles in each. It’s far better to do fewer cars but more laps ie 2 cars at 6 miles each.
Also, always take the option of the siting laps as a passenger in whatever humble saloon car they have available, it will give you some idea where the circuit is going when you get to drive the Supercar!!
Also, always take the option of the siting laps as a passenger in whatever humble saloon car they have available, it will give you some idea where the circuit is going when you get to drive the Supercar!!
Personally I'd go for one of the 1-2-1 experiences at Thruxton, more track time and better instruction and you'll learn more about car handling.
https://thruxtonracing.co.uk/experiences/porsche-c...
https://thruxtonracing.co.uk/experiences/porsche-c...
When I got my 911, I got the free trip to the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone. Due to some messing around on the OPC side I also managed to get my wife added for her own drive.
As we were both going, we bought our sons their own experiences too so we could all go together. Timed nicely as Christmas presents.
It's quite a bit more expensive (~£500) but I think it's excellent - decent track time with very good instructors who will ask you what you want to get out of the time (you have half a day).
The boys each had a C2S and had a riot - the intructors recognised they were younger (18 and 20) and tailored it for them to have a great time. My oldest son has a Golf R and wanted to get some instruction in prep for his first track day and the younger one has a 220i coupe so wanted some rear wheel drive hooning experience - all completely catered for in the right environment! They also got taught lots around car control (ice hill and kick plate) which I hope they have benefited from in their normal day-to-day driving at regular speeds.
Their instructors commented to us afterwards they thought it was a great idea to teach the boys some skills which would ultimately (and hopefully) keep them safe.
You get an amazing breakfast and lunch too - proper restaurant quality.
Bit of a long winded way to say I think this is the perfect introduction to driving a "fast" car and IMHO much better value for money than 4 laps in a super car with an instructor who wants to get you in and out of the car as quickly as possible and his finger hovering over some sort of kill switch.
As we were both going, we bought our sons their own experiences too so we could all go together. Timed nicely as Christmas presents.
It's quite a bit more expensive (~£500) but I think it's excellent - decent track time with very good instructors who will ask you what you want to get out of the time (you have half a day).
The boys each had a C2S and had a riot - the intructors recognised they were younger (18 and 20) and tailored it for them to have a great time. My oldest son has a Golf R and wanted to get some instruction in prep for his first track day and the younger one has a 220i coupe so wanted some rear wheel drive hooning experience - all completely catered for in the right environment! They also got taught lots around car control (ice hill and kick plate) which I hope they have benefited from in their normal day-to-day driving at regular speeds.
Their instructors commented to us afterwards they thought it was a great idea to teach the boys some skills which would ultimately (and hopefully) keep them safe.
You get an amazing breakfast and lunch too - proper restaurant quality.
Bit of a long winded way to say I think this is the perfect introduction to driving a "fast" car and IMHO much better value for money than 4 laps in a super car with an instructor who wants to get you in and out of the car as quickly as possible and his finger hovering over some sort of kill switch.
Edited by Paulsd on Friday 28th October 10:12
FWIW said:
If it fits in the budget, Palmersport days are a million times better than ‘experience’ days.
I did a day at Palmersport earlier this year having concluded the supercar experiences didn't sound worth it due to the restrictions. It really was amazing; all day people wanting you to drive much faster than you think is particularly possible. None of this 'only use gear X' guff or rev limits. Plus I found that I was quite surprised by what i enjoyed. I thought the race-spec Renault Clio's would be a let down, but they were so much more drivable than some of the other cars they were one of the highlights of the day. My wife bouight me an expeience day at Silverstone for my 60th, as she knew I already did track days in my own car.
Fortunately she asked me before she booked it. She had been going to book a few minutes in each of 3 supercars - I opted for a fair chunk of time in a Lotus Exige instead. My own car is a TVR (light weight, big engine, rear wheel drive for the OP's purposes), so the Exige was a different twist on a similar theme, and the experience she bought me gave me enough time to learn the car properly and enjoy it.
Fortunately she asked me before she booked it. She had been going to book a few minutes in each of 3 supercars - I opted for a fair chunk of time in a Lotus Exige instead. My own car is a TVR (light weight, big engine, rear wheel drive for the OP's purposes), so the Exige was a different twist on a similar theme, and the experience she bought me gave me enough time to learn the car properly and enjoy it.
Did one of these when I was 13, drove a 911 & gallardo, which was definitely unforgettable. Think we clocked about 90 on the straight; I wasn’t wanting to go any faster, but the instructor kept telling me to “plant it.”
Surprised there wasn’t any pedals on his side to be honest. I wouldn’t trust a kid who’s only experience is GTA and need for speed.
Surprised there wasn’t any pedals on his side to be honest. I wouldn’t trust a kid who’s only experience is GTA and need for speed.
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