I wrote back in April about our corporate outing to the racetrack with our Partners, XtremeXperience, and my experience driving the Nissan GT-R and the Corvette Stingray. Recently I was fortunate enough to kick it up a notch courtesy of Montway.
We did another experience at a different track near Chicago, only this time we rented the whole track for two hours and got to drive for six laps at a time instead of the usual three. I was also fortunate enough to be able to drive three separate cars! This time I drove the Corvette C7 Stingray again, then the Audi R8 then the Lamborghini Gallardo.
Learn more about our enclosed auto transport services
Audi R8
I was able to get the feel of the new track while driving the Corvette and this time it seemed faster than I remember before. Next driving the R8 I was really able to appreciate the driving experience after getting six laps in with the Corvette. The first thing that struck me about the R8 was that it seemed really low, which is really saying something compared to a Corvette. It also felt like the R8 was heavier, which technically it is, but not by much (3,582 pounds for the R8 compared to 3,252 for the Corvette.) The R8 also seemed a little sluggish compared to the other cars, it is one of the slower cars in the XtremeXperience fleet but I’d still drive it anytime.
Lamborghini Gallardo
Finally the Lamborghini Gallardo. My first impression of this car was “wow, this is fast.” Of all the times on the track so far, this is the first time when I really felt like “this is what a supercar should feel like.” I was able to get up to about 115 in the longest straight, which is only a quarter-mile. The only downside of the Lamborghini is that it was a little cramped for me, especially while wearing a helmet. My girlfriend on the other hand had the opposite problem. She tried to drive the Lamborghini but was too short to adequately reach the pedals and see the road at the same time.
For first-timers, I’d suggest they try the GT-R first as I did the first time. My theory here is that the great handling is very forgiving and beginners can take corners at higher speeds in a GT-R than they might be able to in most other cars which can allow them to go faster. It’s also a great all-around car. I need to try the GT-R again to see if I can get up to similar top speeds with it as I can in a Ferrari or Lamborghini. It may be that with some experience you’ll have a faster lap time in one of those than the GT-R. After the GT-R, I’d stick to a Ferrari or Lamborghini (or GT-R again.) While all the cars are fun to drive, ultimately some will be better than others and based on personal experience and feedback from others, those seem to be the top cars.
This time around I really focused on trying to drive as technically perfect as I could without just trying to “go as fast as possible.” This definitely helped me go faster and it was a lot less stressful and a lot more fun. The key to getting the most out of the experience is to have the proper expectations of driving on a track and not going as fast as possible down a long straight road. When most people envision an experience where they get to drive one of their dream cars they probably envision driving it as they normally would, however on the track many things are opposite of normal driving. You really need to go into it with an open mind and with the expectation of doing it a few times before really getting the hang of it.
Special thanks to our CEO, Mike, for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Don’t hesitate to get your car shipping quote!
