For Mrs Weeksy40th and also a combined present with our 10th wedding anniversary I thought we’d head over to Italy.

I’m planning a trip to the Ducati museum in bologna along with a trip to the Ferrari museum up the road etc.

So I thought for her present we’d do something she’s not done but would LOVE (I think)

http://www.pushstart.it/en/test-drive

This place does 1 hour mountain tours in things like a Ferrari 458 or Lambo 570 for Somewhere around say £500 for the hour.

However, she’s always gone on about Astons… not sure why or from where, but her dream is an Aston MArtin DB8/9/whatever…

She loves bikes and currently has a Yamaha R1 for using on track and loves a bit of speed, so I’m thinking that something like the above would be a great option, but not sure if not being her dream car would detract from it somewhat ?

Me personally, I’m not into cars, only motorbikes and if someone say booked me on a Panigale on track at Mugello, it would be awesome… would it be less awesome on say a GSXR1000…. I think… well… probably…

Maserati.

[/thread]

Not a Maserati then ?

However, she’s always gone on about Astons… not sure why or from where, but her dream is an Aston MArtin DB8/9/whatever…

Open your eyes my friend you have competition !

@cf

Damn you!

458 out of that lot will be the nicest and easiest to drive if she has no experience of driving that type of car before.

Macan

Aston most ‘normal’ to drive (along with Maserati). 458 can be a little hyper but has a full auto mode and is happy pottering around. Dash ergonomics and steering wheel mounted indicators etc can take some getting used to which may be tough in an hour. Lambo is hardcore and would be quite intimidating I think with poor visibility etc.

Have they got a Ferrari California? Most Aston like of all the ‘raris and aimed very much at the GT market rather than supercar.

All bar the Speciale may feel tame after an R1 though!!

My wife did a lap in both a DB9 and a Ferrari 360.

Sure said the Aston was a lovely place to sit but just felt like a fast luxury car. The Ferrari properly scared her (she was taken round by an instructor each time).

So depends what wifey looks for in a car and what experience you’re wanting to give her.

Have they got a Ferrari California? Most Aston like of all the ‘raris and aimed very much at the GT market rather than supercar.

They have the California yes, this would also give the abilty for me and our 8 year old to go out. I was thinking of the Mountain tour or the Panoramic tour which is an hour or so driving tour.

No real point in doing it on track as we’ve been there and done loads of trackdays so not sure she’d get anything out of the track side of things in honesty.

I’d go with the Ferrari or Lambo option personally, just think it would be more exciting in a 1 hour experience – even though the DB9 would be the one I’d buy (if I had the cash…) out of the three.

weeksy – Member
Have they got a Ferrari California? Most Aston like of all the ‘raris and aimed very much at the GT market rather than supercar.
They have the California yes, this would also give the abilty for me and our 8 year old to go out. I was thinking of the Mountain tour or the Panoramic tour which is an hour or so driving tour.

No real point in doing it on track as we’ve been there and done loads of trackdays so not sure she’d get anything out of the track side of things in honesty.

Your 8 year old might get in the back but unsure you would for an hour anyway! If she hasn’t driven any/many sports/super cars then the Cali will steel feel pretty special and in Italy I’d far rather drive on their mountain roads than on track. That is very much on my bucket list.

I suspect the Aston is more about the way it looks and the 007 connotations as although they are very pretty, they’re not all that to drive bar the noise the make, when compared with Italys finest at least.

If you were taking me I wouldn’t find an Italian supercar a disappointment in Italy. In fact it would be very appropriate.

Choice between track and mountain roads is tricky. Having done loads of bike track days it was interestingly different to have a go in a car but I found the fun rather reduced by the additional restrictions I had imposed on me (not much overtaking) so check just what you’d be getting. I’d head for the mountains with the start of the Italian Job in my mind….except the bit with the JCB.

I’d def go mountain roads.
On a track you’re pressured into going faster than the lap before and this does not suit me many people.
On the open road you can go at your own pace, taking in the scenery and pretending you’re back in the 60’s!

OK, right… we’re settled on that then 🙂

Will be either the 458 or the Scuderia

I guess the next things to work on are flying/driving and locations afterwards.

Ideally we’d for example fly into Bologna, spend the first night in the Maranello village hotel, do the Driving experience on the 2nd day along with the Ferrari and Ducati tours

http://www.booking.com/searchresults.en-gb.html?aid=318615;label=New_English_EN_GBIE_5226314545-RnYQj%2AqnIkYg15Re%2ASD5mgS85657670905%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg;sid=90c6283c8012fa1699c1d69413158f2a;dcid=1;checkin=2016-08-13;checkout=2016-08-14;dest_id=-120984;dest_type=city;highlighted_hotels=187556;hlrd=1;redirected=1;sa=hp;source=hotel&

Then it’s a question of whether we head west to Pisa/Livorno for a week or head East to Revenna/Rimini. The next 6-7 days will be more relaxed and just chilling really. Bit of beach, bit of sun, bit of playing with my lad etc while the wife relaxes

So any ideas on that side of things are appreciated… I can’t ask on the other forums I frequent as Mrs Weeksy also looks at them, so I’m stuck with you lot 😉

DB9 is a GT car. If she rides a motorbike, it will likely feel a bit of a (luxurious and very handsome) letdown.

If you are in Italy and visiting the Fiorano, I’d defy anyone not to get a little bit swept-up in the whole Ferrari myth and legend, so the 458 gets my vote.

I’d head for the mountains with the start of the Italian Job in my mind

I was thinking exactly that. And the Lambo.

If I had the choice I would pick the Ferrari. I had a drive in a Lamborghini Gallardo and I was very disappointed. At the time I had a new mk5 Golf GTI with the leather Recaro bucket seats. The Gallardo had very similar seats and steering wheel and just felt like a faster version of the golf. It felt far to normal to drive even when you put your foot down. The engine sound was very good though. I can imagine a Murcielago or Aventador would be a different beast though.
Aston martin’s do nothing for me. I live close to an Aston Martin dealership so there are loads around and rows of them outside the garage. They are very nice but they don’t seem very special anymore. I only want to see cars like that once or twice a year so they retain the wow factor.
I also decided that if I ever get a super car I want a savage animal that wants to kill me instead of something more civilised like a Gallardo or Audi r8 that you could quite happily drive to work everyday.

@weeksy I see you’ve decided and I would agree, you are in Italy and visiting the Ferrari museum so a Ferrari it should be. A California allowing you all to share the experience esp little weeksy would be cool.

As an aside I would second the comments about the DB9 its a wonderful car but a grand tourer not a “go kart” style sports car. I have a friend with one and he likes it as he can use it every day and for longer journeys.

On the rest of Italy tour I haven’t visited the coast much aside from Almalfi which is wonderful and very romantic. Otherwise you have Tuscany, Florence, Siena and a country hotel with a pool option. Or you could go to Como or Garda.

Cyclists ride along mountain roads. Be careful, please.

I drove the Gallardo 570 last year on one of these gift supercar experience days.

I was all set to drive the Vantage V8 as I thought that was the only car available, but then when I turned up there was a wide choice of cars.

I was still going to drive the Vantage as a bloke at work has one and I thought it would be funny to goad him about having taken one around a track when he barely takes his on the road, let alone round a track.
But, one of the guys running the event reckoned that the V8 vantage would be a disappointment and is a bit weak compared to the other cars there.

I opted for the Gallardo 570 in bright yellow.

It was lovely to drive, but very easy – I was hoping to be mildly scared but at no point did I feel that it was anything other than a fast car with tons of grip. I’m sure if I’d have been really going for it, I might have found it a bit more intimidating but I wasn’t hanging around it and it never felt anything less than sure footed.
Flappy paddles & power steering meant it was easy to drive at low speeds and visibility was fine for driving on a track. I’m sure parallel parking it in Tesco car park would take some concentration but it was all a bit….erm, refined. Oh, apart from the engine note. It sounded absolutely gorgeous!

After driving that, I got a driven lap in an Aerial Atom – the one with the supercharged Civic Type R engine in it – 300bhp. Jesus, that thing was fast and the bloke was wringing it’s neck.
If I won the lottery & wanted something to give me thrills, it would be that over the Lamborghini.

Anyway – none of that answers your question which you seem to have answered already. Ferrari, I reckon. In red.

Mrs Weeksy showing she’s gelled with the R1 pretty quickly ! The best lean angle we’ve seen on any pics of her ever !

Italian car with a soft top would be best IMO. I drove an Alpha Spider around Lake Garda and it was blooming brill. The car doesn’t need to be very fast as you are on roads with traffic, but it needs to be fun to drive and you need to feel the wind on your face etc. It is about driving as enjoyment so its the whole package, the sun, the scenery and car coming all together, it is not about how fast you can go. Chalk and cheese compared to a track day.

She’s got an R1 for track work.

Surely any car would be a bit ho-hum. 🙂

weeksy

Mrs Weeksy showing she’s gelled with the R1 pretty quickly ! The best lean angle we’ve seen on any pics of her ever !

Fixed that for you, you’re welcome 😀

@weeksy lets get it out in the open, your wife is cool 8)

Surely any car would be a bit ho-hum

But that isn’t the point of driving mountain roads in Italy, it isn’t a track day. It’s about enjoying the whole thing. Oh a defo take the kid along.

Jambalaya,

I thought so right up until lap 7 on Friday…. where she came past me and sodded off into the distance !

This was her just before the overtake she pulled up the straight on me.

A 2CV, the kid and two sick bags for the win.

A guy in my MTB club was found in a ravine next to a bend on the Col de Soulor. He was knocked out and suffered memory loss so had no idea what happened. All that’s known is that he was riding up the Col (so riding at about 12km/h) with the most likely explanation being he was forced off the road by a car.

🙂

It must be just me that thinks £400 for an hour pootling in a Ferrari is bonkers ? Why not put the £400 to a bit more to hire a nice car for the time you are in Italy ? You could hire a very nice car quite cheaply in SW Germany and then drive over the Alps and back to Italy
(beware that hiring from Munich Airport for example is 20% more than getting a taxi/bus into Munich centre..both with Avis)

dave661350 – Member

It must be just me that thinks £400 for an hour pootling in a Ferrari is bonkers ? Why not put the £400 to a bit more to hire a nice car for the time you are in Italy ? You could hire a very nice car quite cheaply in SW Germany and then drive over the Alps and back to Italy
(beware that hiring from Munich Airport for example is 20% more than getting a taxi/bus into Munich centre..both with Avis)

I am not convinced there’s such a thing as a ‘nice’ car in that sort of budget.. Hell I could hire an Audi RS4 or something I bet, but it’s not going to be like driving a Ferrari… it’s going to spend 99% of it’s time then sitting outside our accommodation for the duration of the trip.

p.s I’m not going to Germany… nor is it a driving holiday.

£400 for an hours drive is a bit nuts but isn’t that the point for your 40th !

I would go with Ferrari out of those, however I’m not convinced I would want any of them for 1hr. Just long enough to think you understand the car, and then its time to finish.

I would be hiring something like a Porsche Boxter for a couple of days for the same money. No one telling you to slow down, change up early, keep the traction on etc.

Can you get a bank loan? Buy the cheapest private sale Aston Martin V8 Vantage/DB9 you can, run it for a month including driving down to italy and then sell it when you get back and pay off the loan. It’ll likely cost you £2k at most if you buy smart. MUCH better than £400 for an hour.

It’ll likely cost you £2k at most

+ all the break down & repair bill costs.

dave661350 – Member

It must be just me that thinks £400 for an hour pootling in a Ferrari is bonkers ?

jambalaya – Member

£400 for an hours drive is a bit nuts but isn’t that the point for your 40th ! Yes. That and the problem that anyone who knows how to peddle a fast car or bike around a track will not, generally, give too much of a shit what eurobox they drive around in the rest of the time.

I have a 911 turbo for high days and holidays and, last month, went to the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone and paid about £300 for 90 mins of track time and tuition in their “cooking” 911. Anyone can book this – you don’t have to be a Porsche customer – and TBH it set me thinking that for not much more than the price of annual road tax, it might be better to sell the car and do a couple of these each year.

A Ferrari in Italy …. blooming brilliant.

Just my two pennies worth on this ….

Ideally we’d for example fly into Bologna, spend the first night in the Maranello village hotel, do the Driving experience on the 2nd day along with the Ferrari and Ducati tours

Now I don’t know how long the tours are at those factories or how close they are in location to each other, as well as to the driving experience’s location….. But that seems a lot to pack into one day (if I’ve read the above right?)

If you pack too much into a short time you’ll be rushed and might not be able to enjoy what you’ve just done….. Maybe spread this part out longer ? Sounds like you have enough time.

But anyway… hope you enjoy it, sounds fantastic

Now I don’t know how long the tours are at those factories or how close they are in location to each other, as well as to the driving experience’s location….. But that seems a lot to pack into one day (if I’ve read the above right?)

If you pack too much into a short time you’ll be rushed and might not be able to enjoy what you’ve just done….. Maybe spread this part out longer ? Sounds like you have enough time.

True true… THe hotel in Maranello seems nice enough and also cheap enough that it wouldn’t be a major hardship doing it that way and making it into a 2 day, we could in theory leave on day 2 afternoon then for the coast.

Can you get a bank loan? Buy the cheapest private sale Aston Martin V8 Vantage/DB9 you can, run it for a month including driving down to italy and then sell it when you get back and pay off the loan. It’ll likely cost you £2k at most if you buy smart. MUCH better than £400 for an hour.

That’s RIGHT up there in terms of crazy insane ideas that is…