First drive always the greatest?

I've been ill over the last week with a cold and it got me thinking about first drives. I own an F430 now and while it's a great car, I wonder about the first drive impression and if any car will ever continue to live upto that special first drive.. with that in mind I thought I'd share some first drive stories.

My first real great drive was a Mazda MX5 Mk1. Not an amazing car by Ferrari standards but great soft top summer fun and it had a stainless steel exhaust which sounded great. Mine was made all the more special it was the first car I bought with my own money after I started my business and my first cabriolet. I picked mine up in Barnsley (a little town in northern UK) and still remember the first drive home. Remember laughing out loud on the motorway at 70mph with the top down, "woo hoo!". First drive in the dark was equally fantastic, rumbling along with the wind in my hair down some twisty country lanes. I kept her for 2 years, but I'll never forget that special first drive.

My next car was a BMW Z4M. Quite a reasonable jump in performance from 120HP to 340HP. I picked mine up in London just after my birthday. First drive home was equally as stunning as the MX5 but in a different way. Driving out of London with that much power under my foot felt like I was in a jet plane. Really stunning.

Next car was my 360 which I bought just before Christmas. This was a really special one. Going to look at it for the first time - just wow - so much more stunning in person than in the photos (and I couldn't friggin believe it was gonna be mine, just looking at it talking to the dealer I was in awe). I left a deposit and ended up leaving the final payments until the very last minute as I couldn't believe I was spending that much on a car, but it was a really special example - rosso corsa with tan daytonas and extended leather - beautiful interior. The test drive was amazing but I had to wait day after painful day to pick her up as it was snowy weather. Every day I jumped out of bed to see if the snow had cleared, and the days seemed to drag on forever. When I finally picked her up, the drive home was very special - mixture of not believing she was mine and being behind the wheel of a Ferrari on my own - stunning!

Next first drive was an AC Cobra 289 replica. I wanted a 427 but as yet haven't been able to find one with the correct period dash layout and good spec which isn't silly money from a dealer. Getting into one of these for the first time was really odd after driving the Z4M. In the latter you feel really cocooned but the 289 is so low around you (without anything behind your head as this one didn't have roll bars) along with a really flimsy looking windscreen, and I was thinking "gees is this a big mistake?". Driving it for the first time though was a blast. V6 rumble was quite something, and although the replica only had an engine that seemed to redline around 6000rpm, driving it was fantastic. Sounded like an MX5 on steriods even if the handling wasn't quite as good. I can only imagine what a good 427 with side pipes sounds like - I'll have to wait until I find a good one in future.

Which brings me to my F430. Fantastic car and more solid/torquey than the 360 but more of a snap decision and being my second Ferrari, the first drive was great but it didn't quite live up to the very first Ferrari drive of the 360. The 3 cars before this were all a leap up and it leaves me wondering if maybe the F430 wasn't a leap far enough - as such I've got my eye on a Challenge Stradale for the extra rawness and greater solidity I craved but was missing from my 360 experience (and I think the full alcantara/harnesses set-up with that howling exhaust will more than give me the visceral experience I'm after!)

These cars leave me wondering what can give me the same thrill on every drive as it did on the first drive in future. Maybe an F40 but thats quite a way off for me! I've come to realise though that you can only go so fast and the visceral part of the experience is probably more important than all out power and speed, unless you need something quiet and useable every day.

Does anyone else have some similar first drive stories like this and was your first drive of a Ferrari the greatest?