Exotics Racing @ Las Vegas Review
12-03-12, 07:37 AM
#1
Exotics Racing @ Las Vegas Review
RACING SCHOOL, Exotics racing school is the ultimate driving experience at Las Vegas Speedway with Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche.
I had gone to Exotics Racing in Las Vegas this past weekend and had a blast. They have a very nice facility, professionally and efficiently run. Instructors are very experienced and push you harder than you normally would go. They allow you to take as many pictures of the cars as you want, inside and out as long as no one is using them. They had about 15 cars out for people to drive. The facility is very nice, glass windows for a great view, bleachers like a racing grand stand for you to watch all the cars go by. Plenty of opportunities for onlookers to take pictures of the cars in action. My only hiccup was they called me the day before and said their Nissan GTR broke down and wouldn’t be available. So instead I chose the SLS AMG and they gave me an extra lap for the inconvenience. I really wanted to drive the GTR, maybe some other time. A lot of people had showed up around 1030 for my timeslot yet they handled it well. More people were showing up for the next 1130 timeslot and there wasn’t any hold ups despite the amount of people.
They start off by giving everyone a 30 minute class on what to expect, what the cones mean (brake zones, downshift points, apexes, etc) and they drive you 2 laps in a Porsche Cayenne S so you get to see the track before getting into the car. Even if you don’t drive they allow you to attend the class. During the drives they guide you around the track, when to shift, brake, etc. They wanted you to pay attention to the track instead of looking at the gauges. Because of that I don’t know what my top speeds were on the straight. I’m going to guess it was similar to MSR in Angleton which was 120mph or so. Maybe higher since I drove more powerful cars. I chose to get video of my experience so I will upload those to youtube sometime. They offer a 2 lap Ride Along experience where there is a crazy guy in a Z06 doing power slides, drifting, doughnuts, racking up an hourly tire bill with you in the passenger seat. I think they said they can go through a couple sets of rear tires on that Z06 the way he drives it. He basically tries to scare the living daylights out of you or make you lose your lunch. The whole experience was worth it adding more exotic car driving experiences under my belt. Worth every penny getting to drive someone else’s million dollars worth of hardware on a track.
If you find yourself in Vegas I would highly recommend this place. I'm not a gambler, drinker, clubber, but this is how I play in Vegas.
Porsche Cayman R: 330hp, 2800lbs, $70k. Getting in the car, looks and feels like any other Porsche. Very basic interior but even more so with the Cayman R which is the stripped down version of the S for lower weight. It even goes as far as to have nylon loops like on a backpack as your door handle for weight savings. So when you get out it feels like you are pulling a parachute ripcord. Cockpit did not feel tight at all despite it being the smallest car of the group. Cayman R was very precise, go kart like handling. Felt very fast being the most lightweight car they had. I had driven this car first as the “learning car” so that I could drive the faster cars better. Cayman R can easily be one of the fastest cars out of their inventory due to its lightweight and good power.
Mercedes SLS AMG: 563 hp, 3600lbs, $200k. I wasn’t really feeling going into it because I really wanted to drive the GTR instead. All I can say is it is a very brutal and savage car. Beastly amount of power and torque. If you can imagine yourself smashing a wall with a sledgehammer to the sound of a low and smooth V8 tone that’s pretty much how it was. Not as precise and tight as the other cars as this one is intended more as a grand tourer. Engine wasn’t screaming like the other cars and the suspension was softer and more comfortable. Somewhat reminded me of the Audi R8 but with a lot more power. However, the torque was making my stomach grumpy. I was used to the power curve in the Cayman R and it was a drastic increase in power. Cockpit felt very cramped though. I had to collapse the steering wheel all the way because if I didn’t my elbows would hit the seat’s side supports while cornering. Cayman felt like it had more room. I really really liked the gullwing doors.
Ferrari 458 Italia: 562 hp, 3274 lbs, $275k. Best interior by far, the first thing I noticed was the 9000 rpm redline. Very exciting. The steering ratio is the lowest of all the cars for quicker handling. It caught me off guard in the beginning as I was used to the previous cars. It caused me to turn in early for the first few turns. The power is very predictable and linear throughout. Engine is a screamer and I had prematurely upshifted sometimes because how loud it was getting and thought it was near redline but it was only at 7500 rpm. Paddle shifter configuration took some time getting used to since they are steering column mounted. Every other car was steering wheel mounted. Ideally you should not be up/down shifting during a turn, only when the wheel is as straight as possible so it shouldn’t really matter where the paddles are mounted in the end. 458 had the smoothest and fastest shift times of any of the cars it felt like a video game. With the high redline and quick shifting the 458 just feels like it could keep going and going. Steering and suspension were extremely precise and very go kart like balance. Despite it not being the lightest car in the bunch it still felt very light almost like the Cayman. Bottom line, the superior car in every single way out of this bunch. The instructors weren’t joking when they said when you come back to talk to use you will like the 458 the best. If I come back someday to try again at the GTR or a Lexus LFA if they get one, I would probably get another round in the 458, it was just that good. On Top Gear’s list of laptimes the 458 is .1 second slower than the Ferrari Enzo confirming the 458’s bad asstitude.
Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4: 700hp, AWD, 3470lbs, $400k. The best looking car out of them. The Aventador here was mean green and very F22 stealth fighter like. Interior like the Gallardo I drove sometime back doesn’t really impress, very plasticy, and not deserving of a $440k car. Huge center console that completely separates the driver and passenger kind of like a Viper. Transmission is probably really huge since it is AWD. Aventador had good interior space with it being very long with a low roofline. Only weighs a couple hundred pounds more than the 458 but it felt a lot heavier and bulker driving. I had to brake a lot harder than the other cars before cornering. It wasn’t as precise as the 458 in the corners. Probably due to the AWD and higher steering ratio. Most AWD systems tend to understeer. I had to turn the wheel a lot more for cornering and I was used to the 458 I had driven just before. Very high power just like the SLS but less brutal and more grip with the AWD. The big thing that annoyed me driving this car was the transmission. It has a very noticeable hard jerk on shifts. My IS feels like it shifts smoother. Shifting is nowhere near as quick and smooth as the 458 was. Looking online the Aventador has a single clutch which confirms it’s an SMG. For a car in this price range it needs to have a DCT like the rest of the cars had, even the $70k Cayman had one.
I had gone to Exotics Racing in Las Vegas this past weekend and had a blast. They have a very nice facility, professionally and efficiently run. Instructors are very experienced and push you harder than you normally would go. They allow you to take as many pictures of the cars as you want, inside and out as long as no one is using them. They had about 15 cars out for people to drive. The facility is very nice, glass windows for a great view, bleachers like a racing grand stand for you to watch all the cars go by. Plenty of opportunities for onlookers to take pictures of the cars in action. My only hiccup was they called me the day before and said their Nissan GTR broke down and wouldn’t be available. So instead I chose the SLS AMG and they gave me an extra lap for the inconvenience. I really wanted to drive the GTR, maybe some other time. A lot of people had showed up around 1030 for my timeslot yet they handled it well. More people were showing up for the next 1130 timeslot and there wasn’t any hold ups despite the amount of people.
They start off by giving everyone a 30 minute class on what to expect, what the cones mean (brake zones, downshift points, apexes, etc) and they drive you 2 laps in a Porsche Cayenne S so you get to see the track before getting into the car. Even if you don’t drive they allow you to attend the class. During the drives they guide you around the track, when to shift, brake, etc. They wanted you to pay attention to the track instead of looking at the gauges. Because of that I don’t know what my top speeds were on the straight. I’m going to guess it was similar to MSR in Angleton which was 120mph or so. Maybe higher since I drove more powerful cars. I chose to get video of my experience so I will upload those to youtube sometime. They offer a 2 lap Ride Along experience where there is a crazy guy in a Z06 doing power slides, drifting, doughnuts, racking up an hourly tire bill with you in the passenger seat. I think they said they can go through a couple sets of rear tires on that Z06 the way he drives it. He basically tries to scare the living daylights out of you or make you lose your lunch. The whole experience was worth it adding more exotic car driving experiences under my belt. Worth every penny getting to drive someone else’s million dollars worth of hardware on a track.
If you find yourself in Vegas I would highly recommend this place. I'm not a gambler, drinker, clubber, but this is how I play in Vegas.
Porsche Cayman R: 330hp, 2800lbs, $70k. Getting in the car, looks and feels like any other Porsche. Very basic interior but even more so with the Cayman R which is the stripped down version of the S for lower weight. It even goes as far as to have nylon loops like on a backpack as your door handle for weight savings. So when you get out it feels like you are pulling a parachute ripcord. Cockpit did not feel tight at all despite it being the smallest car of the group. Cayman R was very precise, go kart like handling. Felt very fast being the most lightweight car they had. I had driven this car first as the “learning car” so that I could drive the faster cars better. Cayman R can easily be one of the fastest cars out of their inventory due to its lightweight and good power.
Mercedes SLS AMG: 563 hp, 3600lbs, $200k. I wasn’t really feeling going into it because I really wanted to drive the GTR instead. All I can say is it is a very brutal and savage car. Beastly amount of power and torque. If you can imagine yourself smashing a wall with a sledgehammer to the sound of a low and smooth V8 tone that’s pretty much how it was. Not as precise and tight as the other cars as this one is intended more as a grand tourer. Engine wasn’t screaming like the other cars and the suspension was softer and more comfortable. Somewhat reminded me of the Audi R8 but with a lot more power. However, the torque was making my stomach grumpy. I was used to the power curve in the Cayman R and it was a drastic increase in power. Cockpit felt very cramped though. I had to collapse the steering wheel all the way because if I didn’t my elbows would hit the seat’s side supports while cornering. Cayman felt like it had more room. I really really liked the gullwing doors.
Ferrari 458 Italia: 562 hp, 3274 lbs, $275k. Best interior by far, the first thing I noticed was the 9000 rpm redline. Very exciting. The steering ratio is the lowest of all the cars for quicker handling. It caught me off guard in the beginning as I was used to the previous cars. It caused me to turn in early for the first few turns. The power is very predictable and linear throughout. Engine is a screamer and I had prematurely upshifted sometimes because how loud it was getting and thought it was near redline but it was only at 7500 rpm. Paddle shifter configuration took some time getting used to since they are steering column mounted. Every other car was steering wheel mounted. Ideally you should not be up/down shifting during a turn, only when the wheel is as straight as possible so it shouldn’t really matter where the paddles are mounted in the end. 458 had the smoothest and fastest shift times of any of the cars it felt like a video game. With the high redline and quick shifting the 458 just feels like it could keep going and going. Steering and suspension were extremely precise and very go kart like balance. Despite it not being the lightest car in the bunch it still felt very light almost like the Cayman. Bottom line, the superior car in every single way out of this bunch. The instructors weren’t joking when they said when you come back to talk to use you will like the 458 the best. If I come back someday to try again at the GTR or a Lexus LFA if they get one, I would probably get another round in the 458, it was just that good. On Top Gear’s list of laptimes the 458 is .1 second slower than the Ferrari Enzo confirming the 458’s bad asstitude.
Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4: 700hp, AWD, 3470lbs, $400k. The best looking car out of them. The Aventador here was mean green and very F22 stealth fighter like. Interior like the Gallardo I drove sometime back doesn’t really impress, very plasticy, and not deserving of a $440k car. Huge center console that completely separates the driver and passenger kind of like a Viper. Transmission is probably really huge since it is AWD. Aventador had good interior space with it being very long with a low roofline. Only weighs a couple hundred pounds more than the 458 but it felt a lot heavier and bulker driving. I had to brake a lot harder than the other cars before cornering. It wasn’t as precise as the 458 in the corners. Probably due to the AWD and higher steering ratio. Most AWD systems tend to understeer. I had to turn the wheel a lot more for cornering and I was used to the 458 I had driven just before. Very high power just like the SLS but less brutal and more grip with the AWD. The big thing that annoyed me driving this car was the transmission. It has a very noticeable hard jerk on shifts. My IS feels like it shifts smoother. Shifting is nowhere near as quick and smooth as the 458 was. Looking online the Aventador has a single clutch which confirms it’s an SMG. For a car in this price range it needs to have a DCT like the rest of the cars had, even the $70k Cayman had one.
12-03-12, 11:45 AM
#3
Very nice! I have been wanting to do something like for a long time now, and i've seen the advertisements for this place while in Vegas too. I definitely want to get behind the wheel of the R8 and the 458 Italia next time i'm in Vegas. Glad you had a good experience with it! 
Question tho - When you take it out on the track after the instructional stuff are you alone? can you have a passenger ride along? Or do they seat an instructor with you at all times?
I've been wanting to try this out too..
http://www.worldclassdriving.com/dri...tics-las-vegas
Question tho - When you take it out on the track after the instructional stuff are you alone? can you have a passenger ride along? Or do they seat an instructor with you at all times?
I've been wanting to try this out too..
http://www.worldclassdriving.com/dri...tics-las-vegas
12-03-12, 12:41 PM
#4
feel free to ask any questions. I need to process the videos and you can get a good idea of what the experience is like. I will post them whenever I can. I've done a similar event at the MSR Houston track in Angleton, TX. There I drove the R8 and Gallardo. I found the Vegas track to be more difficult than MSR. Here is the thread to that with some videos. You can pretty much expect the instructors to be like this. They are very helpful and will point out mistakes as they happen so can correct it on the next go around. Without an instructor with you, youre just going to be all over the place with no feedback to improve yourself and then you spoil the money you spent for the experience. Some people think an instructor with you is annoying but far from it. It is essential for the experience.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...r-houston.html
the instructor is with you in the car. It is good to have them there, they know the track, they push you. If I was let loose on the track by myself I would be too scared to drive it to a higher level. The instructors really push you and make it much more fun and youll drive faster and smoother. So since they are with you there are no ride alongs since the cars are 2 seaters. You are allowed to pass slower cars when its safe. The instructors will guide you. I passed up this F430 twice when I was in the 458. At the end, they gave me a free lap in the Aventador because I was behind a slower F430 drive for a while.
Cars range in price, the Cayman R was $199 for 5 laps and the Aventador was $450 for 5 laps. That Cayman R is a big bang for the buck. I used it as the "learner car" but it was very capable and fun to drive.
World Class Driving is a little different. You basically cruise on public roads and stop at scenic spots during the tour, take pictures, swap with another car and continue. Its more of a tour with an exotic. No track time or anything. Youre not driving them hard you have to drive at the speed limit. Something like this is great for my parents who dont feel like tracking the car but do want to drive an exotic. I suggested they try it on their next trip.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...r-houston.html
the instructor is with you in the car. It is good to have them there, they know the track, they push you. If I was let loose on the track by myself I would be too scared to drive it to a higher level. The instructors really push you and make it much more fun and youll drive faster and smoother. So since they are with you there are no ride alongs since the cars are 2 seaters. You are allowed to pass slower cars when its safe. The instructors will guide you. I passed up this F430 twice when I was in the 458. At the end, they gave me a free lap in the Aventador because I was behind a slower F430 drive for a while.
Cars range in price, the Cayman R was $199 for 5 laps and the Aventador was $450 for 5 laps. That Cayman R is a big bang for the buck. I used it as the "learner car" but it was very capable and fun to drive.
World Class Driving is a little different. You basically cruise on public roads and stop at scenic spots during the tour, take pictures, swap with another car and continue. Its more of a tour with an exotic. No track time or anything. Youre not driving them hard you have to drive at the speed limit. Something like this is great for my parents who dont feel like tracking the car but do want to drive an exotic. I suggested they try it on their next trip.
Last edited by 4TehNguyen; 12-03-12 at 12:50 PM.
12-03-12, 01:03 PM
#5
Oh hey that was you that posted that thread! lol nice to see you got a chance to do this one in Vegas then! Interesting point about the instructor actually boosting the experience rather then hindering it. Didn't think of it like that. I def wanna try it!
BTW....do you have to purchase insurance or something when you go? or is it included in the price? Seeing as its on the track, most people's insurance wouldn't cover the car.
BTW....do you have to purchase insurance or something when you go? or is it included in the price? Seeing as its on the track, most people's insurance wouldn't cover the car.
12-03-12, 01:14 PM
#6
everything is included. No paper work to fill out, just a brief waiver. With the instructor you will get to drive the car the way its meant to be driven. Instead of getting sent out by yourself and it turning into a complete mess and you just spend $500 to make yourself look like a tool on the track.
12-03-12, 01:16 PM
#7
Lexus Test Driver
Thanks for the extensive writeup! I didn't know there was ever a program at MSR. I am Houston-based and am in Vegas every month but have never gotten around to doing any of the exotic experiences. I would love to try the Cayman R, seems like a bargain at $200.
Insurance is included in the price, which is one reason why it might seem high.
Insurance is included in the price, which is one reason why it might seem high.
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12-03-12, 01:26 PM
#8
the MSR one isnt permanent they just came out that weekend. That outfit is based in Orlando.. I dont feel the price is that high. Where else can you drive someone else's car way past the speed limit without getting into trouble. I think this is the only real way you can experience an exotic car. Driving it on the street is boring. I go to drive a million dollars worth of hardware instead of gambling it away.
12-03-12, 02:54 PM
#10
The big thing that annoyed me driving this car was the transmission. It has a very noticeable hard jerk on shifts. My IS feels like it shifts smoother. Shifting is nowhere near as quick and smooth as the 458 was. Looking online the Aventador has a single clutch which confirms it’s an SMG. For a car in this price range it needs to have a DCT like the rest of the cars had, even the $70k Cayman had one.
12-03-12, 05:44 PM
#12
I wasn’t really feeling going into it because I really wanted to drive the GTR instead. All I can say is it is a very brutal and savage car
SLS is NA and V8 oozing pedigree and poise that's all you need to know. GTR is a toy in comparison
12-03-12, 07:51 PM
#14
Pole Position
Awesome review! Thanks for sharing. I gotta check it out the next time I'm in Vegas. And I too. Would take the more visceral GTR over the SLS, price and pedigree be damned!
