World Class Driving - review

One of each is an option!
Thanks for sharing!

 

i did that too and they shouldn't have taken the ford gt out of the line up. came in a close second to the 430 in my book. Of course the r8 and gtr weren't out when i did it. here is a pic from my world class event. didier theys was in the passenger seat.
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Neat analysis. I'm going to take a class at Infenion in February, and they teach in the R8 (Russell). Should be fun. I am buying the insruance though.

Art

 

I did the World Class Driving Experience last year and it was a terrific. I would recommend it to anyone for whom the $1,500 or so for 1/2 day of entertainment is not a problem. They choose very interesting roads to test the cars on; breakfast or lunch is included at the hotel; there are stops along the way during the drive with snacks and water; and the people who run the program are amongst the best you'll ever meet. I drove --

Lamborghini Gallardo spyder
Porsche 911 Turbo cabriolet
Bentley (turbocharged model)
Calloway C5 supercharged Corvette
Ferrari 599

Also was lucky enough to ride with sometime program host Didier Theys through some mountain roads. He wasn't showing off, but I could sure see the difference between a world class racing driver and the rest of us. Theys is an absolutely charming fellow and a great ambassador for motor sport.

If anyone is interested, say the word and I'll give a quick comparison of the cars IMHO.

 

I did a World Class Driving experience in the burbs of Chicagoland:

F430
Gallardo
Porsche 911 something
Vette
Bentley something
Maser something

The Maser was whimpy and the Bentley boring. The Vette was very raw and lots of plastic. Those were the fillers.

I really did it because I wanted to drive the 430. And of course I did, but to be perfectly honest, it wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be: Yes there was the power and all and of course it is a Ferrari, but there was nothing exotic about it. When I drive my lame-ish (performance wise) 308 at least it feels like a Ferrari. You have that feeling of sitting in a fighter jet, something totally missing in the 430. However the Gallardo offered all that and was a fantastic experience throughout.

Surprisingly the Porsche was the most fun. If it had a Ferrari badge, I would have to buy one immediately... I always bash Porsches because they're so prevalent, but by gholly, it was the most fun and refined car of the whole group.

So in short: That day was a hoot and can indeed change one's previous conceptions of these cars.

I wanted to sign up with these guys this year again, but the dates didn't work out. Hopefully more luck next year.

 

Rfong:

Here are my highly subjective thoughts on this and I'll pay attention if you have any follow up questions. I'm just an average guy, but I'll tell you everything I know.

The Bentley was an elegant high speed living room. Exactly what they intended to build; nothing I was interested in.

The C5 had plenty of power, but driving it for me was like playing a video game. You did things with the controls and you saw things happen, but you didn't feel the road through your hands on the wheel or your rump on the seat. A great car for a straight line blast, but not for me who values steering feel almost above all else.

The Ferrari 599 was the "best" car of the bunch, but I would not buy one. For me it was too perfect and too sanitary. Wonderful though it was, I didn't feel it was fun. For me, this kind of a car has to have an entertainment factor. For me, the 599 didn't have it.

The Twin Turbo Cabriolet was the spoiler in that every other car's performance was in line with its price. The Porsche felt it should cost twice as much as it does (using the other cars' prices as benchmarks). The steering is very light and precise (Didier told me that is because the engine is hanging off the back of the chassis and it makes the steering feel light). Beautifully made with Teutonic precision, everything worked perfectly. It was the only car of any of them I lost control of (twice). Don't know if it was the tail heavy Porsche or my inexperience with the car. I didn't come close to hitting anything because when I give a cornering grip test, I make sure to have plenty of runoff room. For a daily driver, this is the choice.

The Gallardo spyder: I don't want to influence you too much, but this was my personal favorite. Would never use it as daily driver, but for the car that comes out of the garage on the weekends, this is it. Let me explain that the tires WCD uses on its cars are a great deal more sticky than the ones we would normally buy -- -- a good idea because it enhances the overall WCD experience. I think they told me that the tires last about 5,000 miles or so before they are used up. There were a couple of sections of long constant radius turns where I kept gradually adding speed to try and break the Gallardo loose. I couldn't do it (this is how I "lost" the TT twice). With more time, maybe I could have found the break-free point, but I couldn't get it done. That impressed me.

Even though the top was down, I experienced almost zero wind buffeting (I am 5' 10" tall). Tremendous aerodynamic engineering.

The car was a paddle shifter (I really prefer a stick). In a straight line at 35 mph, I floored it and used the paddles to get to over 100 mph. It happened fast with no fuss. It was almost too easy.

I value engineering in my toys. The idea of a 40 valve V10 appeals to me a great deal.

The car is worth its price for just the down shifting. Tug the left paddle, the engine gives a huge quick blast of revs (with the greatest sound in the world), matches the engine and gears, and engages. I was doing a fair amount of down shifting just to hear it. I've read about people driving through tunnels several times and down shifting just to listen to that sound. Immature? Guilty as charged.

I followed the Gallardo in another car and observed that the movable spoiler does not articulate slowly like the TT wing. The spoiler "pops" up and "pops" down -- -- very Italian and a cool look from behind. You know the Gallardo's exhausts will sometimes emit actual flame. Too much fun at night.

My only complaint about the Gallardo is that the dead pedal is much closer to the driver than the gas and brake pedals, which for me meant having my left leg resting in a rather "half cocked" position. This is the result of the cabin being so far forward (which is very cool) and the driver compartment bumping into the right edge of the left wheel well. Driving position is very important to me, so I would have had to seen whether I would have adjusted to it (most likely, yes). I may be overstating this item because I am sensititive to it.

WCD staff told me that the Gallardo spyder is always the car people want their picture taken in. I think that says it all about the "wow" factor.

There is a Top Gear video where a Gallardo and a 430 are timed on a road racing track in Spain. The Gallardo wins. The 430 is faster off the line, but the Gallardo's AWD does better on the long sweeping turns and produces the better time. Clarkson owns a Gallardo, so factor into that what you will.

The brakes seem fine to me. I didn't do an slow speed maneuvers.

After all this, I don't want to try sell you on the Gallardo. I wrote the most about it because it was what you asked about. I've never driven a 360 or 430, so I don't know what that is about. The Gallardo was my favorite and, although I don't like convertibles, I would have bought the Gallardo Spyder just because it is so much fun. In a car like this, I need to have fun. For me, the Gallardo was kind of an Italian hot rod (I know, heresy), and I thought it was terrific.

My guess is that you can't go wrong with any of the cars you are considering. It's a great problem you've got.

 

this is something that is missing from all post enzo ferraris. A lot of it can be attributed to power steering. It is a new era. not to take away from the 430 which is a truly amazing car in it's own right. but it necessarily feels very different than enzo era cars. but pretty much all pre 90's cars from any manufacturer feels different than the ones today. So i don't really judge the 430 that way. has to be taken as it's own animal. here is the 430 i drove at world class.
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were these track events ?

 

I understand your point, that wasn't for me what was missing: To me seating position and cockpit has a lot to do with how cool a car feels to me. The seats in the 430 are so normal, that it feld like sitting in a regular car. Add to that a wide open cabin and fairly normal looking dash and the exotic thrill is gone. Unlike the Gallardo, which surrounds you like a glove: The high center console and the low seat give you the impression of a fighter jet cockpit. Plus the instruments are just so sexy. Porsche also felt very cool from that perspective.

BTW: I do find the Gallardo cockpit better than that of a Murcie, which is almost boring.

Here some shots from our event with Didier Theys.
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No, it isn't held on a track. There is a lead car driven by one of the WCD staff (our day, it was a rented Dodge) who leads the 5 supercar procession through a route they have chosen that is a mix of straights, interesting curves and nice scenery. There is another staff car at the back. To make this clear: One Dodge, followed by the 5 customer driven super cars, followed by another Dodge. As the customer driver, you can leave as much space as you want to the car ahead of you. For example, when I wanted to do over 100 in the Gallardo (I did over 100 mph in each car) I just slowed down and let the car ahead build up a big lead. When I was ready, I took off. If you get a ticket, it is your own problem.

If any police are reading this: Everything in my posts are complete lies. I am also psychotic and delusional. At this very moment, I think I'm going 120 mph.

 

Tifosi12: What was your take on the Z06 compared to the others?

 

It was very jerky: Throttle response was very abrupt and unpleasant. I didn't enjoy it at all, but given the accolades that car normally gets, I think maybe the one I drove was not properly set up. Dunno.

Regardless, I thought the Vette was disappointing all around: All that plastic in the interior is horrible (I watched Lenno's garage in which they replaced it all with carbon fibre, which improved things quite a bit), but the worst to me is the "hatchback" like trunk. That looked so unfinished and cheap. I'm sure it is practical, but to me was way too reminiscent of a Trans Am.

My personal rating (and keep in mind I'm a total Ferrari nut, neutral on Lambos and love to bash Porsches at any opportunity I get):

1) Gallardo
2) Porsche
3) 430
4) Vette
5) Maser
6) Bentley

With a big gap between the first 3 and the last 3.

 

Hmm, I find a lot of the findings in this post interesting. I was fortunate enough to do side-by-side comparisons with a 430, 360, Gallardo, Bentley GT and Vanquish, and have driven a few 911's in the past, and found something very different.

To me, the Gallardo felt anticlimactic. The steering felt heavy, a bit dull even, and it was difficult for me to sense the limits of the car. There's no doubt the car was fast and stuck to the ground, but there was no drama in the acceleration and I didn't get the level of feedback from the car that I was hoping for. You just sort of press the accelerator and the next thing you know, you're wondering why all the cars around you are going so slow - 100mph feels like 50 in other cars.

The 430 and 360 were my favorite to drive with excellent feedback. After all, the communication between man and machine is what makes me want to get behind the wheel. I immediately felt like Schumacher, able to find the limits of the car very quickly, and love the response. The 911's I've driven also have this kind of great feedback.

The Bentley and Vanquish were clearly both touring cars. Very plush.

Still haven't been behind the wheel of a Z06 but would love to. From what I've heard, it's a pretty raw experience and the torque plants you in the back of the seat pretty hard. I have driven a Viper though, and would imagine it's a similar experience.

 

I too did WCD. When I went, had a great time and got to drive a 430, a Gallardo, a AM V8, Porsche GT3 and a SLR. We didnt get a chance at the Ford GT because we were told it was put into a wall the week before. Did a write up when I got back also but briefly, 430 blew me away, Gallardo great fun but when I stepped out my first comment was now I know why 430s are so much and these dont hold their value, GT3 great fun zinging it to redline, AM boring, and SLR fast, very fast but wouldnt buy one with my own money.

 

If I may take this opportunity to make a shameless plug, it's worth taking a peek at an event that my company runs called The Dream Car Tour:

http://www.gothamdreamcars.com/dream-car-tour.htm

We actually were the original developers of the 'exotic car tour' event idea and have been running these Tours for over 3 years in New York and Florida. We've worked with the World Class Driving guys and exchange ideas regularly -- they're a good bunch of guys. They even rented a few of ours cars from time to time for their events.

The principle difference between our events -- they've got a roadshow-style event that moves across the country and operates primarily on weekends. Our events are based solely in New York/NJ and South Florida, and we operate during the week. Costs are $895 for our Tour vs. $1500 for the WCD event.

Similar cars (we include a Murcielago, a Gallardo Spyder, an F430, a Bentley GTC, a Maserati GranTurismo, an Aston DB9 Volante, and a Mercedes-Benz Sl65AMG) and we have hundreds of extremely happy customers (including several fchatters).

BTW -- I've also had a chance to go on a WCD event in Las Vegas (we were invited to see their events, as they were for ours) and it was a great time! I definitely recommend them for anyone living outside the NY or Florida areas.

--Noah

 

When did you do your drive?

Reason I'm asking is because we were told the exact same story. We did our drive in June of 2006.

 

I dont remember if it was 06 or 07, I think it was in 07. Did it in Hartford Ct. And it was in the summer but I dont remember the month either

 

I can vouch for Noah's dream car tour. It's an absolute blast and quite reasonable for the opportunity to drive such amazing cars back to back through the twisties. No affiliation, just a happy customer.