The best Ferrari ride I have ever had

I did not mean to insult any Ferrari owners when I started a thread about the worst Ferrari I had ever driven. I simply was interested in hearing about a bad ride or two you might have had.

My best ride in a Ferrari was the first time i drove my F40; it was a brute of a car, and I still remembers my chest being squeezed when the turbos came on for the first time and pinned me to the seat. I will never forget that experience....just awesome (and a bit scary). If my wife were to chime in, she would say the best Ferrari she had ever driven is the 360 spider that she loves to drive with top down. Needless to say I won't argue with her, but I don't encourage her to drive the F40 either. It may become "her" car if she does.

 

1. About a month after I got my first 550 I was heading north up the 405 for a tee time at about 6 am. There was no one around (which in itself is a rarity on the 405) so I decided to open her up a bit. I put her on about 175 and that's when it allllllllll hit me that I was driving my first Ferrari!

2. On my way to Pebble in '04. Sunrise on HWY 1, descending to sea level approaching Big Sur.......Running through the gears while looking at the ocean in one of the most beautiful places on Earth!

 

My best (but worst in someways) ride in a Ferrari was in a F40 in FREEZING cold weather. Being from Orlando, I was not used to the -10 degree tempature. The Ferrari had to go about 10 miles to storage and the owner was kind enough to ask me to go a long for the ride.

Part One: Lightly fishtailing on snow covered grounds on curvy roads in the mountains/hills.

Part Two: Realizing that the defoggers are not capable of keeping the windows frost free in that cold of weather and having to drive on the interstate with the windows down in -10 degree tempature with a sweat shirt on and being used to 85 degree weather.

Part Three: Realizing that in cold weather, turbo charged engines make huge amounts of power and further realizing that rock hard tires means that wheel spin was avaliable in top gear at only 60 mph.

Part Four: Doing a donut or two in the storage facilities parking lot in the snow, now that is an experience of a life time... Seriously, I have never been happier...

The owner of the car is one of the nicest, coolest guys and a total car nut. I was so happy/lucky to go for the ride and would gladly brave -10 degree weather for another ride (although him giggling as we fish tailed in the hills, looking over elevation changes was a little scary).

Todd

 

I should add that it was one of those rides where you don't fully enjoy it until you have thawed out then realize how awesome it truely was....

 

The best ride was when myself and a relative drove a 250GTO from Monaco to San Remo (We left in the late morning and came back in the evening.)

Best experience in a any Ferrari i have had...

 

VERY cool Did you get a go behind the wheel?

I have only been in one ferrari, which i was driving. It was a 360 and i suppose that would have to be my best and worst ride i have ever had as it is the only one. It was the best because it was the first time for me and the worst because i didnt want to leave the drivers seat

 

Yes, he actually let me drive it on the way to Italy, then when we arrived to San Remo, we parked, he drove around through San Remo and Ventimiglia - then I drove back to Monaco from Ventimiglia.. It was abit of a birthday present - he never..ever drives that car, only taking it out 3-5 times a yr maybe. . .

I have never driven or been inside of a 360 myself ...

 

Wow that sounds like something you probably wont forget in a hurry! If you have any pictures please post them.

 

None were even taken.. All we had were a few cigars and some cash in wallet.

 

Toss up, either my ride in a 250 GTO or the time I drove a 430.

 

Probably several laps at speed around the Talladega Gran Prix Raceway as a passenger in Mike Charness's 308 QV (with wider-than-stock tires). Definitely an E-ticket ride!

 

Hands down, the best drive i ever had was my first track day with the car at thunderhill. I had worked my ass off doing a major, carb overhaul and coolant hoses to get ready. Last year i upgraded the brakes and put goodyear F1s on the 360 wheels. The suspension was beefed up and re bushed.

So, turning it out on to the track, taking it to redline - all day long, sliding around the turns, the car handled better, more forgiving than i would have thought. The Howling carbs.

No kids, no cops, no curbs, no speed limits and little traffic, (just other f cars

Next time, i will get a video cam in there so i can relive the day.

For sure, this was what Enzo had in mind,
chris
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my race car its like having your cake and eating it, I can go as fast as I want knowing that the cage & fuel cell will keep me safe

driving the Slutmobile around SoBe is fun too but in different ways

The F40 is great too, a lot more fun since the F50 brakes & iPod

and my 512TR coupe is excellent for long trips

 

For me its impossible to choose one great drive, every drive has been memorable in a differant way.

One that does stand out was a spirited passenger ride in a mates 430 spider,top down, hot sun clear road, Bochelli and the V8.....really an amazing drive.

Another passenger ride was maxing out a 360 spider top down..300km/h on the speedometer....with the windows down...

As far as drives go, well driving a then strangers 355f1 accross the center of Cape Town, trying to keep up with my friend in his 430....

Feeling the power of the 599 the first time...words cant do the experience justice...

 

Testarossa for me

 

For me it was the first time I got to drive my own 328 (the only F-car I've ever been in!)
the first time after she was delivered. The test drive just didn't 'ring true' to me, as it
wasn't really MY car yet. But that first feeling of 'this is MY OWN FERRARI' is what I will
never forget.

Jedi

 

The best Ferrari drive was the first day in my 328. I had it delivered to Dave Helms and he went through the car thoroughly. I happened to pick it up somewhat late. The individual who dropped me off still had my wallet and normal glasses in her car when she drove off. Here I am without a driver’s license, registration or regular glasses about to drive up to Vail over two mountain passes with only a pair of sunglasses and a jacket.

Needless to say, it became dark soon enough and I found out why there are numerous threads on replacing the anemic headlights and instrument lights in the 328. Sunglasses obviously made the problem far worse. None the less, it was one of the best drives of my life, staying well within the speed limits and in the slow lane of traffic.

 

Hydroplaning like there was no tomorrow in a GTO on dry compound/tread Firestone Indy tires on the 405 in a driving rain came close. Setting the land speed record between Woodland Hills and Las Vegas in a Lusso with my father in the passenger seat was probably the best.

 

The first one and the last one are always the best ride.drive I have ever had.

They are the only two that stick out in my mind ...... so far.

 

I would pick the best and worst as two legs of the same very recent road trip.

Driving north from Monterey to Marin for the weekend- 105 degrees in the shade, and an overheated truck blocking traffic on the 580 through Oakland. I didn't get put of 2nd gear for about 5 miles. 328 air conditioning is nothing to write home about. I think I lost 10 pounds on that drive, but I was grateful for what I had. Opening the window felt like an oven blast.

Coming home early Sunday morning, across the Golden Gate, onto Hwy 1, and them south on 280. There was absolutely no traffic. Hardly any cars at all, as a matter of fact. Smooth road surface and a brilliant sunrise, made all the more colorful by the wildfire smoke. Thanks to Mike Valentine and his fine product, I spotted the only radar car on the road almost a mile off, in plenty of time to get back down to the double digits. Ran over Hwy 17 and then down the coast home... I couldn't stop smiling all day.

 

I agree. Your race car was with out a doubt the best F-car experience I have ever had. Blasting around Pocono racing that Z06 is a day that I will never forget.

 

My best ride has been with a F512M as they are fun to drive. Every drive I had with a Ferrari has been great.

 

My best ride in a Ferrari was as a passenger in my own black 2006 F430 F1 coupe.
It was a short burst of acceleration from a standing stop to about 40 mph.
I even had to reach over and keep one hand on the steering wheel as we accelerated.

I had the time of my life. Best ever. I let a completely blind war vet drive my car in a large parking lot back in Sept 2007.
Here is the youtube clip:
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=VlIf8h7FZ6o

Here is the story of the blind driver, Mike Jernigan (injured in 2004 by a massive IED as a USMC Corporal in Iraq):
http://www.hbo.com/aliveday/bios/jernigan.html

Here is a pic of me describing to Mike the lines of my car that he is feeling with his hands.
He lost his sight before the 430 had been announced, so he had no experience of ever seeing one.
God bless him and all of the soldiers like him that do the tough lifting in life.
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Toggie, I don't post here much, but am so moved by your "best drive" I had to respond. It seems we are all so rapped up in our own little worlds, we don't often think about things that really matter. I have so much respect for your kind deed and pray that Mike will be rewarded for his great sacrifice. God Bless. Allan

 

Thanks. I was not the only one that let him drive their car that day. It was a group outing here in the Mid-Atlantic region.

When I saw this thread, I had several great driving experiences I was thinking of posting but then I remembered the day with Mike and thought it would be the one most interesting to share. The approach we came up with on how to safely let a blind person drive a powerful exotic car worked out well, but it is nerve racking at first when you start to accelerate and you can't control the pedals.

Fortunately Mike is still a great driver and could do anything you wanted if you could just verbally describe it to him. So you could say things like "the road is about 50 feet wide, you're now about 4 feet from the right edge curb, and we're going to do a 3-point turn-around" and he could almost pull that off without any visual assistance.

Mike brought his girlfriend and her young teenage son with him that day. We picked them up in the morning and took them out for most of the day. We drove in a pack of exotic cars and took turns giving the 3 of them rides in different cars. Here is a pic of me with Mike's GF in my 430. Not sure what speed we were going at the time on the open highway but "we were cruising".

We'll have to do it again one day. Cheers.
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