Drove Gallardo and F430 back to back

[RyanD]

You might have seen the ads for Gotham Dream Cars on Groupon, etc. They charge $100 to drive a Gallardo or F430 on an autocross course. I drove both cars yesterday, and it was well worth it. You get 3 laps with an instructor in the passenger seat. You could go over 100 mph on the straight and slam on the brakes. After your drive, they give you a photo CD with about a dozen photos of you driving the car and standing next to it. Considering the alternative options for driving these cars (like renting one for $1000+ per day), this was a great deal. It was also much better organized than the F1 ride I took which cost almost $1000.

The Gallardo really wasn't very exciting to drive. It didn't feel as fast as the F430, and it wanted to understeer. I felt like I couldn't push it as hard in corners for fear of hitting cones. The downshifts sounded great though. The F430 was just much better to drive. $120k for a used F430 almost seems reasonable.

They also had an LP560-4 Spyder that you could upgrade to for an additional $75. I didn't see much point in that, but I've read that they sometimes have a 458 Italia available as an upgrade.

[McFred]

I've never sat in either but I've always found the F430 to be very attractive.

Thanks for the report, RD.