Help me choose please
Discussion
I've just been given a "supercar" experience as a birthday present and have a choice of cars to try.
I've driven a lot of slow cars fast over the last 40 odd years of driving but not too many properly fast cars. Out and out speed doesn't impress me, I'd rather get my speed thrill from a fast bike, but I enjoy honing my skills. Can you help me choose which car for a brief experience? I'll have to add that I'm 6'4", 18 stone, and at 60, not quite as flexible as I'd like to be so nothing that's too tight a squeeze.
The Vantage is on my shortlist, I'm presuming it'll be roomy and comfortable, loads of power and torque, and something I can enjoy trying to drive well.
I'd love to try the R8 if it was a proper track day, take it to my limits, but not sure if I'd get the most of it on a short "experience"
GTR... Nah, it's just about noise and bling...or tell me I'm wrong.
Porsche 911 also on my shortlist, it's been a "supercar" since I was a boy. I've always wanted to try the rear engine experience but the closest I got was rallying a Skoda Estelle 30 years ago.
Ferrari and Lambo...no thanks, bling and showing off as far as I'm concerned...or tell me I'm wrong.
I'm sure I'd fit in the M3 and enjoy a bit of drifting but I can do that in the field at home, not special enough.
The Atom is the wildcard, I'd love to try one, a cross between a car and a bike and a go-cart, but like a go-cart not sure if I'd fit.
Any advice?
I've driven a lot of slow cars fast over the last 40 odd years of driving but not too many properly fast cars. Out and out speed doesn't impress me, I'd rather get my speed thrill from a fast bike, but I enjoy honing my skills. Can you help me choose which car for a brief experience? I'll have to add that I'm 6'4", 18 stone, and at 60, not quite as flexible as I'd like to be so nothing that's too tight a squeeze.
The Vantage is on my shortlist, I'm presuming it'll be roomy and comfortable, loads of power and torque, and something I can enjoy trying to drive well.
I'd love to try the R8 if it was a proper track day, take it to my limits, but not sure if I'd get the most of it on a short "experience"
GTR... Nah, it's just about noise and bling...or tell me I'm wrong.
Porsche 911 also on my shortlist, it's been a "supercar" since I was a boy. I've always wanted to try the rear engine experience but the closest I got was rallying a Skoda Estelle 30 years ago.
Ferrari and Lambo...no thanks, bling and showing off as far as I'm concerned...or tell me I'm wrong.
I'm sure I'd fit in the M3 and enjoy a bit of drifting but I can do that in the field at home, not special enough.
The Atom is the wildcard, I'd love to try one, a cross between a car and a bike and a go-cart, but like a go-cart not sure if I'd fit.
Any advice?
I had a very similar set of cars to choose from on an experience day. I got to drive 4.
The instructors were VERY cautious. Full throttle was allowed, but upchanges were demanded at around 3.5k-4k revs, braking was done a country mile from a corner and the corner speeds themselves were pretty sedate. Obviously that meant that it was difficult to get any meaningful feel for each of the cars, and being 'experience' cars, they were probably in wildly varying states of upkeep and often not representative of a nicely kept private example.
These were my picks and thoughts ...
Aston Martin V8 Vantage - only manual car there. Felt very similar to the E39 M5 I had at the time. Nice, but not special.
Ferrari F430 - felt pretty tired. Sounded nice.
Nissan GTR - Wow. Just Wow. Even within the instructor's parameters, this was obviously a league above all the others for every performance metric. Shockingly so. Interior felt less tired than the Ferrari, but a lot less special.
Lambo Gallardo - Sounded nice. Felt like a nice place to be. Felt less baggy than the Ferrari.
Now being the only turbo'd car there probably helped the GTR. While the other engines were just starting to wake up the instructors were demanding an upshift ... whereas the GTR was already on boost and feeling strong. Maybe my impressions would have been completely different if allowed to drive at say 7 or 8 10ths rather than the 2 or 3 ... but on that day with those cars, that was what I felt coming away from the day.
I actually won the experience through work, but would have felt pretty unhappy if I'd paid good money to drive fast cars so slowly!
The instructors were VERY cautious. Full throttle was allowed, but upchanges were demanded at around 3.5k-4k revs, braking was done a country mile from a corner and the corner speeds themselves were pretty sedate. Obviously that meant that it was difficult to get any meaningful feel for each of the cars, and being 'experience' cars, they were probably in wildly varying states of upkeep and often not representative of a nicely kept private example.
These were my picks and thoughts ...
Aston Martin V8 Vantage - only manual car there. Felt very similar to the E39 M5 I had at the time. Nice, but not special.
Ferrari F430 - felt pretty tired. Sounded nice.
Nissan GTR - Wow. Just Wow. Even within the instructor's parameters, this was obviously a league above all the others for every performance metric. Shockingly so. Interior felt less tired than the Ferrari, but a lot less special.
Lambo Gallardo - Sounded nice. Felt like a nice place to be. Felt less baggy than the Ferrari.
Now being the only turbo'd car there probably helped the GTR. While the other engines were just starting to wake up the instructors were demanding an upshift ... whereas the GTR was already on boost and feeling strong. Maybe my impressions would have been completely different if allowed to drive at say 7 or 8 10ths rather than the 2 or 3 ... but on that day with those cars, that was what I felt coming away from the day.
I actually won the experience through work, but would have felt pretty unhappy if I'd paid good money to drive fast cars so slowly!
That last post sums up experience days quite nicely - not for the experienced driver who has done track days, raced or rallied, for the reasons stated.
They have to deal with a wide range of driving experience levels, including people who have no ability to judge speed or braking points.
Get it wrong with an inexperienced driver and you and your driver are in a whole world of pain and expense.
My wife bought me one of these at Silverstone for a birthday present, as she knew I enjoyed trackdays.
She was well surprised when I chose a half day with a Lotus Exige over several laps in each of four "supercars".
As we had all chosen the Exige over the alternatives, we were allowed to drive the cars to the limit of our abilities.
They have to deal with a wide range of driving experience levels, including people who have no ability to judge speed or braking points.
Get it wrong with an inexperienced driver and you and your driver are in a whole world of pain and expense.
My wife bought me one of these at Silverstone for a birthday present, as she knew I enjoyed trackdays.
She was well surprised when I chose a half day with a Lotus Exige over several laps in each of four "supercars".
As we had all chosen the Exige over the alternatives, we were allowed to drive the cars to the limit of our abilities.
Steve H said:
Venue will end up being more important to the overall experience than car choice, what are your options?
AM Vantage is surprisingly compact inside, manageable enough but an R8 or 911 would be an easier fit and would drive just as well.
As you say vantage is compact, I got to drive an owners round a French race track that’s also public roads and found it quite heavy to drive in all of the controls and was surprised how small it felt in the cabin. I’d put it at the bottom of all the others on the list. AM Vantage is surprisingly compact inside, manageable enough but an R8 or 911 would be an easier fit and would drive just as well.
For me I’d probably do the 4 hot laps plus drive the Atom as my 2 picks.
As some have already said, you will be reined in quite a bit by the instructors, so this will be just for the experience of a supercar rather than seeing what they can do.
I had an experience day in a Gallardo, it was a little tired as a car, but it did feel lovely to drive. The instructor wasn't keen on me shifting, so I would make a point of leaving a corner in a mid range gear and run it out as far as the track allowed me to. I was at Llandow, a small 1.2 mile track, so I would run out of road before I ran out of revs.
I would go with the 911 and maybe the R8 as these are both cars I would love to own, so there is reason to see what that could feel like. The Atom sounds like a good shout though.
I had an experience day in a Gallardo, it was a little tired as a car, but it did feel lovely to drive. The instructor wasn't keen on me shifting, so I would make a point of leaving a corner in a mid range gear and run it out as far as the track allowed me to. I was at Llandow, a small 1.2 mile track, so I would run out of road before I ran out of revs.
I would go with the 911 and maybe the R8 as these are both cars I would love to own, so there is reason to see what that could feel like. The Atom sounds like a good shout though.
Acorn1 said:
Definitely the Atom for me.
This. 100%. I did a Palmer day years ago, M3, single seater, sports racing car, Caterham, Land Rover and Atom. They encouraged us to go as fast as we could and the Atom was by far the most enjoyable experience. Edited by ffc on Monday 25th November 17:05
I’ve done 3 or 4 track experiences each year over the last 15 years.
Go for the Atom. As a pure experience it’s way above the rest.
It’s part of the reason I sold my Boxster and bought an MK Indy with a GSXR1000 as a close cheaper alternative to the Atom.
Also get a hot lap with the instructor driving you in it and bring some wet weather clothing. I just hope they let you drive it properly.
Go for the Atom. As a pure experience it’s way above the rest.
It’s part of the reason I sold my Boxster and bought an MK Indy with a GSXR1000 as a close cheaper alternative to the Atom.
Also get a hot lap with the instructor driving you in it and bring some wet weather clothing. I just hope they let you drive it properly.
Desiderata said:
Thanks all, I'm pretty sure it'll be the Atom...if I fit!
Any largish people have any experience of them?
The Atom will either be the best car on that list, or the worst ... entirely depending on how much the instructor/minder lets you push. If you're pootling round, it'll just be cold, (likely) wet, windy and broadly unenjoyable. If they let you push on a bit, it'll be magical - they are savage and raw on a level I've never experienced before. I drove one on a different experience day to the one I commented on above, and this one had much more enthusiastic instructors! Any largish people have any experience of them?
It was nowhere near 10/10ths ... but definitely enough to feel that it was ferral and crazy beyond anything else with 4 wheels and an MOT.I'm afraid I can't help with the fit, I'm 6 foot tall and need to run round in the shower to get wet ... I fitted fine. Getting in is the same as a single seater racecar. Steering wheel off. Step into the car & stand on the seat. Lower yourself down while feeding your legs forward until your backside reaches the seat. Steering wheel is then clipped back on.
Clarkson drove one on Top Gear ... and he hits the trifecta of being tall, not slim, and not as mobile as some. So if he managed to fit, I'd say there is definitely hope for you.
Had a similar dilemma a while back with a selection of cars. My thoughts were
911 (bland and soft on a track)
430 (or something Ferrari), nice but a little tired
R8 (road biased by went well)
Etc etc
Atom (this was driven by the instructor) - wow!
I was then offered to drive added laps for something like £5 per lap.
‘What else you do have’? Some hot hatches, try one as they are good fun.
Given a list of super cars and a 205 GTI.. the most fun by a long way was the 205 GTI. Yeah it’s not as fast vs the others, but for a total laugh, pedal to the floor on the corners, hanging on to the wheel while the car leant on the suspension / wheeels screeching away… next time I’d do the 80’s hot hatches and ignore the rest.
911 (bland and soft on a track)
430 (or something Ferrari), nice but a little tired
R8 (road biased by went well)
Etc etc
Atom (this was driven by the instructor) - wow!
I was then offered to drive added laps for something like £5 per lap.
‘What else you do have’? Some hot hatches, try one as they are good fun.
Given a list of super cars and a 205 GTI.. the most fun by a long way was the 205 GTI. Yeah it’s not as fast vs the others, but for a total laugh, pedal to the floor on the corners, hanging on to the wheel while the car leant on the suspension / wheeels screeching away… next time I’d do the 80’s hot hatches and ignore the rest.
NeilPot said:
Had a similar dilemma a while back with a selection of cars. My thoughts were
911 (bland and soft on a track)
430 (or something Ferrari), nice but a little tired
R8 (road biased by went well)
Etc etc
Atom (this was driven by the instructor) - wow!
I was then offered to drive added laps for something like £5 per lap.
‘What else you do have’? Some hot hatches, try one as they are good fun.
Given a list of super cars and a 205 GTI.. the most fun by a long way was the 205 GTI. Yeah it’s not as fast vs the others, but for a total laugh, pedal to the floor on the corners, hanging on to the wheel while the car leant on the suspension / wheeels screeching away… next time I’d do the 80’s hot hatches and ignore the rest.
Was the 205GTI with carchaseheros? 911 (bland and soft on a track)
430 (or something Ferrari), nice but a little tired
R8 (road biased by went well)
Etc etc
Atom (this was driven by the instructor) - wow!
I was then offered to drive added laps for something like £5 per lap.
‘What else you do have’? Some hot hatches, try one as they are good fun.
Given a list of super cars and a 205 GTI.. the most fun by a long way was the 205 GTI. Yeah it’s not as fast vs the others, but for a total laugh, pedal to the floor on the corners, hanging on to the wheel while the car leant on the suspension / wheeels screeching away… next time I’d do the 80’s hot hatches and ignore the rest.
I was keen to drive this but after driving their GT40 which was a very ropey I’m a bit wary.
Did drive their Mini Cooper and Escort ( Mazda engine) which were great fun.
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