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. But lets be honest, I had as good of a shot of speeding down the back country roads of rural Wisconsin in one of these ultra-exotics as I did of playing center for the LA Lakers. As it turned out, I did play college ball -- well junior college ball -- and post-college, I even talked my way into writing auto reviews for a national publication. Through my auto critic duties, I have found myself behind the wheel of some seriously fun sports cars. But there are different levels of automotive press that get access to different levels of cars, just like there is a difference between playing for the Lakers and the Boo-U Barons.
With my dream of stretching the legs of automotive royalty all but dead, I happened upon an article about a company called World Class Driving. Were my eyes deceiving me? Could any average Joe sign up and get a chance to drive some of the most perfectly engineered, fastest and most exotic sports cars ever built? For $1295 you sure as hell can! I called World Class Driving, who scheduled an invite to experience the program in one of the two Chicago area events, and I settled in for one of the most amazing automotive inspired days of my life. Like a seven-year-old on Christmas eve, my mind was overwhelmed by the next morning's events. Only under my tree awaited a Ferrari F430, a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, A Noble 400, an Aston Martin Vantage, and -- perhaps the most exotic of all -- the Mercedes SLR McLaren, and I was going to get to drive them all.
With anticipation boiling over I jumped into my 2007 corvette (well, mine for a week while I review it for Autorecap.com) and headed outside of Chicago to the rolling hills of Barrington. As I pulled into the meeting place parking lot, the machines of sheet metal, aluminum and carbon fiber stood lined up like the most gorgeous rainbow I'd ever seen. The bright yellow Ferrari and Noble, the lime green Lambo, the forest green Aston Martin. There in the middle of it all was the silver SLR McLaren. To say that this was a magnificent sight to behold would be a like calling the Great Wall of China a picket fence.
Upon registering and grabbing a quick bite to eat in the catered meeting room, the instructors -- mostly professional race car drivers taking a break from racing -- pulled out the overhead projector and detailed the finer points of the automobiles and the road trip we were about to undertake. They warned of the brake pedal feel of the ceramic shoes worn by the McLaren and explained the paddle shift intricacies of the F1 style shifting on the Ferrari and Lamborghini. Once the technical info was complete and the instructors explained the procedure to follow if we happened to get pulled over by the cops, we were ready to hit the backcountry roads and taste something everyone in the group had dreamed about their entire life.
The instructors handed out the call sheets to each participant, letting us know the order we would take behind the wheel of each car. The plan was to stop at intervals along the trip and switch out rides to make sure everyone got their chance. Lo and behold, my first turn was behind the wheel of the mighty McLaren. Want a reality check? Get behind the wheel of a $480,000 car. Wonder what that gets you? Well, 617 hp and enough carbon fiber in the shell and chassis to get you through an airport metal detector. As we creeped onto the road to begin the day, I wasn't sure if the sheer value of these supercars was going to negate having the guts to really enjoy the cars. The answer came pretty quickly, as the instructor that was riding shotgun with me in the Mercedes encouraged me to step into the throttle. While science was never my thing in school, I quickly got my PhD in G-force, as I was pinned to the sumptuous red leather buckets of the mighty McLaren. Words cannot express the feeling of thrust when you step into the pedal. A 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds confirmed my suspicion. However, this wasn't even the quickest car in the group.
As we worked our way through the urban sprawl of Barrington Hills and made our way into cornfield territory of northern Illinois, it was time to change up rides. Next up came the Aston Martin. This was a gentlemen's GT, far less ferocious than the other rides, but still a blast to drive. It is funny how pedestrian a 380 hp car feels after driving the McLaren, but this would probably be the car that would be most drivable in the real world. This hand-crafted beauty is really a work of art, and got more appealing as the day went on. While not as exotic as some of the other rides, the quiet dignity of the Aston Martin was a sight to behold, and it was still a serious thrill to drive.
The Ferrari was waiting, and I was seriously jacked up to get behind the wheel. I must have read 100 Ferrari road tests over the years and they left me longing to get behind the wheel of arguably the most beautiful cars in the world. Like a world-class athlete, the F430 was nimble and powerful, moving with speed and grace that inspired confidence in the driver from the first moment behind the wheel. With the F-1 style paddle shifters dialed up to racing mode, I immediately pushed the lofty limits of this exotic. Long and short winding country roads offered the perfect playground to safely stretch the legs of the car and the Ferrari rewarded the driver for every command. The car entered every corner perfectly flat, and it was so predictable and poised it felt like you were traveling at half the speed the needle indicated. On a long open straight away, I dropped two gears and nailed the throttle, the F430 started to sing and quickly screamed up to its 8500-rpm redline. These cars pull so hard at high speeds it takes a while to comprehend speed. Drop a gear at 90 mph and the Ferrari pulls as hard as most sports cars do going from 0 to 20 mph. With this masterpiece of pistons and camshafts mere inches behind the driver you would expect chaos in the cabin, but the experience is pure Beethoven.
Three down, two to go, and up next: the Noble 400. If you've never heard of a noble, think Lotus Elise on steroids, think go-cart with rocket boosters strapped to the seat. The Noble almost felt like a home-built car, and in a way it is. This is not a mass produced vehicle and is made with only one goal, road racing. While the Ferrari was sophisticated and inspiring gentleman, the Noble was the skinny kid that could kick your ass. While low on refinement, the Noble probably ranked the highest of the group in smiles per hour. With a twin turbo charged V-6 under the hood, the little rocket that could cranked out 425 horsepower. While others in the group may have had more ponies under the hood, none of them had the power to weight ratio of the Noble, and the results were staggering. With the air conditioning struggling to keep up with the heat generated by the drive train, my photographer Jay and I were sweating bullets. Though interior temps soared and the shifter got so hot you could fry an egg, I suspect the real heat was coming from the kick in the pants performance that the noble so readily flexed.
They say good things come to those who wait, and on this brilliantly sunny July afternoon, they were nuts on. The lime green Lambo Spyder had an open cockpit just waiting, and we jumped in with eager anticipation. Did we save the best for last? Well, partially. Not one of the cars offered a more intoxicating tone at full gallop, and this was also the only open air cockpit in the group. For those of you that believe a true sports car needs a roof, you are dead wrong. To be honest, I have never been a Lamborghini guy. While the car's performance is legendary, their design has always been too over the top for my liking. That was until I got to spend some one-on-one time with this beauty. The hyper-angular shell was the most daring of the group and the mighty Lambo won the piston count challenge to boot, with a liquidy smooth V-10. The Gallardo felt like it was built from one solid piece of metal, which is saying a lot considering there is no roof to support the frame. The Lambo was fast, 500 horsepower fast. Like the Ferrari, it made you a better driver, it was confident and secure no matter how hard you pushed it -- and trust me, I pushed it. The Lamborghini sounds great tooling along, but from 4000 rpms up to its flamboyant 8000 rpm redline, it is indescribable. With nothing but fresh air shielding you from the ferocious howl of the masterfully engineered motor, you will come up with any excuse to drop gears and throttle, in that order.
After a nearly five-hour road trip and driving five of the greatest sports cars ever built, I was exhausted. Try going out on five dates with five different supermodels in five hours and you will know what I am talking about. Every one of these cars offered completely different yet equally satisfying experiences. I will forever remember the whale of the motors and the feeling of thrust that accompanied each downshift. If you love cars and want to own some of the greatest barroom banter any of your buddies will ever have, pony up the cash, check out the World Class Driving schedule and secure your spot.
You will not regret it.
