There was something else that made all these cars look slow...lol.

 

cool, i can't wait to read your reviews. your one line review sounds about right. the gtr is a beast for the cost. lambo is very powerful (brute force) but very heavy and not as balanced. the 458 is great, but lack the feel. the scuderia is a very drivers car

 

Well this pretty much sums it up but I'll go through my drives anyway Henry.



Upon arrival and check-in they take you through an introductory ground course, discussing the basics of track driving, how to use the paddles, the basic characteristics of the cars, etc.

After discussing the cars with a few of the instructors, I asked if I could take the GT-R out first. There were a couple of reasons for this. It is the easiest car to drive out of all of these, plain and simple. The technology and computer assistance in this car are utterly remarkable.

I also wanted to be able to compare all of the other cars to the Nissan, as everything suggests that performance wise it is a true competitor to supercars.

Now, the first couple of laps were more for familiarizing myself with the car. Overall, I felt very comfortable and confident right from the outset. It is a bigger car than my IS F, but still somewhat similar....just with wayyyy more power. Nissan has to be underrating the GT R according to their claims.

I found the handling to be very good....connected, precise....it did what I wanted it to, when I wanted it to. The power was shocking....I actually started to slide the *** end out in turn one surprisingly...lol. Seats were comfortable and held you in place nicely. Exhaust was a bit disappointing, but that's a quick and relatively painless after-market fix.

I have no comments on anything as far as the daily driveablity of it. The technology in the car was something we didn't touch, nor was launch control. It is an amazing track performer and an incredible bang for the buck. If I look at another performance vehicle in the near future, the GT-R will definitely get a long, hard look.

Next I wanted to drive the Murcielago. Now this car is interesting. 640 hp....$500K up here....and a ridiculous well north of 4000 lb curb weight according to the instructor. This car is simply too big and too powerful to perform like the other cars I drove.

Don't get me wrong, it's an extremely cool car, but one that will bite you in the *** in a heartbeat if you don't respect the beast you are piloting. In fact, one of the earlier drivers put it into a full spin, again in turn 1, by sliding the tail and then jumping on the brakes...lol.

The sound, even at start up, was amazing and you can feel the rumble right off the hop. Where I felt confident in the Nissan, for the first couple laps this thing was a bit scary...lol.

I learned very quickly that the transmission is a bit rough. And by rough, I mean it will jerk you back in your seat if you're not shifting at the appropriate times, especially on acceleration. The Murci likes to be pushed, and it wasn't until I figured out I had to get near red-line to shift more smoothly, that the drive became easier.

The steering was good, but it's hard to feel confident in throwing a car with this much power and weight around on your first drive. Ridiculous in a straight line with an amazing exhaust, but by no means a track wizard. The Gallardo will be a much more focused track toy according to the instructors.

Now it was on to the real show....the Ferraris.

I had actually intended on driving the Scud first and then the Italia, but ended up doing the reverse....and am glad it worked out that way.

The Italia is a gorgeous car, inside and out. It had hands down the nicest interior (as far as luxury) of all of the cars. Well laid out, cool displays, lots of tech and gadgets. Beautiful seats. Steering wheel was a little odd.

And then I started it....great exhaust and sound. This car is obviously way lighter than the Murci and a much more track ready vehicle. Once out on the track it bolted down the straight. It is also crazy fast in a straight line, very quick. Getting into turn 1 is where it got interesting.

The steering in the Italia is quite light. Too light, imho (and several of the instructors), and very different than all of the other cars. It just seemed to immediate, almost to the point of being jumpy. It took a couple laps to even get moderately comfortable, but even then, I never felt like I could push it hard like the others.

I was completely surprised that I wasn't as enamored with the 458 like I expected to be. It is an incredible car, but not one that I would likely look to if I won the lottery.

The final car that I experienced was the Ferrari F430 Scuderia.

I can't even begin to explain how much I loved this car. If I won the lottery, I would buy two of these, just so I could have one constantly on the track while the other is being prepped for it's turn.

This is basically a street legal race car. The interior is basic compared to the others, with full carbon fiber. The seats are not what I would want to sit in for a couple hundred mile highway drive. The valve covers and intakes were also carbon fiber. Had a cool steering wheel with the light tach along the top that helped with recognizing shift points.

The real love affair started at ignition. Stupidly loud....and supremely beautiful noise. So loud, that my instructor and I were essentially yelling at each other for the whole ride...lol.

The balance, steering, handling, power are all in perfect combination. It pulls with urgency, yet responds in turns and braking precisely how you expect and need it to. Having spent some time on the track already, it was nice to drive this last and push it a little harder than the others. Knowing my lines and brake points was a definite help in enjoying this car.

Did I mention how much I LOVED the Scud?



All in all, I had a fantastic day and would highly recommend it to anyone. I learned that I love to drive hard on a track.....and that it takes a great deal of skill to pilot high powered machines like these at their limits....a skill I don't possess....yet.

 

awesome review man, thanks!

so it seems like you are a really drivers' car audience you like to be in control rather than having computers do the driving for you, and you negotiate balance very well. that's awesome. too bad you didn't have chance, but i wonder how you would like and compare the scud to say the gt3

 

Excellent review of an experience like none other!