So I drove the 458 and the GTR

[12,000 RPM]

I will post via and impressions when I get home

[giant_mtb]

Hey guys. Here's a blank thread to tell you that I'm gonna make a worthwhile one later. Don't mind the waste.

[cawimmer430]

Make sure you tell us how they compare to that 75-horsepower Fiat Panda you drove in Europe. We enthusiasts love details like this. 

[Laconian]

Too heavy?

[12,000 RPM]

Yadda yadda

I did a driving event with Xtreme Xperience at Carolina Motorsports Park. It is a 2.2 mile track, pretty much no elevation changes, short straights, lots of tricky turns with triple apexes etc. Good time, went with some homies.

458 Italia (7DCT, carbon brakes)

Pros- BRAKES, engine note, power delivery, transmission
Cons- understeer? Amount of power

Italia was great; felt way more buttoned down than the F430 I drove and didn't feel scary our out of control at all. Pretty fun drive and a great track car.

GT-R (6DCT)

Pros- easy to drive
Cons- sounded boring as fuck, felt heavy, interior was cramped, steering feel wasn't that great.

GT-R was meh, pretty much exactly as I expected. The driving position is super high. Going from the 458 to the GT-R reminded me of going from my Z to wifey's Rabbit. Acceleration def felt less brutal. One huge telling thing was in the 458 I had to use earpieces to talk to the instructor; with the GT-R we could just talk normally. It was impressive because it def had the pace of the Ferrari, but nowhere near the feel or sense of occasion. I didn't really get to feel the AWD system working much either though I'm sure it would.

The event was good and the instructors were cool. I didn't push as hard as I liked because I was trying too much to focus on following instructions and maintaining safe space with the cars around me, which I guess was good. I definitely want to go back with the Z and the bike.

All in all a good time and worth the $400 or whatever I paid for everything. Good to actually drive a GT-R on a track as well.

Make sure you tell us how they compare to that 75-horsepower Fiat Panda you drove in Europe. We enthusiasts love details like this. 

The Panda was fun. Obviously can't compare to these, but it was a pretty fun drive on all Italian street conditions.

[cawimmer430]

I'm to lazy to look it up but I believe the GT-R also has 4WS (4-Wheel-Steering). Right?

Those GT-Rs are hot. I see them from time to time here and they're good-looking cars. Even the 458 is a "common sight" in downtown "rich street" Munich.


Nice short review. 

[12,000 RPM]

Another interesting point.... the whole reason I drove the GT-R was because there was no line for it. The Ferraris, Gallardo, SLS and even the R8 were all fully booked. Desirability counts!!!

Lot of folks who drove the Gallardo actually didn't like it. They said it felt unstable and loose. The 458 def had high limits and strong brakes/acceleration but I always felt in control. I probably wasn't pushing it that hard. That was an interesting little thing.

[FoMoJo]

Neat experience!

[12,000 RPM]

Nissan GT-R R35 track session at Carolina Motorsports Park

Ferrari 458 Italia Track Session at Carolina Motorsports Park

[FoMoJo]

I wanna come down there...

[12,000 RPM]

They travel the country. They might be coming near you.

http://thextremexperience.com/

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Cool shit!!

[FoMoJo]

They travel the country. They might be coming near you.

http://thextremexperience.com/

Great.  Mosport is just down the road.  When my wife asks what I want for Christmas, now I know what to tell her.  Maybe not the same outfit but they do have something similar there, I just haven't given it much though before.