By guest author Basem Wasef, Guide to Motorcycles
If you lust over exotic cars but don't have the cash to take the six-figure plunge, have no fear: there are more options than ever for regular Joes itching to drive supercars.
World Class Driving is one of the most affordable possibilities, offering a half-day of seat time in of five bona fide exotics for $1,495. The company is part traveling circus, part Fantasy Camp for exotic car nuts; their fleet of supercars travels from location to location, spreading automotive cheer to anybody with a license, insurance, and of course the price of admission.
EXOTICS FOR (ALMOST) EVERYBODY!
World Class Driving features a serious array of vehicles, a point driven home by company founder John Paul Libert's welcome speech at the Sherwood Country Club in Westlake Village, California.
"Unfortunately, our Mercedes-McLaren SLR was held up on the way back from our Hawaii event," he tells the assembled group, which consists of about a dozen die-hard aficionados. Though it's a disappointing omission, he's managed to procure an adequate replacement: a $170,470 Callaway Corvette C16.
After getting acquainted with fellow gearheads and enjoying a catered lunch, Libert addresses the crowd and mentions, among other points, that he would like us to drive as though we just wrote a six-figure check to Ferrari Beverly Hills and were driving our very own personal cars. Point taken.
Shortly after the "please don't crash any cars" speech, we walk out to the valet where an impressive collection of four-wheeled finery is displayed before us: a Ferrari 599 ($270,484), Bentley Continental Speed GT ($206,285), Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder ($217,560), Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet ($136,500), and the aforementioned $170,470 Corvette Callaway C16. Not too shabby.
GETTING ON THE ROAD
Unlike other companies, World Class Driving allows you to drive their cars on public roads, not private tracks. That distinction makes the experience vary wildly, depending on location. Our plan, we're told, is to traverse the twisty roads around Malibu, head up near Point Mugu, and take Pacific Coast Highway back down towards more canyon roads; a fantastic route, but one also plagued with some slow-moving traffic and the occasional speed trap.
We're instructed to follow pro racer Didier Theys ahead of us in a rented Chrysler 300C (equipped, incidentally, with a radar detector.) He ensures our pace stays within a (relatively) legal range, and pulls us over for driver swaps. Keeping up the rear is a far less anonymous ride, a striking C8 Spyker that happens to be tagging along for the ride.
I ride shotgun with Theys for the first round, watching the caravan of exotics in the rearview as his Valentine One radar detector scans for local enforcement. Didier's a sharp driver and he maneuvers this two-ton sedan expertly, and his pace is adequately entertaining, but not excessive.
Just out of the country club gates it turns out our cars need to be gassed up, so our rolling parade of badness piles into an unsuspecting gas station. In this affluent neck of the woods our entourage still stands out in traffic, but we're more interested in the thrill of driving these cars than being seen. The fuel stop is a frustrating delay, but we make up for it with extra driving time later in the day.
FERRARI 599
It's my turn behind the wheel after the first stop, and I climb into the cockpit of the Ferrari 599. "Man," I think to myself as we wind through the serpentine twists of Potrero Canyon, "this thing is gorgeous." The V12 hums effortlessly along, and everything from the cabin's hand-stitched leather to the Manettino-equipped steering wheel feels tailor made for the driver. The Ferrari is about as dynamically close to perfection as anything I've ever driven; everything is wonderfully modulated, from the crisp but controlled steering feedback to the eerily intuitive handling. On top of all that, engine power seems virtually limitless—in fact, when we hit a straightaway on PCH I rev the engine so hard it compresses me snugly into the form-fitting seats; the rush of acceleration is breathtaking, and the six-liter V12 doesn't seem like it's breaking a sweat. I think I'm in love.
My ride comes to an end a few miles later, and now it's time to ride shotgun for the next leg. The Spyker is available, so I flip the scissor door up, contort into the road-hugging cockpit, and enjoy the view through the tiny visor… until I realize we're so low that pebbles kicked up by the car ahead are pelting me in the face. This wouldn't happen in a Mitsubishi EVO X, I think to myself.
CALLAWAY CORVETTE C16
Another stop and I'm in the driver seat of the Callaway C16. Though it's gussied up with bodywork that makes it resemble the Ferrari 599 at a glance, the interior is typical 'Vette; even with the optional leather dash trim, this doesn't feel quite like a premium exotic. In fact, the cabin is downright cheesy, especially compared to the far more expensive Ferrari. Power from the supercharged 580 horsepower V8 is impressive, but shifting isn't; the steering wheel-mounted shifter looks like the same unit found in the Chevy Malibu. The five-speed slushbox takes way too long to swap cogs, so you've got to click the button about 1,000 rpm in advance of your desired shift points; that in concert with the car's tendency to understeer doesn't put the C16 at the top of my exotic car wish list.
