Ok, so maybe I didn't get to drive 7 "supercars," but I did get to drive some pretty amazing cars. This past weekend my brother and I drove out to Charlotte for a mountain tour that was offered by a company called "Supercar Sensation." They were offering some pre-opening promotional pricing so I figured what the hell and signed up for a tour. The only catch was that I'm a die hard manual transmission fanboy, and all of the cars were some form of paddleshift (sequential manual/dual clutch) gearbox.
The seven cars that we got to drive were the
Aston Martin Vantage, Lamborghini Gallardo, Nissan GTR, C63 AMG, 997 Turbo, Ferrari F430, and an E92 M3. All of the cars were really a blast to drive the crap out of them on some back roads. I've probably never had so much fun behind the wheel of a car before to be honest. Its just so much more enjoyable when the car isn't yours.
So big thanks to David and the rest of the guys over at Supercar Sensation.
Ok, enough with the infomercial. I'll let you guys know what I thought of each car and give a little review...
Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster
Ok, this car through me for a loop. I wasn't expecting all that much in terms of performance since Aston Martins always struck me as being more of a prestigious grand touring car than a car meant to be driven hard around a track. Well, my assumptions were correct. This car looks sexy as hell, you have to love the front end with the huge signature grill, but for the price tag the performance leaves something to be desired. Don't get me wrong, this car was fun to drive, it handled well, it accellerated well, but for $120k+ its nothing to write home about.
What I really wasn't expecting with this car was how it really has somewhat of a split personality. I figured that the V8 in this car would be really torquey down low and die off up top, but it was the exact opposite. This car actually revved out pretty well, and to my surprise, below 4k rpm this thing was dead. When you initially took off it was very quiet, almost like the engine was off and there was no power, but as soon as the needle swept past 4k the exhaust note changed from a subtle classy roadster to a violent grunt that sounded intoxicating as you brought it up to redline. This car ended up being very fun to drive, and with the looks of this car you feel like James Bond when you're behind the wheel.
Lamborghini Gallardo
This car was an absolute blast to drive. I really would have liked this car to have been a manual since I always wanted to feel the gated shifter in a Lambo, but the F1 setup in this car was pretty damn fun for a change. When I sat in this car it felt the most like a supercar of any of the cars that I drove. The car looks like somewhat of a rocket ship, which was confirmed by how there is zero wind buffering while driving the car at triple digit speeds with the windows down. From your seating position it just feels a lot like a supercar with the almost awkward window shape/side view mirrors and the rake of the windshield.
First off, the Gallardo was fast! This car loved to rev and it pulled HARD to redline. It was a blast to drive up top in the rev range because it felt as though it just kept getting stronger and stronger the more you revved out a gear, and the last 500 RPM really gave you a kick in the pants that almost made the car feel scary if you gunned it to the end of a gear before a turn. Even more impressive than the speed was the sound of this car. From outside the car the Gallardo might leave you wanting more, especially when there was an F430 next to it for most of the day, which had an amazing engine/exhaust note. From inside the car though I have to say that this Lambo takes the cake. This thing sounded SICK from inside the car. On WOT the grunt that this car makes along with a suction that almost sounds like your passenger is going to get sucked into the engine compartment is unreal. It sounds wicked, and hitting the throttle in that car to hear the engine was almost like shooting heroin everytime you jumped on the throttle.
I was also pushing this car pretty hard through turns and it felt great doing so. This car has a very mechanical feel to it where you can feel everything that the car is doing. You can really feel this car bang the next gear as if you are sitting right on top of the gearbox, and the brake feel is unlike anything I have ever felt in a car. The brake pedal was HARD, but it felt like you could actually feel what the caliper was doing. The feedback that you got through the steering wheel was also great. It was almost like you were connected to the road. When really pushing this car though it felt a little bit scary at times when I was really trying to get on it. This could be due to my lack of skill, but overall I really liked the feel of this car.
Nissan GTR
I was VERY impressed with the GTR. If you are looking at this car from a road course/tracking mind set then you will most likely be blown away by this car because it is ridiculously easy to push this car HARD. Honestly, the GTR seemed to never run out of grip, and I could just keep pushing the car harder and harder through turns without ever once feeling uneasy or that I was actually coming close to the car's limits. This car makes any average driver look like they are a race car driver, which could either be a good or bad thing. The trade-off is that the car can be driven so fast that its almost boring IMO. It feels a little too disconnected for my taste. Its almost as if you are giving the driving inputs to a computer and then the computer tells the rest of the car what to do, which equates to amazing speeds that you can take a corner with, but ends up diluting the overall driving experience. In the end, I ended up leaving the car with a huge smile on my face after being able to keep pace with an F430 that was in front of me (the F430 BTW was hands down the best car I have ever driven in my life), but I also said to myself that this wasn't the car for me.
Some other things that I noticed about the GTR was that I was amazed by how quickly the engine revved out a gear, and the transmission was really great in that car. The shifts were super fast and smooth, but again this came at the expense of not really feeling connected to the car. This car really needs a MT to help you feel like you are actually driving it. This car also does not feel like a turbo powerplant. It feels more like a NA V8 to me as it has zero turbo lag, they did a good job there. Also, despite the quad cannons that are coming out of the rear diffuser, this car has zero exhaust note, which was a bit surprising.
I am by no means a race car driver like most enthusiasts, and for me I could push the GTR unlike anything else I have driven (with the exception of the F430 ). Overall, its a very impressive car, but its just not engaging enough. You need to be doing twice the speed limit to feel like you are even driving it.
Some other impressions that stick out in my head about the GTR is that it looks really good in person. I know that the looks of that car are either a love or hate thing for most people, but I thought that it looked great. The one that I drove was black so it hid some of the lines of the car, but in a lighter color like white or silver this car would look massively wide. On the interior I thought that it was nice overall. The gauges have excellent placement with a huge tach right in front of your face with nice bright glowing red needles sweeping the dash as well as a digital speedo, but the look of the gauges was a little too much like cheap plastic for a car of that price. Also, the seats felt amazing! They were extermely supportive, almost like a race bucket, but they were still very comfortable. My biggest complaint with this car was also with the seats though. The seating position SUCKS!! The seats, even at their lowest setting, are still WAY too high. The seats must have been designed by a 4'3" japanese man because it felt like I was sitting on top of a telephone book at the lowest setting. I think everyone who drove the car said that the seats were too high. I know that I felt the same way in the G35 coupe so maybe its just a Nissan thing.
C63 AMG
After getting out of the GTR I wasn't expecting much from the C63, but I ended up having a really good time driving this car. What was going through my head as I hopped behind the wheel was how Jeremy Clarkson described this car in a top gear epsisode as being an "axe murderer with headlights." That's probably a pretty good way of describing this car.
This car feels like an absolute MONSTER! The torque in this car is awesome, its a BEAST! I was having fun keeping pace with these two sisters that were in front of me driving the 997 Turbo when I was driving this car. I was able to keep pace with them, which was somewhat surprising, but I guess that can be contributed to lack of driver skill. The sound of the engine/exhaust note on the C63 is really great, and it makes you want to just romp the throttle whenever you can. Honestly though, this car almost feels like it has too much power for its own good. Although the brakes were amazing (better than the M3's IMO from what I could feel), the suspension almost felt like it couldn't handle the amount of power that the car made. It handled well, but didn't feel too balanced with all that power. Overall, its a very fun car to beat on though.
997 Turbo
I also drove a 997 turbo, but I feel that I really didn't get a good feel for the car at all because it had the HORRIBLE, and I mean horrible, tiptronic transmission, which totally ruined that car. Aside from the bad transmission, I love the feeling of the turbo when you jump on it. Unlike the GTR it has some noticeable turbo lag initially, but then the car just pulls like a monster with a fat torque band that just kicks you in the pants and pulls relentlessly. The GTR has much more of a NA feel where it revs much faster so I guess this comes down to what you prefer, but as far as handling goes the 911 didn't feel like it could touch the GTR with me behind the driver's seat. Although you couldn't push the turbo as hard as the GTR in corners it felt less like you were playing a video game and actually driving a car. What I really enjoyed about this car was the sound of the turbos spooling and sucking in air like a vacuum cleaner. It sounded down right MEAN. I have always been a big fan of 911's in general so it was nice to drive the turbo, but after being use to the very raw feeling of my friend's 996 GT2, this car with the tiptronic felt like a much more diluted driving experience despite the potential that I already know this car has.
Ferrari F430
After driving the rest of the cars I felt that the Lamborghini was the most engaging driving experience and by far the car that I lusted after most if I could have any of these cars. That was up until the moment that I hopped behind the wheel of the F430. With the car in neutral I just gave the engine a tease by blipping the throttle to 4k rpm. OMG!!!!! I almost pissed my pants after hearing this car revv.
My brother and I immediately laughed after hearing this car. It sounds absolutely AMAZING!
Honestly, this was the best sounding car I have ever heard in person. I have seen reviews online saying that the engine note in the 430 was a bit dissapointing compared to the 360, but I have no idea what kind of drugs they are on. The engine just plays a symphony behind your head as you are revving out the gears. It almost feels like you are driving a sport bike that just begs to be beaten harder and harder. The engine note is simply intoxicating, and the entire driving experience is just unbelievable. I have never felt a car that felt so connected and confidence inspiring as this car, especially for a RWD car. Unlike the GTR that was like playing gran turismo, the F430 feels like its hard wired into your nervous system and you are able to guide it like a heat seaking missle through corners with unbelievable precision and feel that I didn't know a car could even do. Honestly, this is the epitome of performance driving. As far as a street car is concerned I can't see it getting much better than this. The car feels perfectly balanced, and you feel as though you can push it harder and harder while feeling completely in control with knowing exactly what the car is doing.
I have also never seen a car revv as fast or decelerate as fast as this car. I had a turbo s2000 with a lightweight flywheel so I know the feeling of a car that is more like a motorcycle than a car, but the Ferrari brought this to new levels. Want to slow up 20mph in a split second? No problem, just downshift and watch the revs fall as if you slammed on the brake. I almost never touched the brake before turns, only when I needed to come to a stop at a light or stop sign... it was unlike any other car I have ever driven.
Before driving these cars I actually really wanted to like the Lamborghini the best. Despite always being a Ferrari fan I always thought that the Lamborghini was a more attainable car so I really wanted to fall in love with that car. The Ferrari is simply on another level though. The connection that you have with driving that car is unbelievable, and I couldn't believe how hard I was able to push it after only being behind the wheel for a few minutes. I NEED AN F430 IN MY GARAGE!!!
E92 M3
I drove the M3 last after driving the rest of the cars and being fresh out of the F430 so I wasn't expecting much at all. After reading post after post about the 335 with a tune and coilovers being able to stomp an M3, combined with having a decent amount of time behind the wheel of an E46 M3 I wasn't expecting to be wow'd by this car since I figured it wouldn't differ all that much from my own. Ok, I was wrong. Anyone who says that their 335 with a few bolt-ons (tune, suspension, etc) claims to have an M3 killer or something that is just as good as an M3 without the price tag and more torque is either in denial, they have never driven the new M3 AROUND TURNS, or they simply want to be Vin Diesel and live their lives a 1/4 mile at a time.
The E92 M3 kicks ass, plain and simple. I don't know what package this car had or didn't have, but it had the DCT tranny (again, I'm not a fan of paddleshift setups no matter how fast they can shift), and this car was great to drive. First off, I will go as far as to say that this was probably the most balanced car of the bunch aside from the Ferrari. What I mean by this is that the entire car feels completely balanced between the power output and the rest of the chassis/suspension. Unlike the C63 that was a monster on the straights and made you feel like dropping a deuce when setting up to turn into a corner, the M3 was perfectly balanced. I felt REALLY comfortable behind the wheel of this car with pushing it HARD. I was able to drive this car much harder than my E92 335i without a doubt. Although I enjoy the torque of my car and I love the powerplant, the M3 is 1,000 times more nimble than the 335 will ever be. I have KW V2's on my 335 and it feels like a stiff tank, while the M3 feels completely nimble as if it weighed 500lbs less than my own car. Overall, I was very impressed. Also, the V8 sounds great, but the car has zero exhaust note. Its just begging for an eisenmann race.
Another thing that I noticed with the M3 was that the DCT transmission was very nice. Although I would personally opt for the 6MT, it was still very enjoyable to drive. The shifts were lightning fast, but more importantly they were smooth unlike the E46 with the SMG that felt like a jerky POS despite what some dillusional E46fanatics might claim.
The M3 is a great car and if I could justify dropping the extra cash over my 335 then I would love to get one. Its definitely a step up from the 335, and no, I don't care what mods you have in your signature.
If you like to drive your cars hard (not just in a straight line) then the M3 is for you, and this is coming from someone who is totally content with their 335.
Overall this was really a great experience with having the ability to drive many cars that I have only read about time and time again in car magazines and online. To be able to get behind the wheel and actually compare them myself back to back while beating the snot out of them around some back roads was certainly an experience to remember. The bottom line is that you need to drive an F430 ASAP! So, go sell your house and put a down payment on one whenever you get done reading this.
Hopefully you haven't fallen asleep by the time you finish reading this novel of a post though. BTW, I took some video from inside the cars that isn't the greatest, but I'll post it up once I get it all edited.
**Edit**
Over a year later, but I finally edited the video that was shot from a Flip Mino so its definitely not the greatest, but I found the clips hilarious since my brother and I were basically acting like two little kids in a candy store
...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7YO1qI-snQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VJgdwfwNJE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKGn5ISht1I