CS review from Australian P1 Supercar Club

I just got this in the P1 Newsletter.


Review - 360CS - Angelo C
The Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale

What an introduction to the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale! The anticipation was running high. Ian from P1 had arrived at Star City in the gorgeous, futuristic Audi R8 I had driven the previous week so I thought my first drive of a Ferrari may be postponed due to some unforseen circumstance. I was promptly informed all was well and the prancing horse was on its way. As we were chatting away I heard something in the distance. Ian casually remarked “That’d be Richard.” The sound turned into an almighty shriek as the high revving silver bullet flew down the concrete canyon of Pyrmont Street below us. The noise reverberating off the buildings was like nothing I had ever heard before. My mouth was still open as Richard turned into the Casino and parked the beast in front of us with a huge grin on his face. This thing was beautiful but could it really be road legal? Barely, I suspected.

My anticipation was turning to intimidation and that only got worse when I was informed I probably shouldn’t try to drive it in “Race Mode” in the wet. We were expecting some heavy rain in Sydney so I made a mental note. Peter and the team at P1 really know their cars and they’re great at giving you the ‘heads up’ on each vehicle. They are so relaxed and able to share their sense of fun that you drive the cars away instilled with a feeling of confidence borne of knowledge. They really want you to enjoy the cars and happily give you the insider’s introduction to each of these special machines. The Challenge Stradale was a very unique vehicle indeed. I asked if it were true there were only a dozen of these in the country. Richard thought for a moment and said it was actually down to eleven as one had just been crashed. This was a rare animal and getting closer to being put on the endangered list. I certainly didn’t want to make them any more scarce.

Having a little experience at karting made me think how similar this felt to those machines. You slot into the red leather racing seats that wrap around you almost reassuringly. The cabin is stripped back and sparse. Carbon Fibre everywhere and a bare metal floor. The rocket is primed with the key but the bright red Start button on the centre console is what brings it rumbling to life. The Yellow Tacho goes all the way to what…? 10,000 rpm! This is going to be a unique experience. The moment of truth.

Like some sort of overgrown go-kart on steroids you sit ludicrously low to the ground on a super stiff chassis as the engine you see behind your head grumbles and burbles and lurches you forward at low speeds like a thoroughbred champing at the bit. “Let me run” it says “Let me run”. Your right foot can unleash all that fury just like kicking that thoroughbred but do you dare?

I tried to take in the experience of driving this car on the sometimes harsh Sydney streets. I swear I could feel every hairline fracture on the road surface. Every grain of sand or pebble was like shrapnel crashing against the bare metal floor beneath you. This was all getting much more intense. The low speed sensations were odd with that peculiar feeling of something restrained against its will. I did take it slowly for a little while but I so wanted to hear that symphony.

When you gain a little confidence and give it a little kick you feel like you’ve liberated all those horses. “Finally.” they say as you quickly realise these horses were not bred for the street (despite the name, Stradale meaning roadgoing.) These horses were born to run, on a track. The pick-up is phenomenal, the sound astonishing and that same sound bouncing off a tunnel is mind blowing. The tunnels… oh the tunnels! I recall James from the Melbourne P1 office calling and when I mentioned I was looking at the Challenge Stradale sitting outside his immediate response was, “Have you taken it on a tunnel run yet?” That experience certainly does leave an indelible impression.

I took the car through all the tunnels I could think of as well as through the Royal National Park to Stanwell Park just to hear that sound bouncing off the trees. One thing is the same wherever you go, the reaction of people. I’m guessing this is what it must be like to be a supermodel. As you go down the street people’s eyes widen, their jaws drop, they smile, point, honk, take your picture and give you the thumbs up. Some try to get closer to you, have their photo taken beside you and dream of what it must be like to slip inside you. (the car, that is.)

Would the Boys in Blue be as appreciative? There was a real possibility of meeting our friendly keepers of the peace while behind the wheel of this creature. Would my well rehearsed speech take care of any problems? “I’m sorry Officer, I seem to have wandered off the racetrack. Could you point me back in the direction of the circuit?” Maybe not. Plan B involved showing my Italian Passport. How can they book an Italian in a Ferrari? It would never happen in Italy, would it? What did end up slowing me down was the rain.

As predicted we had some very heavy downpours. Although confidence inspiring in the dry it suddenly felt very skittish in the wet. Even at quite low speeds it felt like it was aquaplaning or tramlining or basically that it had a mind of its own. I didn’t want to lose traction in these conditions and was happy to wait for the sun to shine once again.

As the weather improved I was out again. As happy as I am just to look and admire the car’s exquisite lines you always seem to find yourself wanting to get in and drive it. This time it was a joyride for a keen neighbour. When my young passenger asked what the little button with L.C. imprinted on it was for I casually replied “Launch Control” to which she reacted immediately with excited laughter. At that point I realised what such a term must sound like to a lay person. Like something out of the space program. “Launch Control, we have lift-off!”

The experience is always something special. Every trip is an occasion. If this car were a woman who would it be? Angelina Jolie? Phenomenally beautiful, incredibly exciting and with a real sense of danger. You want to be with her but you wonder at any moment she might ask for a vile of your blood. She’ll thrill you and brings the promise of great things but if you don’t treat her right she will hurt you. Sometimes she feels brutal. She hurts your back and your jaw aches however, mostly you ache from smiling so much.

I won’t bother with details like fuel economy or how the standard 360 Modena may be a more sensible choice. If Angelina were here right now would you concern yourself with good sense and details? These are lifetime opportunities and we should grab on with both hands and enjoy the ride.

The cars available to P1 members are mind boggling and though I enjoy them all something keeps drawing me back to the brutal symphony that is the Challenge Stradale. While appreciating the finer points of the limousine like Maserati Quattroporte, admiring the ultramodern lines of the Audi R8 or cruising in the ‘hood in the big black Hummer H2 I can’t help but miss the girl that made my heart race and my soul sing. Perhaps it is true we only feel truly alive when we feel close to death.

Cool German engineering efficiency, sophisticated British craftsmanship and brash American muscle may have its place but only crazy hot Italian beauties have earned a very special place in my heart and the Challenge Stradale is the craziest of them all.



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