Reading stats about these exotic cars and actually taking them out on the road are as different from each other as browsing the Playmate Review and taking all the girls to bed.

It's more than likely that at some point during your boyhood you contemplated what it would be like to take the helm of the latest Ferrari supercar. As your reverie played out you were king of the road, master of the monstrous engine behind you and ultimately the coolest guy around. All daydreaming aside, supercars are a whole other breed of automobile, and they take more than a little fantasising to handle properly.

Getting seat time in a Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano or Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren - let alone both in the same afternoon - can be a challenge. With limited production numbers and lengthy waiting lists that favor marque loyalists, the cars are rarely available to enthusiasts who want to sample the finest wares from Modena or Stuttgart. Enter World Class Driving (WCD), which seeks to remedy the situation with a simple solution: For a fee of $1,495 (plus $300 for passengers), anyone can partake of its high-performance fleet, which also includes an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, a Ferrari F430 and a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.

It took but a couple of minutes for the camera-toting tourists to forget the natural beauty of the Everglades and focus on the screaming red Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. For me, it was just a pit stop along Alligator Alley after a mind-blowing 40 miles, all 612 horses of this beastly V-12 thundering through the serene sawgrass and marshes.

Race-car legend Didier Theys has this to say to neophytes who drive high-performance cars: "Don't be dazzled by the myth." Sorry, Didier. Too late.

People often ask me "what's your average day like?" The answer is usually "You know, average: phone calls, emails, crank some copy, deal with stuff." Naturally, there's a good bit of driving. But it's a great gig, believe me. The bad days are still pretty good, and the good days can be spectacular. Once in a while, they're just off the hook. Like last Friday.

Some days are better than others, and this had definitely been one of the better ones. I'd just had wheel time in a Ferrari 599GTB, Mercedes-McLaren SLR, Porsche 911 GT3, Lamborghini Gallardo, and an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, entertaining friends of Motor Trend on fast and empty desert canyon roads. Beats driving a desk, let me tell you.

Growing up in the Midwest, I remember sitting in study hall in 9th grade reading all of the newest auto magazines and fantasizing about what it would be like to drive the exotics of the day. The Porsche 959, a Ferrari Testorossa, and the Lamborghini Diablo topped my list of dream machines.

Most of us own a vette because it is the best sports car in the world for $50,000. But admit it, don't all of us wonder what it would be like to drive a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes McLaren, Ford GT, Porche GT3, etc?

I've heard variations of that philosophy before of course, but never those exact words, and when I saw them for the first time, what followed blew me away. Part of what I read was, "Maybe you've imagined yourself behind the wheel of a true Supercar like the Mercedes SLR McLaren." Now in my opinion, any car aficionado to not have lusted for driving a McLaren, well then he or she wouldn't be a true car nut.